Yep another post on Osama

Last night I thought I had nailed what I was going to write about. Well today I’m not so sure. I’m still wrestling with these ideas so bear with me.

So I’m going write about the death of Osama bin Laden. Yes, I know you’re probably tired of hearing about it, I know I am, I it seems like that’s all the news I’ve heard today, I just feel like I have to throw this out there to the few people who might stumble across this.

It not so much the death of bin Laden that I want to mull over it’s our response, or more importantly my response. What should I be feeling? What should I be doing? Or should I be feeling or doing anything? From those around me I’ve heard expressions of relief that an imminent threat to the country has been removed. I’ve expressions of “thank God justice has finally been served.” I’ve heard more than a few “AMERICA (F**K YEAH)” ’s in there. But the truth is I feel saddened.

I’ll be honest I’m not that good at being a Christian. I’m not very patient. I’m quick to look down on people I don’t know. I have a short fuse and a foul mouth. I’m not very good at being graceful to those around me. But that being said, in an effort to try to follow Jesus, I have to wonder what he would do, how he would respond to this situation. I understand that claiming to know what a deity would do, or how deity would act is dangerous. Claiming divine backing has been used since the beginning of history to justify terrible acts. So I’ll make no claims that I have Jesus in my back pocket and have figured this out. But from what I understand, I think Jesus would go to Osama’s funeral to comfort the mourners. I believe he would mourn with them. Just as I believe he mourns with the wife and family of the soldier who was killed by an IED. Just as I believe he mourns with those who lose loved ones in a drone strike and suicide bomber attack.

I believe in Jesus we have a God who mourns. A God who lets the world break him. A God who experiences what we go through. A God who cries with us “My God, My God where are you?” A God who undergoes god forsakenness.

Osama bin Laden commited acts so evil that the have shaken the world. I won’t defend him. All I can do I try to follow what I believe Jesus would do, and mourn his death. And mourn every time we believe that somehow we can kill enough bad guys that the killing will stop. So I’d like to leave you all with this:

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says "Love your enemies," he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. ... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Peace