Opening the Doors of OUR Lives

Yesterday the Marines of 3/14 and a recruiting office experienced a tragedy at home. They experienced this act of violence while training at a military installation. A fellow Marine I served with expressed this vulnerability when he attempted to articulate the manner Marines train for war as opposed to the manner Marines fight in a war. Many believe that Marines walk around active duty bases and reserve stations armed to the teeth; belts of ammunition worn across their chests with night vision goggles cocked upright on their foreheads and a belt fed M240 (machine gun) in one hand with a belt of ammunition wrapped around their arm creating tension on the other end of ammunition that is ready to be fired from the hip. We see it in movies, we see it on tv, we envision it when we read news articles, or even hear stories. This isn't how it works, however. Our military men and women are rarely armed unless working in specific specializations (i.e. Military Police).

My favorite past time in the Marine Corps Infantry was sitting on the back of a rucksack cleaning my rifle (no ammo) while we smoked cigarettes, spit vile brown globs of saliva from our tobacco filled lips/cheeks, drank caffeine, and engaged in the most outlandish conversations one could imagine. This was community to us. Now, I could do without the tobacco, cigarettes, and even the rifle (I will hang on to the coffee, thank you) today but the conversation is what I long for the most. I miss my brothers, I miss their jokes, I miss their ridicule, and I miss every facet of our conversations on those "boring days". Yesterday the Marines of 3/14 in Chattanooga, TN were most likely having such a moment. Maybe they were carrying out some specific training but most likely they were under the illusion of safety, unarmed and unaware of the violence that was about to occur.

I'm not sure what transpired in either Chattanooga or Charleston during these two violent episodes our nation has experienced this summer. I do believe we can safely assume that both groups were not fully aware of the scale of violence or the outcome of those events. Neither were we, the American public. When we are caught off guard and unaware we have a natural, even instinctual inclination to react. Outrage, anger, cries for vengeance, and demands for empathy are the most frequent forms of these reactions. We seek an opportunity to assign blame and even if there is an individual to blame we now blame the causes that empowered the individual to commit such an act.

I watched this happen in Charleston but I did not feel that I could call out for a healthy response. Calling for the waters to calm, calling for peace, would have caused accusations of a callous and insensitive view that would certainly be labeled as obtuse or even simply "wrong". Today I have a chance to call for that same calm and peace.

I have heard many claim that many church bodies and public voices have become strongly opposed to police and military personnel. I have attempted to voice those same concerns and begged classmates, professors, and clergy to engage in dialogue with police and military to address their needs as members of the community rather than the embodiment of nationalism or militaristic imperialism. I have tried to implore leaders to invite them as the "other" that is not as easily acceptable when we "reach out to the oppressed" because we struggle to see how their service is congruent with OUR definition of Christian witness. This opposition is communicated clearly both intentionally and unintentionally. This event is just such an example.

Now, my intention is not to accuse but to clarify and suggest an approach. Just like in Charleston we are seeing reaction, at times confrontational and accusatory reactions. Behind those reactions is pain, fear, and frustration. Are the causes the same? No, but there are many veterans (especially combat veterans) who have returned home to find a community that will point to resources but rarely offer their own. Sometimes the best resource is our ability to listen and offer community. This attack has furthered the suspicion that a tragedy that occurs to any community besides their own (military/police) is a national tragedy but within a military or police community it is not a tragedy for any community other than their own. "Well, they signed up for it" and "They are the embodiment of imperialism" is often the difference that is cited. Cornelius also "signed up for it" and served an "imperial" force that had imposed its presence on Peter and the 1st Century Church. Cornelius was never told to resign his post nor to cease his service as a centurion. Jesus also responds to the needs of a centurion. Again we find a centurion that is the direct embodiment of the imposing imperial forces in the land Jesus calls home. Their welcome was made known and the assurance of their value to God was made known. But these were imposed forces from governments outside Peter and Jesus' homelands. Today we are talking about the embodiment of our OWN governments and therefore reflections of ourselves by election. How can Jesus and Peter reach out to those from outside imperial forces but we can see those who are expressions of our own political process as unwelcome?

A classmate once publicly claimed that the presence of a chaplain recruiter on the seminary campus had ruined their day. They further claimed that their own opposition should not have any bearing on how any other classmate's call to military service could seem congruent with God's peace and justice. It wasn't the first time I heard opposition to my presence on the campus and it wasn't the last. It was disheartening, however. Not because I was unwelcome but because I was concerned for those who were. It's not about me but today I have a voice I did not have when the shooting in Charleston occurred. I have the chance to call for those who feel most deeply affected to pray for the families of those who were wounded and killed in the same breath as we pray for the assailant in his vicious and misguided motivations. I have a chance to call for grieving, prayer, worship, and thoughtful reflection before we respond, or worse; react. I hope this can all occur in the worship spaces and sanctuaries where we can share in our pain as one community.

We don't have to loudly and publicly proclaim our loyalty to the military, police, or the Marine Corps in order to open our doors and hearts to those who feel that they are the "others" today. Many feel that this tragedy matters as little to our society if not less than the tragedy in Charleston appeared to matter for many. We are called to listen to that hurt even if we disagree, seeking the door into their lives. Black lives do matter, Marine lives do matter, Sailors lives do matter, Muslim lives do matter, but only if we accept that their lives are OUR lives. They are all members of our community but if we can only value those marginalized lives we choose to value, we will never have the peace and justice that God calls us to. That is peace and justice that our fallen nature cannot fully grasp but through the Gospel and witness of Jesus the Christ.

I pray that God can help me to accept all lives as lives that are directly tethered to my own, regardless of the communities which they belong. If I am honest I will tell you with all sincerity that I cannot do that on my own. The greatest tragedy in Charleston was also the most beautiful aspect of the event that occurred; the nine who were slain were worshipping with the assailant who slew them that day. I wish those Marines and Sailors had the same opportunity. I hope I can one day kneel in prayer and worship with not only those who despised me but those who tried to kill me so many years ago, I hope that is the full realization of God's creation, one day.

The photos included are pictures of the stained glass windows at Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot. These windows comforted me following the events of 9/11 which occurred as I entered into the final phase of basic recruit training. I found that those images provided the same comfort last night as I struggled with a response. I pray they can provide that same comfort for others in light of these recent events. 

Source: http://54heaven.u.yuku.com/gallery/ls/aid/87651#.Vak1WXgk_ww