“So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.” 1 Corinthians 8:11-13

School Shooting Number 15:

Two teens have been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of an Oxon Hill High School student Monday afternoon. Prince George’s County police said 17-year-old Zanaya Bryant and 18-year-old Anthony Hollingsworth, both of Clinton, Maryland, are being charged as adults in the shooting. The victim is a 17-year-old 11th-grade student at the school. The student was shot twice in the chest about 5:15 p.m. Monday after getting inside an SUV with Bryant and Hollingsworth in a parking lot on the periphery of the Oxon Hill High campus, police said. Police said Bryant and the student who was shot were acquaintances and that the motive may have been robbery. Earlier, police had said the shooting came after an altercation involving the students. The student who was shot exited the SUV and ran back into nearby Oxon Hill High where staff members called 911, police said. The student was taken to the hospital and was initially listed in critical condition. His condition improved to stable, and police said Tuesday afternoon he had been released from the hospital.”  (Two Teens Charged With Attempted Murderin Shooting of Oxen Hill High Student, by Jack Moore, Feb. 6, 2018, wtop.com)

For anyone to say that this is a “School Shooting”, well, I hope they realize that including this in their list challenges their integrity. Of course, let me ask you, does the definition of a “school shooting” have to include just shootings that happen in a school building during school hours?

Let’s talk about something I would like to call “Integrity Theology” – the thinking that one is morally or intellectually better than others based upon their knowledge and facts. There are plenty of people you know that if you challenge them to think or consider something from a different point of view, just the fact that you ask them challenges their integrity. The sinful nature of “Integrity Theology” can invade our Lenten disciplines: the thinking in Lent that “Because I’m free in Christ, justified by faith, I don’t need to maintain my Lenten discipline – after all, my faith and integrity is better than those weaker believers.” Integrity theology – or maybe call it “I’m holier than you” theology – or “my views are more correct than your views” theology. This is, perhaps, why we cannot get along with each other in this world – because we are unwilling to consider anyone else’s point of view. Only my views are right, correct, valid, and knowledgeable. And to consider your point of view will threaten my integrity.

So, maybe this is why we need Lent – among other reasons for Lent. It should be humbling and some relief that we do not need to pretend we are more mature in our faith than others. It’s an opportunity to entertain the notion that maybe we are weaker than we thought, that we stumble more readily than we would like to admit, or that maybe we do not know as much as we pretend to know. There is freedom in saying, “I need help. I am not where I want to be. I want you to tell me your point of view so I can discern more how we can move forward.”

I hope we feel free enough to get in touch with our own weakness and lack of knowledge this Lent and, in so doing, grow in compassion for those around us, who are struggling along just like we are.

Pastor Dave