Events such as the assassination of President Kennedy. Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon, and most recently the Columbine High School massacre, in Littleton, Colorado.

The later has shocked, grieved and impacted the nation. It has been the lead story on every morning and evening news show. 20/20, Sixty Minutes and Nightline have devoted hour after hour, reporting the story. Wednesday night, the confirmation class wanted to talk about it. They shared their feeling and thoughts. They expressed concern. They raised the question, could this sort of thing happen right here?

Well think about it. There are computers in Milltown hooked up to the Internet, where the students can learn how to make bombs. There are guns in Milltown. There are students who hate classmates or teachers. If we thought we were safe, on Thursday, a Spotswood HS student threatened to avenge his failing grade. Could it happen here? Yes, most definitely.

What happened in the lives of these two boys that lead them to plan and carry out such a violent act?

Certainly this isn’t what their parents had hoped for their children, to plot the massacre of fellow students and teachers. Certainly they must have had similar hopes and dreams, as Joe and Christine have for Joseph, whom they had baptized this morning. The parents of the two boys didn’t raise them to kill, so what happened?

What disturbs me is the question which has been spoken, perhaps just as often, as Why?, is WHERE WERE THE PARENTS? I am bothered by this question, not because I wish to absolve them of any responsibility. I just don’t believe that they should be the scapegoats.

Let us not pass the buck. Society cannot wash its hands of this massacre, like Pontius Pilate attempted to wash his hands of Jesus’ death. Every individual that makes up the society, must accept responsibility for what has happened. If we accept the theory, It takes a village to raise a child, then why is it just the parents fault when a child goes bad?

Where was the church? Where were the educators? Where were the neighbors? What have we done to take steps for preventing this from taking place in Milltown or what town you call home?

We have for all extensive purposes done nothing to stop the trend of increased violence. What we have done is simply taken steps to protect ourselves from that violence. Installing metal detectors in our schools, beefing up security, installing security cameras. Well, let me tell you that will not make our schools safer.

My wife, Diane had worked in a High School in the East New York section of Brooklyn where metal detectors were installed, where security guards roamed the school. And still a teacher was shot in the stair wells.

We have, for too long, accepted violence in our homes, in our schools, in our police forces, in our society, in our world. We see the violence and ask, "What’s the world coming to?" Yet what have we done to stop it?

Have you sent a letter to your elected officials demanding that they support stricter gun controls?

Have you ever monitored what music your child listens to?

What movies your child watches?

What web sites they are into?

If we as a society are disgusted by the rise of violence in society, then we must address the causes of it.

We must put a stop to glamorizing violence. Movies like, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, are supposed to be horror movies, yet they show teens killing teens for the fun of it. There are songs, glorifying violence, advocating the killing of other human beings. Do you honestly think these movies and songs don’t have an influence on our children?

For one of my psychology courses in college, we studied the behavior of children after they had watched 30 minutes of cartoons. Half the class watched cartoons like Mickey Mouse. The other half watched The Road Runner, Woody Woodpecker and similar comics which showed violence. What we found is the children who watched The Runner and Woody Woodpecker, were much more physical in their play time than the other children. Did these children intentionally decide to be more physical? NO, but our study concluded that their behavior was influenced by what they saw and heard. We must stop fooling ourselves. What our children see and hear does impact and affect their actions.

Violence is not new to society. It started when Cain, motivated by jealousy killed his brother Abel. Since then it has not gotten any better. It apparently was a problem in Jesus day. Why else would he have said,

"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strike you on the right cheek, turn the other also."

The purpose for the ‘eye for eye, tooth for a tooth’ law was to administer mercy. It’s intent was to "make the punishment fit the crime. These laws were given to limit vengeance and help the court administer punishment so that it was neither too strict or too lenient.

Unfortunately, even back in Jesus day, people were using this phrase, ‘eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth’ as a guide for personal revenge. They used this verse to justify one’s vendetta against another. This is a gross misinterpretation of God’s Word. We have to stop excusing our acts of revenge by saying, "I was just doing to him what he did to me."

When we are wronged, our desire according to Jesus, should not be to keep score, but to love and forgive. Yet, this is not natural, because our first reaction is to get even, but that does not make it correct.

What Jesus is asking is supernatural. Only God can give us the strength to love as He does. Only God can give us the ability to pray for those who hurt you.

What Jesus proposes is a radical response to injustice. However, if you want this world to be a better place, then turn to God as a necessary first step. It is time for us to return to the basics. To not just love God, but to love the truth of His Word AND to live God’s LOVE and WORD in your living.

"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also."

This is the way, to a life,
a community, a world of
non-violence.

AMEN

Reverend Richard Hayes Weyer

Our thanks to the CCM MIDI MeGa SiTe by NSO for the Hymn
"I've Got Peace Like a River