Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends

From the Gospel of John 13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

The shooting in Minneapolis was a devastating act of violence that took place on the morning of August 27, at Annunciation Catholic Church when 23-year-old shooter, Robin Westman, opened fire from outside the church, targeting children and worshippers through stained-glass windows during a Mass marking the start of the school year.

Two children, Fletcher Merkel (8) and Harper Moyski (10), were killed while sitting in the pews. Eighteen others were injured, including fifteen children aged 6–15 and three elderly parishioners, several  critically wounded.

This piece of the story is heartbreaking—and deeply moving. During the tragic Mass a 10-year-old boy named Weston Halsne survived thanks to the heroic actions of his friend, Victor. Weston later said, “My friend Victor like saved me… because he laid on top of me. But he got hit. He’s really brave, and I hope he’s good in the hospital”.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

We’ve all seen the updates by the local authorities trying to find the answers to “Why?,” but the more we learn, the less we understand. Children shot while at Mass, during the first day of the school year. We can ask how, but it is vain to ask why.

Two children killed, 15 more wounded, as well as three adults. All at prayer. All filled with the excitement of the first week of school. Hope turned to horror. The killer had clearly been planning the attack and hoping to kill as many people as possible. What kind of depravity is that? The primordial cry of the parents and grandparents rings painfully in the ear: Why?

The Prophet Jeremiah asks, "Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken? Let him declare it! Why is the land ravaged, scorched like a wilderness no one crosses?"

On what planet should school children need to practice every month what to do to avoid being shot? On what planet should parents have to wonder if their kids will come home from school that afternoon? On what planet should we be afraid that our sacred space for worship will become a death scene? And while the church’s locked doors likely prevented far worse slaughtering of kids and adults, how have we come to this place in our lives where we would need to pray behind locked doors?

On what planet should someone who left behind writings and videos expressing hatred toward numerous groups and admiration for past mass shooters. own a rifle, shotgun, and pistol—all legally purchased? But this, tragically, is not a new phenomenon.

Who is wise enough to understand this? Why is the land ravaged, scorched like a wilderness no one crosses?"

For gun enthusiasts, fear not, I am not about to go into a rant about Second Amendment rights.

Yet, is it difficult to permit gun ownership for hunting while limiting the sale of guns used in most attacks on human beings? And with all our technology can there not be deeper and more expansive background vetting that would not find someone like Westman owning these weapons?

I will, however, take a hard stand on the erroneous and dangerous suggestion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, that SSRI’s—medications used for anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTST, and panic attack—are the cause for such a tragedy. They are, in fact, for many lifesaving and at the very least restorative to some sense of normalcy in their lives.  

Why has this particular tragic shooting prompted this sermon? Perhaps because it not only involved small children but because it was on a day they should be looking forward to a new chapter in life, new teachers, new learning. Or because, after hearing the trite meme “thoughts and prayers,” these beloved ones were, in fact, praying. Or that it raises our vulnerability for such a nightmare in the place we come and allow God to meet us.

No one here this morning had to fear that their child would not return from their first day of school. Nor in our childhood did we go to school fearing that possibility.

I believe the Minneapolis event and so many others, not to forget the shootings in Newtown in 2012, are rooted in the evil of human hate. Authorities have attributed Westman’s desire to kill as many people as he could because of his wild hatred of several groups, including Catholics. Are Episcopalians also a target?

Pandora is a figure in Greek mythology who was given a sealed box and told never to open it.

Driven by curiosity, Pandora opened it releasing all the evils of the world—sickness, hatred, death, sorrow. Only Hope remained inside when she hastily closed it.

Yes, there have always been those who dislike or mistrust those who are different but it seems that at some point in the last ten years Pandora’s box of evils has been allowed to escape and infest society with permission to express hatred in anywhere from venomous, cruel language to threats of violence to scenarios like Minneapolis. And I wonder if now even hope has escaped from that box because this week it was turned to horror.

Ten year old Weston’s account of how his friend Victor saved his life is a chilling reminder of the cruelty of the event—but also of the courage and love that can emerge in the darkest moments.

Yet, when will it ever end? When will it ever end?

“Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan is a timeless protest anthem that poses a series of haunting, rhetorical questions about peace, freedom, and human rights.

How many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky? Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry? Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend is blowin’ in the wind, The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

No, the answer is in our hearts and wills. Good God, please bring us back to sanity.