Jesus wept. John 11:35.
Jesus looked down upon a country that claims to be one nation under God and he saw; at Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colo., on April 20,1999, 13 were killed. At the Living Church of God in Brookfield, Wis. seven were shot and killed on March 12, 2005. On March 31,2005, nine were killed at the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. In Goleta, Calif. on Jan. 30, 2006 a woman shot and killed seven before taking her life, as have almost all mass shooters. At Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. on April 6, 2007, 32 were killed in one of the worst mass shootings in our history. On Feb. 14, 2008, five were killed and 21 wounded at Northern Illinois University.
On April 3, 2009, 13 were killed in Binghamton, New York. At Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009, 13 were killed and 21 wounded. On Nov. 3, 2010, four police officers were shot and killed at a coffee shop in Lakewood, Wash. Since then, there have been other mass shootings of police officers. On Jan. 8, 2011 at a political meeting in Tucson, Ariz. six were killed and 14 wounded, one of whom was a member of Congress, Gabrielle Giffords. In Aurora, Colo., 12 were gunned downed on July 20, 2012. Also during 2012, on Dec. 14, tragically, 20 small children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school, in Newton, Conn.
More recently, on June 17, 2015, nine were killed at the Emanuel Africa Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. On Oct. 1, 2015, 10 were killed at the Umpqua Community College, in Oregon. Fourteen were murdered on Dec. 4, 2015, in San Bernardino, Calif. at the Inland Regional Center by a husband and wife team. In the most horrible mass shooting ever, on Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, 58 were shot dead and 851 injured, when a gunman opened fire from his hotel room on a crowd attending a concert. A month later on Nov. 5, 2017, 26 were killed and 20 wounded when a lone gunman opened fire in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. On Feb. 15, 2018, 17 were killed and 17 wounded at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., sparking nationwide protest led by students from Parkland. On May 18, 2018 at Santa Fe High School, near Galveston Texas, 10 died and 10 were wounded when shot by a 17-year-old student.
This is only a partial list of mass killings during the past 18 years.
Today, more children are being killed in our schools than are killed in both the wars we are fighting. Every day young people are shot and killed by gang members on the streets of Chicago, Little Rock, Los Angeles and other large cities. In 2016, 762 perished from gun violence in Chicago.
And Jesus looked down upon all these killings and wept, as we all should.
Jesus looked down and saw that many of these killings could have been prevented if politicians would have put the lives of these victims and their families above the campaign contributions from gun makers and the National Rifle Association, an organization which opposes even the most reasonable gun laws which would help keep guns out of the hands of mass murderers.
And he saw that many who say they are Christ-like and call themselves Christians value guns more than the lives of schoolchildren.
And Jesus wept, as we all should. Jesus looked down and saw babies being torn from their mothers’ arms and taken away and placed in foster care or government custody, without rhyme or reason. Fifteen-hundred children have been lost, after being picked up by the government. He saw the president of this nation, under God, order more and more babies to be separated from their parents simply to discourage those who might seek asylum after leaving countries where they and their children were in grave peril. And Jesus wept, as we all should.
Jesus looked down upon this same nation, which claims to be the land of the free, and saw men, women, and children of color were not free from being victimized by racial bigotry. He saw that black men were routinely beaten by law enforcement officers for no reason. He saw a president who feels the flag is more important than that for which it stands and that standing for the national anthem at a football game is more important than kneeling in protest of police brutality. And Jesus wept.
Yes, Jesus wept, and so must we all.
Glen McAdoo, a Fallon resident can be contacted at glynn@phonewav.net.
