MORE FROM HUFFPOST
MORE FROM HUFFPOST
Newtown Sermons, Prayers and Poetry
Six months after the brutal murder of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary, the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary is becoming a reality. We want it to be a place of peace, peace born of terrible, incomprehensible violence. Peace is the only answer to evil. Because no amount of hate, no gun or bullets, can kill love. Especially the love of a child like our daughter, Catherine Hubbard.
As individuals, we are responsible for our choices, especially the choice to kill. But something in our collective heart appears diseased. We cling to guns, it seems, more tightly than we cling to God.
To return to joy, to build a safe world for our children, to heal, we must take a stand against guns. To be people of courage, integrity, heart and grace, we must see it through this time.
When God fails to intervene in human suffering, the acceptance of a loving deity who cares for his children arouses fresh doubts.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
For too long, the work of many of these groups attracted little public notice. Hopefully, however, that will now change. They will not be easily dismissed.
In the spirit of the Magi who brought gifts to the Christ Child, let's take a few moments to consider what gifts we should bring to all of God's children.
Providing an opportunity for public school children to reflect on their unique values through a moment of silence does not need to violate the first amendment's prohibition on establishing a religion.
All the guns in the world will never "fix" the problem of fear. They will not rescue gun-supporters from a need to live in constant hyper-vigilance against our fellow human beings. In fact, they will result in the opposite: They will only increase violence, threats, fears and cynicism. Idols have a way of doing that.
In the end, I believe that the NRA will find out that the Rev. Canon Gary R. Hall, Dean of the National Cathedral, was correct when he said: "I believe the gun lobby is no match for the cross lobby."
We now find ourselves in a liminal space, knowing that this is precisely the time in which we, together, will either effectively address our country's obsession with limitless and needlessly violent weaponry, or slide back into our typically self-focused and detached existence.
