How do we respond?

An Irish friend emailed me earlier this week to ask me how I felt about Osama Bin Laden’s death, as an American. He & I were both living in DC on Sept. 11, 2001. He knows a lot of compassionate, intelligent Americans that he met while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in DC, and I think he was finding it hard to reconcile the Americans he knows with the pictures he saw on tv of people celebrating death. As a pastor, it’s part of my daily work to share the good news that life is stronger than death, in big and small ways. Certainly, Bin Laden caused a lot of suffering and death, and I do feel a glimmer of hope, although cautious hope, that removing his angry rhetoric from the world will lead to less violence.

As I heard the news Sunday night, I couldn’t help but think about the news from Sri Lanka two years earlier, in May 2009, when the Sri Lankan government finally tracked down and killed another man who had inspired countless acts of violence and death, Velupillai Prabhakaran. When I heard that the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had been killed, I also felt hopeful for the beautiful country where I’d lived for two years. After two decades of war and suicide bombings, maybe they finally had a chance for peace. Maybe Prabhakaran’s death would be an opportunity for the Sri Lankan government to address the legitimate concerns of the Tamil minority, treating them as full citizens with equal rights. It was a moment when long-term peace seemed truly possible, if people could come together to address the reasons so many Tamil young people felt driven to join Prabhakaran’s movement. Unfortunately, the moment was lost as the government rounded thousands of Tamils up in detainment camps. Prabakahran is gone, but without any change in conditions, a new Prabhakaran will arise from the disenfranchised Tamil population. The potential to build peace and bring Tamils and Sinhalese together was lost.

So, as I consider how I feel about the removal of Bin Laden as a threat, my hope is that death will not have the last word. Osama may not be around anymore to incite followers to acts of violence against westerners, but how are we as Americans, or as Christians, contributing to create a climate of peace or of violence in the world? How will we respond differently to our Muslim brothers and sisters now that Osama is gone, along with the fear that he inspired in many of us? This is an opportunity for us as Americans to reach out to Muslims and say we know that Osama didn’t speak for all of you. We have done what we felt was right in holding Bin Laden accountable for the cruelty and murders of 9/11, so now let’s try to seek the path of peace.

This is an opportunity for us as Christians to remember that Jesus offered forgiveness and grace, even to the thief who hung beside him on a cross. We are not called to be a people of vengeance, but people who struggle to find a balance between justice and mercy, always erring on the side of mercy. The Old Testament prophets, as well as Jesus, insisted that to be faithful meant to seek justice, but the justice we seek is not in order to punish or condemn, but to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable are met. When the orphans, widows and strangers among us are safe and cared for, then justice has been done and we are then freed to be peacemakers and love our enemies. As followers of Christ, we are taught to believe that all people are capable of redemption, that love wins over hate, and to live like we believe this.

I dream of a day where we will dance in the streets because we are no longer at war with any country or group, when we celebrate that life and love have won out over the need to kill in order to seek justice.