Early Spring Shootings

Spring showed her sunny face in the Windy City just in time for St. Patrick's Day.  And as people flooded the streets to enjoy the warmth, to bask in the sun, and even to catch a parade, many of us missed the shocking events that were taking place all around us.

This weekend, between Friday evening and Monday morning, gun violence erupted across the city of Chicago leaving 9 dead and at least 35 people wounded.


Let us remember the families and communities of those whose lives were lost.  As reported by the Chicago Tribune, the dead include:


Aliyah Shell, 6 years old, was the victim of a drive-by shooting in Little Village on Saturday.  She was shot dead as she played on the porch of her home.


Joel Sanroman, 42 years old, was shot dead as he drove in the 3100 block of West 53rd St. early Saturday morning.


Adrian Cruz, 24 years old, was standing in the 5900 block of South Fairfield Avenue, the block where he lived, about 7.04 p.m. when someone inside a vehicle fatally shot him.

Vincent Fitts, 22 years old, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the 800 block of East 79th Street.

Jeremy Anthony, 24 years old, of the 6400 block of South Ellis Avenue, was shot in the back while inside a vehicle near his home.


Bert Lindsey, 36 years old, was at a friend's backyard party early Sunday when someone drove by and opened fire.


George Marrero, a man in his 20s, was shot dead in the 1400 block of West 53rd Street early Sunday morning.  Two others were wounded in this shooting.


Andre Pierce, 34 years old, was shot in Lawndale and pronounced dead early Monday morning.


Zheri Cureton, 23 years old, was shot dead on Sunday night.


O God, whose names are Love, Wisdom, and Peace,


We recognize that gun violence has touched the lives of so many people right here in our city, tearing at the roots of life and hope within our communities.


With each act of gun violence, with each injury and death, we are outraged.  And despair threatens all our efforts to build families and communities of compassion and peace. 


We pray for the strength to remain resilient and vigilant.  We pray for signs of hope, love, and wisdom--for a path toward peace.  


May we never give up on the vision of a city, a country, a world where gun violence no longer rips at the fabric of our community.  We pray for a world where there are victims no more.


Amen.

Repaving the Road

         One day, a man was walking down the well-worn road from Jerusalem to Jericho. He had traveled the road many times before, but the journey on this particular day was one he would never forget. Around midday, he came upon a group of men traveling in the opposite direction, and just as he passed them, they ambushed him from behind. The next few moments were a blur. When he awoke on the roadside, he felt searing pain throughout entire body, and he realized they had taken everything—even his clothes, his food, and his water. Physically and emotionally, he could not bring himself to move.

As he lay alone praying for deliverance, he thought of the many rumors he had heard of robberies along the road to Jericho. In fact, many referred to it as the “Way of Blood.” Yet, having never experienced anything of the sort himself, he had never feared for his safety. Finally, a man was approaching. Better yet, a priest! Surely he would help. But as soon as the priest was near enough to see his blood and nakedness, quickening his pace he crossed to the other side of the road and avoided looking over. About fifteen minutes later, another man came along. This time a Levite. But he, like the priest, wanted no part of whatever had left this man in his unfortunate state. 

A short time later, a third man—a Samaritan—journeyed toward him. He, however, did not cross to the far side of the road as the others had. Instead, he approached the man, came down from his donkey, and knelt at his side. The Samaritan gave him water to drink and treated some of his sizeable wounds. The Samaritan carefully saddled him on the donkey and walked alongside until they came to an inn. The Samaritan spent the night at his side, caring for him and showing him compassion. The following morning, the Samaritan was gone before the man had a chance to say goodbye, but he learned from the innkeeper that the Samaritan had left enough money for his continued rest and recovery at the inn.

This is an imaginative retelling of a familiar parable we know as “The Good Samaritan.” Jesus teaches that this Samaritan man demonstrates what it means to love his neighbor. For many Christians, it is probably the exemplar that most readily comes to mind when we consider what loving our neighbor looks like. Now in Jesus’ cultural context, this parable laid bare a scandal: the Samaritan and the Jew were neighbors. And suffice it to say that Jesus’ story is meant to suggest that everyone is your neighbor. In a single short narrative, Jesus calls for the tearing down of the boundaries that had been constructed around the commandment to love.

But—to my modern ears—there is something strangely unsatisfying about the conclusion of Jesus’ parable. Without question, the message delivered about the indivisibility of our “neighbor”-hood is as relevant today as it was in 1^st century Israel. However, in a 21^st century democratic society, we ought also show collective concern for the future of the man who was beaten and robbed. Let’s suppose that a week later, the man was well enough to leave the inn and return home. The innkeeper used the last of the Samaritan’s money to furnish the man with new clothes for his journey. Only one question remains: What road will the man take home?

In this moment in our country’s history, our economy can be likened to the road to Jericho in Jesus’ parable. With climbing poverty rates and historic levels of inequality, some of us cruise down the road to Jericho so preoccupied with our own well-being that we do not—or pretend not to—see our neighbor who is lying beside the road. Sure, there are “good Samaritans” on the road. You are probably one of them sometimes. Yet despite our good intentions and sincere efforts, more of our neighbors are in need than ever before. As Dr. King put it, “We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved.”

/ryan/