This is what I told my church this morning:

You all know that yesterday there was an assassination attempt on a former President of the United States. This is a tragedy for our country, both for the loss of life of an innocent spectator in the crowd, but also for the turmoil it both stems from and creates in our culture.

There is no place for violence like this in American society. It serves no purpose and does no good. It’s evil. Violence of any kind is evil, and this prominent display of it simply spreads fear and anger in a culture desperately in need of peace.

I began this year with a preaching series about living a life of dedication to Jesus and talked about how important it was for us to live a life of faith. I said several times that I anticipated that this would be a hard year, particularly given the political climate. I then began a teaching series about the Sermon on the Mount, the ethical teachings of Jesus. This wasn’t just an idle curiosity; I anticipated that this year we would need to be reminded of the kind of lives that followers of Jesus are called to.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that not only is it the Law of God that we should not murder, but we should not even hold onto anger towards someone, not even call them a fool. He told us that the old law was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but his teaching was that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other as well. If someone sues you for your coat, give them your shirt. If someone forces you to walk one mile, walk two with them (Mt. 5). He concludes his ethical teachings by saying, “Do to others what you would have them do to you, this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 7).

Followers of Jesus are bound by duty to do what Jesus says.

When others respond with hatred, we respond with love.

When others try to stir up anger and anxiety, we preach peace.

When others respond with blame, we respond with grace.

We debate because truth matters, but we don’t demonize. It would be wrong for followers of Jesus at this moment in our society to stoke the flames of anger and revenge. This is a time to agree that we would all be better if we sorted through our disagreements and differences in worldviews with a fundamental commitment to the fact that God made us all, God loves us all, and God seeks to redeem us all.

We are united in our humanity; let’s unite in a commitment to peace. Amen.

Jim Miller, Real Life Church of LA