The news is well known by now of the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. Mr. Chauvin was found guilty on three counts—second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
You don't need pastors to act as pundits. Nor do you need coaching in your response to all that has unfolded since that eventful day a year ago. We'll continue to have those conversations and we can be glad that Pinnacle is a congregation where we can have them. As your pastors, though, we do feel a place to affirm a vision of what the gospel of Christ offers us all at this moment. And we want to do that in our own voices, without a lot of phrases you can easily hear in media. We're happy to use some of those phrases in other venues, but not here. Here we want to write gospel words, in the spirit of the ongoing conversation we are having here at Pinnacle about the "common good."
In response . . . .
From Wes Avram:
George Floyd was a person, not a symbol—though he has become symbolic. Derek Chauvin is a person, not a symbol—though he has also become symbolic. As followers of Christ, we need not relish in guilt. We do not believe that the worst moment of a person's life necessarily defines them. Nor do we believe that punishment is sufficient for justice. We worship a God for whom justice and mercy are inseparable. And we pray for all involved, even as we pray for the nation. But there is nevertheless genuine relief in seeing the criminal justice system work directly, bear public scrutiny, proceed fairly, and lead to a unanimous verdict. The conclusion of the jury was that it is not adequate to describe what the officer did on May 25, 2020 in front of Cup Foods as simply a difficult decision made in a situation of contingency, chance, and events out of his control. It was, in the deliberative decision of the jury, murder. And that clear decision of the court is an overdue relief to Americans for whom policing and the justice system have too often felt hostile and unfair. For we know that the murder of George Floyd is not an isolated tragedy. It is a moment in a too long stream of pain and prejudice, of needless violence, and of harm done to vulnerable people in the name of the very institutions meant to protect.
We may faithfully disagree on how true justice—God's justice—should best be served in response to these events and all they represent, but we may not faithfully ignore the question. Let us follow Christ, who proclaimed freedom. Let us hear sisters and brothers who are asking to be equally cherished, equally served, and equally accepted. And let us be part of God's desire for a beloved, righteous, and faithful community. Let's not let up.
From Terilyn Lawson:
My response will not mollify guilt, assuage fear, nor request recompense for the murder of Floyd. What I want to state briefly, and simply, is, this road that we are on which is paved with the conviction of Derek Chauvin will be arduous. If we are willing to be led by God's Spirit, following the example of Christ, and united as children of God, we will more than conquer any opposition that seeks to dynamite the road.
From Mike Hegeman:
It feels like the whole world is living on pins and needles, for many reasons: a pandemic, global political unrest, potential climate collapse, and rising distrust of our leaders and our informational sources. And here at home, in the US, we seem to have social change that parallels and even exceeds, the social uncertainties of the 1960s. We are all feeling the anxieties of our times. I heard recently at one of our Pinnacle ‘Courageous Conversations’ the phrase: the fatigue of the middle. Those who see themselves standing in between extremes find themselves weary of soul, hoping beyond hope that we are helping to hold the ‘eye of the storm’ or even to calm the storm as Jesus did. I personally can say that it is my personal calling, as a follower of Christ, to be a bridge builder…creating space for folks to meet in the middle, to remember our common humanity and our common good. Yet, in my own weariness, I find my patience fraught and thin. I care for people who hold quite diverse viewpoints from one another. Caring deeply for the “least of these,” as I am called by Christ to do (Matthew 25), I celebrate along with Jesus who tells us of the woman who at long last, through perseverance, receives justice from a corrupt judge. I celebrate genuine justice. Standing in the middle of a Christian congregation, I am called to weep with those who weep, to be joyful with those who are joyful, and to pursue righteousness and justice along with those who pursue the common good. And I am called to pray…to pray that those who hold polarizing views…to come to the table of the Lord, together seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. This is what God longs for us in the midst of our world: be light, enact love, and strive after God’s justice.
