On the Killing of Osama bin Laden

On Sunday evening, May 1, the world received the news of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
I met with several area clergy for lunch on Monday, May 2, and we, with the rest of the world, were full of reflection on how to respond to such news.  Several wondered out loud how they would address the topic on Sunday May 8.
 
I shared that I would likely address it on Sunday May 15th, as it fits better with my preaching plan. I shared that I might put a blurb in the bulletin, and that I would be asking my bishop if she had a word as well.  (The Reverend Peggy Johnson is the Bishop of the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, along with the Peninsula-Delaware Conference, responsible for nearly 900 United Methodist churches in the Philadelphia Area. She resides in the Phoenixville area.)
 
Bishop Johnson's response can be found by clicking on or typing in:
http://bishoppeggyjohnson.blogspot.com
 
I don't have a handy or concise reflection to offer you, but I will share some of my thoughts.
 
On Sunday we heard about a military operation that "won a battle in the war on terrorism".
On Sunday we heard about the killing of a man who did not know Jesus.
 
On Monday we saw flags waved and cheering crowds. There was a kind of morbid glee permeating the internet, although  some declared it was not right to celebrate the death of a man, no matter how much wickedness they had done.  I saw one person comment on Facebook that Osama bin Laden was "beyond redemption."  My response to that was "God doesn't know what 'beyond redemption' means."
 
On Monday, we began to see a number of Bible verses quoted:
The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (from Ezekiel 18:23)
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls (from Proverbs 24:17)
Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you (from Matthew 5:44)  

There was a quotation attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr, which turned out to be a combination of one Twitterer's thoughts plus a genuine quote:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." "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."
 
By the time Tuesday rolled around, there were plenty of online articles and reflections to choose from. One of the online reflections I liked best was made by author Diana Butler Bass, who wrote: "What if we responded in reverent prayer and quiet introspection instead of patriotic frenzy? That would be truly American exceptionalism."
 
My thoughts since Tuesday have included the spontaneous prayers of "May the world today move closer to a state of shalom than the day before" and Psalm 19:14: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."
 
Friends, my hope and prayer is that as we respond to ANYTHING in life, our response would be pleasing to God, who loves "all the children of the world (red, brown, yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight)" and who gave up his life in the hope that all would receive life, and that our responses might lead those who see us to say "I want to know THAT God."
 
God bless the whole world, no exceptions.
 
Pastor Kerry

The Reverend Kerry Bart is pastor of the Spring City United Methodist Church (http://springcityumc.org/), and this blog is his words and views. His sermons can be read online at http://lighthouseonthehill.blogspot.com/ or experienced live on Sunday mornings at 10am at the corner of Church and Broad Streets in Spring City, PA.