Saul and Virginia Tech       April 22, 2007

The mass murder at Virginia Tech is a shocking tragedy to all of us. We grieve with the families fo the 32 victims who have been killed. We cannot even fathom how they feel, for few could imagine the magnitude of their loss. This was the worst school shooting in our nation’s history, and that impacts us all. There is a certain sadness and confusion that rumbles in our hearts and minds. Today I want to share a few thoughts with you.

The first is that violence is on the rise in America. Some have said violence in our schools has reached epidemic proportions that leaves us feeling sick and out of balance. Here in our community, many of you remember the horror of the shooting at Wedgewood Baptist about eight years ago. I personally remember that same horror at Jonesboro Westside Middle School. We remember the tragedy at Columbine High School, Paducah Kentucky. Now when we watched the unspeakable horror of murder at Virginia Tech, theses are all examples of the sick violence which is gripping our nation.

Like many people, I was disturbed by the revelations of the killers message that he mailed to NBC news. The pictures and video were very upsetting. I thought he must have been really mentally sick when referred to himself as martyr, that he admired the murders at Columbine. Knowing that the authorities did nothing, even though his psychologist warned that he was dangerous to himself and others, is simply baffling.

It didn’t take too much research to find others who saw violence as an issue in America. Dr. Everett Koop, formerly the Surgeon General of the United States in 1984 declared that violence is a public health issue. He said that just like smallpox and tuberculosis were epidemics that needed to be contained and eliminated, Dr. Koop said that violence had reached such epidemic proportions in the United States, it too needed to be contained. Compared to countries in Western Europe, to Canada, to Japan, or Australia, our rate of domestic violence is about 20 times greater.

So what can be done about this epidemic of violence? There are any experts who will give their advice. I listen intently to the discussions about the effects of violence in movies and television. I see no social value in the bloody video games that graphically allow the players to murder people.

I also have heard many talk about the value of gun control. When I was a pastor in Jonesboro, I went with a group of parents and children to the Arkansas legislature to lobby for limited gun control. The legislator didn’t listen, and we lost. This week I heard that one of the shooters, Mitchell Johnson was out of reform school since he was an adult. Just recently, a few months after his release, Johnson was arrested in California with drugs and a gun in his car. One law we lobbied for would have prevented him from ever owning a gun.

Now I know that many of you will have other ideas abut what we should do about the violence in our nation. We need to talk and listen to all sides of issue of violence until we find ways to stop the killing.

But that’s not what we’re doing today. Today is the Lord’s day, and we’re here to pray, sing praises and hear God’s Word. God is a God of peace and non violence. So what does God do to change violent people? It just so happens that our first reading from Acts tells us how a violent, bloodthirsty man named Saul in the conversion of Paul.

Paul was first named Saul, and he was zealous for his religion. When it came to a living right, Saul considered himself perfect in keeping all of God’s laws. He thought it was his duty to work for the religious and civil authorities. The job they gave him was to track down members of a sect that called themselves followers of the “Way,” which today we call Christians. To the religious authorities in Herod’s temple, these followers of Jesus were traitors to God’s law, and a threat to the Roman Empire. The followers were saying that Jesus was God’s anointed one, and new King, and that this kingdom was ready to receive all people and all nations and all languages. Saul truly believed that these followers of the Way, Christians, were a threat to their God and their way of life.

Saul was leading a posse to round up all the subversive followers of Jesus and turn them over to the authorities that would put them in prison, and often kill them. When they stoned St. Stephen for his testimony, Paul was there. He didn’t mind torturing believers to gather intelligence about the whereabouts of any other followers of the Way. Saul believed with all his mind and heart that he was doing God’s will and protecting his people from this religious sect known today as Christians.

But one day, Saul was on the way to the city of Damascus because his sources had revealed that there was a large group of Christians there. This where out story picks up in Acts, 9:1-22. As he made his way along that road to Damascus, all of a sudden he was blinded by a light, brighter than any light he ever saw. It was so bright that when he opened my eyes back up, he couldn't see a thing.

Then he heard a voice that said, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" So he wondered: who was that? And the voice said: "It is I, Jesus. The one you are persecuting." He immediately realized that what those followers were saying about Jesus was true. Jesus was alive and standing right in front of him! And he was blinded by the light.

From that time on, Saul was a new man. He studied with other Christians about Jesus. He took a new name, Paul. He learned he was not perfect. Paul found that what really matters is not what he did for God, but what God has already did for him when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.

That’s how God forgave all human sin, yours, mine and even Paul’s sin of persecuting Christians. Paul spent the rest of his life bringing the message of God’s grace and forgiveness to people far and wide. He never stopped talking talked about his experience of the grace of God on the road to Damascus. He kept saying that following all the laws meant nothing if we had not received the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Paul told people in various cities that through faith alone, not our works, we will be resurrected with Jesus resurrection. In him death is not the end, but the beginning of a new life in the body of the risen Christ. Paul was bowled over by this good news of God’s love and forgiveness. He spent the rest of his life telling people about the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Here’s what it means for us. Jesus Christ brought a message of peace for all people. His resurrection shows us that he can wipe out sin and violence. If Jesus can transform a person like Saul, he can transform all those who do the violence in our nation and in the world. We are called to proclaim the power of his peace in our community, in the world. We can start in our school yards when we reach out to the children in school.

On Wednesday, I went to see a friend named Buddy Calzada do his ministry at Carter Elementary School in East Fort Worth. I met Buddy through the clergy and police alliance called CAPA. Buddy brings a van truck full of toys and a sound system to school parking lots in Fort Worth. The brightly-colored van opens and converts to a stage complete with a large projection televison screen. Buddy was playing Christian Rap music. When school let out, about two hundred children came gathered in the school parking lot around his van which opens to create a stage. With the energy of a disk jockey at a school dance, Buddy brought his message to the children.

During a ball game he played, the children began to fight over the ball. Buddie blew his whistle and said, no prizes if you fight over the ball. The fighting stop, and the children were delighted with toys and candy. Buddie brought his message in brief prayers and short Bible verses about the power of Jesus to change lives. I’m glad I can support ministers like Buddy. They are on the front lines of the battle against violence with the peace of Christ. Let’s pray that our children will hear the message of God’s peace.

We can also bring the message of God’s peace to our college campuses in our nation. The ELCA already has churches and dedicated campus ministers across the nation, including Virginia Tech. Let’s pray for the campus ministries of the ELCA. Our object at Grace Lutheran is to plant the seeds of Christ love that can transform people to love God’s peace and hate violence.

Let us also pray and ask for God to protect us and keep us safe from all harm. We do that with the promise and hope of Christ, knowing that he rose from the dead, and gave us the victory of his peace. Amen