The Attack On The US Capitol
Responding To The Attack On The US Capitol
By Rev. Scott Gilliland
Like so many of you, I watched Wednesday's violent attack on the US Capitol--an attempted coup--and felt horrified, angry, ashamed, afraid, and grief-stricken. Ultimately I found myself holding many questions as to what such an event reveals about the state of our nation and ourselves.
I think we should be clear that this was not an isolated incident, but rather an easily-seen symptom of deeper-seated sins that plague us as a collective people. My friends, we cannot remain silent nor passive when presented with a culture that:
Replaces power-at-all-costs partisanship for functional politics,
Uplifts conspiracy theories and rejects facts,
Demands unquestioning loyalty and refuses critique,
Calls for peace without establishing justice,
Seeks to confirm biases rather than engage in dialogue, and
Dehumanizes opposition resulting in eventual violence.
I know that I share blame for helping contribute to these sins--through my own actions or lack thereof--and we all could confess to personal culpability in our cultural failures.
Confession leads to repentance (changed behavior), and as followers of Jesus, we are called to walk humbly, seek truth, offer accountability, engage others openly, embody justice, and love in word and action, including our "enemies."
Jesus so often calls his followers to intentionally live counter to their prevailing culture. My prayer is that we could offer a counter-cultural witness in this moment as our nation wrestles with its future and our world watches on.
Lastly, let us pray for and receive the endurance of the Spirit, knowing that the work of personal healing and collective renewal that we have before us will be long and arduous work. Our work is not conditional upon who occupies the White House; it continues until heaven is at home upon on the earth.
We need change.
We need healing.
We need renewal.
May we embrace this as the work of our lifetimes.
In Christ,
Scott