“Let Us Start Rebuilding”

“Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.” – Nehemiah 2:17, 18

As a young lad growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, it was not uncommon to receive a cap gun for Christmas or your birthday. We played days at a time; cowboys and Indians or army soldiers. Those were some awesome times to live in, as the only care we had in the world, was running out of caps. In today’s world, young men have graduated from the “cap gun” to AK-47’s, AR15’s, Mossberg 930’s and other weapons of destruction. It seems like every day, some young man dies a horrible death, or has committed a horrible crime, resulting in the death of an innocent person. Violence is the result of pathology of the soul. The very first dysfunctional family on earth, Adam and Eve, gave birth to a son, who carried out the first murder. When Cain killed Able, evil showed us that violence does not begin with wars in foreign lands, or with just the evil notion of “ethnic cleansing”. No, violence is a close to us as our own hearts. In Genesis 9:6, a foundation is built with a weighty code on how God feels about violence: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”

We cannot talk about murder without talking about rage. We cannot talk about shootings in schools and movie theaters without talking about the infections of hatred, malice, and anger in our culture. We have a generation of “fatherless” homes, with teenage pregnancy on the rise, HIV/AIDS being the new norm, and young men aspiring to be the new Cocaine or Meth King. While the “cap gun” generation has grown into adult hood, somewhere along the years, “the community lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.” So, how do we begin to rebuild the community? Jesus laid out the design for rebuilding, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Keeping the peace and being managers of peace, is not an easy task. As a matter of fact, Peacekeeping is hard and tiresome work. However, Jesus mandates that if we are to be called by His name, then we need to be the catalyst for peace.

This challenge is daunting—but it is Jesus’ clear call for his followers in all times. Our entertainment industry fills our minds with violent images and lyrics. The formidable technology of war today takes on a life of its own. Many people are living a hair-trigger life. And every time a school shooting occurs, and we have 24/7 media coverage, a thousand potential copy-cats—people living in the shadows of society, people who are disconnected or outcast—have their pulse quicken at the idea of having their names in the headlines.

Somehow the work of peacemakers needs to begin long, long before the bullets are loaded in the magazines. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer says: “The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace…. they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult.”
What can be done about violence?

There are many professionals whose work is peacemaking, and we need to pray for them and support them. Law enforcement, criminal justice, educators, mental health professionals, and many others. Safety and security in a community comes from a network of collaborators. We will never eliminate violence, but we can lessen it. We don’t need vigilantes, we need vigilance. Followers of Jesus are called to do more than passively waiting for the next person to draw his gun. Our Lord and Savior command us to close the gap with people rejected by others.  To connect with the wounded before they lash out and wound others. To bring down the level of tension and stress around us by living in shalom.

So, “Let us start rebuilding”, “Let us begin this good work”.

~ Shalom