Christ and Columbine – A story of redemption

Last updated on: September 5, 2009 at 2:28 pm by missionchrist

Christ and Columbine – A story of redemption 2009-09-05T14:28:00-04:00 missionchrist

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The story is as old as time. From Cane and Able, to the Sicarii and the Zelots in Ancient Israel. It’s a story that has been told and retold through the lives of such men as John Brown, Michael Collins, and Che Guevara. On April 20th 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered their high school near Littleton, Colorado and started shooting. The incident left fifteen dead including the shooters.

The Columbine shooting was in a very real sense my baptism into the question of violence. As a high-school student at the time it was the first time I ever really entered into the story and the struggle of those who believe the only voice they have left is through the shedding of blood. I was horrified as I’m sure all of you were with the incident, but it nagged at me like no story had before. I needed to understand why. I had a number of friends at school which by outward appearances looked just like Harris and Klebold (trench coats, metal bands, video games), these were people I felt I understood and could relate to. My proximity to their context brought me to a place where for the first time I was able to look through the eyes of the marginalized aggressor. I began to see how the shooters felt they needed to kill. How there was no other power left to them to persuade or communicate. They truly believed they had no other choice. In their mind the system had failed them and the last option was war on the system. It caused me to question where I stood, with the shooters or with the system. It opened up history to me in a whole new way, and I slowly began to recognize that the narratives that guided my perspective were not always right.

·What should a slave’s response to slavery be?

·How should a poor man respond when every option to feed his family is taken away?

·What happens when the most sacred things to you are appropriated to justify something abhorrent?

·How does a scapegoat find redemption?

Empires are often built on subjugation and a myth of redemptive violence, and power is found in being on the “right” side of the story, which often meant the magnetization of the “wrong” side. Often the only means of communication left between these two sides is through the medium of the sword. At the time of the Columbine attack I was also rediscovering my faith. Jesus was quickly becoming the center of my life and my perspective. As I read the gospels I knew there had to be another way. One in which the dichotomy was broken, a third way. Columbine also helped me frame the incarnation in a new way. God was in the business of making peace and he had called me to work within a new paradigm, that of a peacemaker. God had a new story to combat the old, and I began to see it all around me. Dr. King told it, and so did Maximilian Kolbe. I heard it through Mother Theresa, and Óscar Romero.

Two years after Columbine the old story repeated itself again, this time on a massive scale. On September 11, 2001 a series of coordinated attacks gave voice to another group of marginalized people. It was nothing new, in their original plan Harris and Klebold had plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into a building in New York City too. However for me it was different. Columbine had helped me find how God’s vision for peace. As the world began to respond in violence I knew of another story with a lot mere power. I knew a third way.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 1, 2009

Only Begotten?

Next Post

September 9, 2009 Preaching: invitational preaching

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Bible Books CCC Prayer Christmas Current Events Family Film Free Photo Fridays Humor hunger liturgical calendar liturgy Music Photos pope Prayer Prayerful Leader questions Quotes Review Saints Satire Scripture SYNOD SYNOD FOR THE FAMILY teaching Uncategorized video Weekly Round Up

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 April 2026 February 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 February 2025 January 2025 September 2024 June 2024 May 2024 February 2024 December 2023 August 2023 May 2023 February 2023 November 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 September 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 August 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 October 2008 August 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Jesus say about worrying about tomorrow?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ignore today Plan for every detail Do not worry Worry every day