Just as many of us were coming to grips with the tragic death of eight people in New York City last week, a mass shooting took place at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday. This is layered on top of the 58 people killed and the 489 wounded last month in Las Vegas.
It brings to my mind the words of the Marvin Gaye song “What’s Going On.” Marvin Gaye sings, “There’s too many of you crying … There’s far too many of you dying.” When he wrote that song, it was a protest against the war in Vietnam. Today, it’s a more about a war against ourselves that’s manifesting through easy access to automatic weapons.
One prominent national politician was criticized for suggesting that the right thing to do in such moments is to pray. No doubt that is where one begins, so we are grounded in the consciousness of the Divine. Yet, as scripture reminds us, “Faith without works is dead.” So there must be action that comes out of prayer and aligns with God consciousness.
An action that I believe is not in tune with God consciousness is to make more guns available to more people and claim this will somehow serve as a deterrent to would-be mass shooters. This idea was suggested by one American leader (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty). All that suggestion does is add to the energy field in which the likelihood of more such tragedies will happen.
While America makes up approximately 4.4 percent of the world population, it has 42 percent of the civilian-owned guns on the planet. It is not unreasonable to conclude that there is a relationship between the number of guns in general (and automatic weapons in particular) and the frequency of the occurrence of mass shootings.
Activating God consciousness through prayer is the starting point. We not only send prayer support to the friends and family members of the 26 people who died while praying and worshiping to a God of their understanding in Sutherland Springs last Sunday. We also pray and ask ourselves what might we do to co-create, with the rest of our fellow human/spiritual beings, a field of love so great and so powerful that it is not so easy for hatred to pull people away.
A Course in Miracles, a self-study curriculum that assists its readers in spiritual transformation, notes that there are two basic emotions out of which all others flow. They are love and fear.
During my talk last Sunday, I mentioned that when you see babies being pushed in their strollers by their parents or caregivers, we don’t look at them and say, “This baby is born to hate and destined to kill.” That is not our true identity as children of Divine Love. Somewhere along the way, hate was able to get to that man in Texas because love did not get to him first.
No doubt there is a need to take action to create sensible gun control. There is a need to give more attention to mental health issues. But nothing is more powerful than Divine Love. As Marvin Gaye notes, “You know we’ve got to find a way, to bring some lovin’ here today.”
A few weeks ago, I shared a prayer for Las Vegas. In light of the deaths of those in that church in Texas, it bears repeating:
Divine Spirit,
Our hearts are broken as we come to grips with the catastrophe that took place in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The human mind cannot fathom the level of human darkness that may have led up to this or the depth of anguish of those who have lost loved ones. May those who have unexpectedly died find peace in the next dimension. We affirm that those who mourn for their loved ones feel the soothing balm of the Holy Comforter and that our words and actions be guided by the power, the presence and love of pure Spirit. We are open to be guided to do our part to co-create a world where such events no longer take place. And so it is.
Peace and Blessings,
James