Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted a compilation of recent calls interns received while working in his office. Please keep in mind that typically these interns are idealistic high school or college students who are attempting to learn about the legislative process of their nation.
The recordings were shocking. The language used is in these calls is reflective of someone with an extremely limited vocabulary. This is disturbing because I can’t imagine anyone would be happy to think of their teen or young adult children or grandchildren being exposed to such vulgarity.
And it wasn’t just the vulgarity. These are not just threats against Rep. Kinzinger (which would certainly be bad enough), but also against his wife, his children, and his mother. Some wish him and his family to be dead. One stated they hoped he died of cancer. What I found most shocking, and offensive was someone leaving a message praying to God to curse and harm him.
Shortly after I happened on this information, one of my fellow students at Wesley reminded me of this Anne Lamott quote: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
I write this not because I think anyone who is reading this would leave such a threat for anyone. It really doesn’t matter or at least it shouldn’t matter what your political views may be. I write it because I think in the environment of hate which seems to surround us, with shootings like the one in Chicago leaving a 2-year-old wandering the street bloody and crying, because both of his parents have just been murdered, with such political division and so little communication, it is hard to keep our focus where it belongs sometimes.
We can become angry. We can begin to hate. It becomes easier and easier to change the dynamic from us trying to live more like Jesus, to rationalizing that Jesus would hate the same way I do.
When Jesus is in the Garden in Gethsemane, he asks Peter, James, and John to keep watch with him. They were tired and they slept. He tells them, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26:41 NIV)
Jesus asks us to keep watch, to shine the light of his love into the world. Let us not be tempted to fall asleep in the darkness of the hatred that is going on in the world around us but rather heed the words of our Lord and Savior to watch and pray. Let us watch that we seek to follow the Lord, not the world; to be filled with love, not hate. May it be so.
Peace and Love,
Pastor Peggy