On Martyrs
Acts 7:55-60
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout, all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he said this, he died
On Monday a 30-year-old man was killed in the NYC subway by a civilian who said he was acting out. Last June, a man walked into a reception at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and killed two people, injuring another one. In between those two shootings, there has been something like a mass shooting a day, often more. We have quite literally lost count. Our reading from Acts tells the story of Stephen, the first Deacon of the church and the first martyr as well. We don’t often, or always, think of modern-day martyrs, but victims of violence in this country, particularly senseless gun violence for no reason at all, perhaps should be on that list.
Why? Not just because their deaths are senseless though they are. And not just because they are killed for no reason, although that is usually true as well.
Victims of violence are martyrs because they are being sacrificed on an iron cross. They die because America has collectively decided we value the right to own a gun more than the right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. Gun worship is idol worship. It is putting a false God on a pedestal and saying this is where I put my trust! And for that reason, these martyrs need to die.
I am not a likely gun control advocate. I grew up knowing how to shoot. My father owned guns and made sure we knew our way around a firearm “in case the space aliens ever come” he would say. I have no specific animosity towards them and have enjoyed the challenge of target practice and the adrenaline rush of the moment.
But none of that is worth indiscriminate death. None of that is worth thousands of martyrs a year sacrificed on the altar of gun violence.
As Christians, our faith compels us to celebrate abundant life in all its forms. To ensure that all people as best we can have equal ability to live happy, fulfilling, joyful lives. We are realists of course. We know not every day is our best day, and none of us want to be accountable to God for how we behaved on our worst days. But we can limit the impact of those bad days.
If we can’t stop neighbors, friends, family members and co-workers from killing each other because they had a bad day, perhaps we should take away the one common denominator in all these deaths. Guns.