Spiritual Hiccups - Bin Laden, Faith, and Darkness

I'm feeling a bit disoriented today.  When I turned on the eleven o'clock news last night, instead of some local, perky, news anchor, I found a special report on the killing of Osama bin Laden.  When the president finally came on the air and confirmed that bin Laden was in fact dead, it was hard not to say, "YES!!" to give a little fist pump.  But as the news began to show celebrations outside the White House and on the streets of New York City, my feelings became a little more mixed.

The military operation against bin Laden seems necessary to me, even from a Christian perspective.  He was a mass murderer of thousands of Americans and of many more Muslims in the Middle East.  It seems more than justifiable to go after him, to prevent him from killing any more innocent people, here  or anywhere else in the world (though I harbor no illusions that bin Laden's death will end the threat of terrorism).  Yet at the same time I claim to serve a Lord and Master who says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," a Savior who prayed from the cross on which he was brutally killed, "Father forgive them."  And I find it almost inconceivable that this Jesus would dance to celebrate anyone's death.

The fact that operations such as the one against bin Laden are necessary speaks of the brokenness and darkness that are all too much a part of this world.  That this is so seems to me a cause for lament.  And while this sad state of affairs may require that we wield the sword, that we kill, there is a sense in which we are thus drawn into the world's darkness.

I still recall watching a portion of the service at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. just after 9-11.  The pastor warned us that while it might indeed be necessary to address the threat of terrorism, to bring guilty parties to justice, that we needed to be careful "lest we become the evil we deplore."

Although it troubles me at times, I am no pacifist.  As a Christian I am convinced that there are times when violence is justified, when it must be employed for the sake of the innocent.  But this is no joyful task; it is grim business.  And while it may be necessary to use violence against the violent, to inflict pain and death upon those who deal in pain and death, I am not sure that this necessity accomplishes as much as we would hope.  My faith insists that "God is love," and that God's greatest power is the cross.  And it is very difficult to hold onto love and bear the cross while engaging in violence, however necessary.

And so while I find myself heartened by the president's announcement last night, I will not dance.  I will not celebrate that the world's darkness compels us to employ the methods of darkness.  I will continue to trust that the greatest weapon we have, and the one we need to employ much more often, is love.

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