A Fight Over Crosswalks
This past week there has been a fight about crosswalks at the site of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of our state, Pulse night club. If you haven’t heard about it, please click here to read a local news article. It is unfortunate that there is discord around the painted memorial cross walks and it makes me wonder, how we remember?
Many people choose to frame this as a political fight. I’d invite us to think theologically and listen to the stories of people who were personally affected by this tragedy. Did you know there are two families in our church who lost someone they love in that tragic night of June 12, 2016 when 49 people were killed and 53 others injured.
Juan P. Rivera Velázquez was a cousin of a member of our church. He went out to celebrate a birthday with five friends and was tragically killed. I asked his family member how they felt about what was happening at the Pulse memorial this week. She said, “to hear about painting over the sidewalk, it felt demeaning. Knowing that my cousin went back in to help save others and lost his life… I don’t approve the removal of the colors because those colors represent the people who died.”
Another member of our church family lost her best friend from high school, Christopher Andrew Leinonen. He was a caring and considerate soul, always guided by the spirit of helping others. In his final moments, he remained true to that spirit, putting the safety of others above his own. When I asked her how she felt about what is happening now she said, “painting over the cross walk felt like taking down a family photo. It felt like leaders were saying, ‘you all should be over this by now.’’ To some people it is just a cross walk but to those who have lost someone they love it is a memorial to heroes and to the memory of all whose lives were tragically cut short.
As Christ followers we know that violence is not the way of Jesus. When Simon Peter took a sword to strike Malchus, defending Jesus from arrest, Jesus healed the man and firmly told his disciple to stop (Luke 22:50-51). We as Christ followers lament violence and pray that we will never experience evil of violence like Pulse again in our community.
The gospels portray a clear picture, Jesus is against violence. He absorbed violence on the cross allowing himself to be killed while never striking back. His resurrection was a victory over sin, death, and violence in all its forms. If we know God opposes violence, then we are left to wrestle with the thorny question, how do we stop violence? How do we work together to ensure violence never tragically visits our community again? Especially violence that is motivated by hate for specific groups of people.
The word remember is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible. This repeated command implicitly acknowledges that we are often a forgetful people. The people of God have built monuments, enacted rituals, told stories, and written the Bible down to help remember. This memory includes joyful times like entering into the promised land and the painful times like slavery in Egypt. Remembering the whole story is at least part of the solution, equipping us to have the wisdom to do better in the future. It reminds me of the old saying, “those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.”
I’m not sure how best to remember the 49 people who died at Pulse. I’m not sure how to best hear and honor the pain of people who have been historically marginalized but I do believe whole heartedly we need to find ways to remember and tell their stories so we can work together to build a community that will replace violence with love by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I’d like to hear from you and open up the conversation if you agree or disagree, I’d like to know why, please email me at PastorMike@SpringChurch.org to talk further. I’m so grateful to be a part of a church that is willing to engage in difficult conversations as we try our best to faithfully follow Jesus.
