We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

Philando Castile

Grieving

I woke this morning to the news of the shooting death of Philando Castile by a police officer just a few miles from my home. He was pulled over because he had a broken tail light and he ended up shot to death. This comes on the heels of the Alton Sterling shooting which is just the latest in a seemingly endless list of black lives senselessly lost at the hands of officers who are pledged to protect them.

This is personal for me. I have four black grandchildren who are so precious to me, and I’m frankly afraid for them. I see their faces in everyone one of these innocent victims. And I’m enraged. I have not stopped shaking since watching the horrific video of Philando bleeding to death next to his girlfriend two hours ago.

Most of all, I’m grieving. I grieve for all who knew and loved Philando as well as for all who loved the untold number of black people shot by police. I grieve for the black community who are forced to live in a different and much less safe America than I and most other white people live in. And I grieve for those white people who are unaware of the privilege their whiteness affords them and who thus deny, once again, the systemic racism that afflicts far too many police forces in America.

Lord, forgive us for the ways we have done violence to people who bear your image, who are your children, and who possess unsurpassable worth. Bring comfort to all who are grieving. Bring healing and repentance. Bring justice. And gives us the wisdom to know “what would bring peace” (Lk 19:42) in this moment.

Image via kare11.com

Related Reading

Podcast: Is Accepting Evolution with All It’s Violence Compatible with Believing in a Loving Creator?

Greg considers the violence inherent in evolution (and in nature itself) in light of our belief in an all-loving creator. http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0169.mp3

Listening Again to MLK

When we think of Martin Luther King, we very frequently (with good reason) remember his I Have a Dream speech. But today, we want to remember a letter he wrote while jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, that seems sadly current. Let’s listen again today, and honestly examine what MLK has to say to us in 2015. Here…

Lighten Up: Experience Informs

If you don’t think the world is filled with injustice, it might be because you’re at the top of the food chain.  

Grieving with the God who Pulled the Trigger?

Lawrence Krauss recently wrote a thought-provoking, soul-searching essay for CNN Opinion entitled, “Why must a nation grieve with God?” Krauss was disturbed by a comment made by President Obama at a memorial service for the victims of the tragedy at Newtown CT.  Commenting on Jesus’ statement to “Let the little children come to me,” Obama opined:…

When Should a Church Involve Government Authorities? (podcast)

Greg talks about what to do with congregants who are engaging in illegal activity. Also, attention is given to the question of guns in church. Episode 578 http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0578.mp3

Sandy Hook: Evil Did Not Win

The story of one little girl who was killed at Sandy Hook and what became of the family in the aftermath. We live in a world where school shootings are almost becoming commonplace. It’s important to be reminded that even this depth of evil can be overcome with goodness and hope. In memory of all…