God said, "Let us make man in our own image ... So God created him: male and female ... and it was very good." (Genesis 1:26ff)
When we were created, we were created with visible and invisible body parts. That truth should be a constant reminder of our dependence on one another.
If I check on my garden and don't put on sunscreen -- because "I will only be a minute" -- and return with a burning sensation on the back of my neck, I have two options. I can examine the extent of my sunburn through a lot of twists and turns with mirrors OR I can ask my wife to look at what I had done unto myself. While more humbling, it is a Genesis truth that enhances our daily lives with God and with one another.
Our God-given responsibility, that many of us daily pray, is "thy will be done." God does not call us to judge one another, call others hateful names or stereotype. We are called by God to love one another and to converse with our neighbors with open hearts and minds.
This summer there has been an outbreak of violence all over the world. We are shocked and frightened by the violence in our own country. The apparent common denominators are individuals or groups that proclaim, through violent acts, that they are greater than the community and can justify their heinous acts as being righteous -- the ancient chant of those claiming to be "clean" versus those they named as "unclean."
Episcopal Bishop Lee of the Diocese of Chicago framed our new reality in the realm of illness and the breakdown of our mental health delivery systems that are woefully underfunded because they -- like our domestic violence epidemic and our veteran's suicide epidemic (20 per day; 7,500 per year) -- just aren't a part of our comfortable community conversations. To date, they aren't named in the plethora of expensive political ads. We are more comfortable talking in sound bites and clichés.
I learned, in a Moral Theology Class, a pathway to the core of our cultural "diseases" is to trace the sources to those that profit from maintaining the condition. Keywords of our spiritual search are "sacrifice" and "integrity" and their connection with our forgiving, loving, and hopeful God. During this time of a leadership drought, we, the people, must make, with open and loving hearts with our God, the pursuit of the wholeness and health for everyone in America. I am inspired by the personal story and actions of Dallas Chief of Police David Brown, a voice in the wilderness of violence we need to hear.
There are no simple solutions to our national "diseases." These problems can only be resolved through the dedicated work of "we" with God's help.
I deeply believe that we have been created and called by God to this place and to this time! We cannot just be spectators and drop out of America, including not voting this November. That would only spread the contagious disease of violence and not God-centered Peace.
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Ken Parks is the former rector of St. Theodore's Episcopal Church in Bella Vista. He can be reached by email to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 07/20/2016