The Brutality Of The Gun!
Today was a very sad day....
I lost a friend to a gun; a brutal, devastating shot to the head, and then another 7 bullets corroded my friend's body. In the early afternoon and in the midst of the Wilson Avenue crowd, these shots rang out in the Uptown sky, murdering an unarmed friend. Walter was his name, and for some mysterious reason, these men decided to walk up to him and take this young man's life.
As a few stories rippled around the neighborhood, as people were trying to make sense of this senseless act, many of us mourned his tragic end. Walter wasn't out there, gang-banging, drugging, drinking, starting fights and causing trouble; instead he was out there, struggling and fighting to overcome and succeed. He was a decent young man, who had just conquered homelessness; he had finally got a home to call his own and had a baby on the way.
Sadly, he'd achieved his dream, only for it to be shattered by the brutality of the gun!
Who knows if the killers will be found. It's a sad reality in the US, that when a poor black man is murdered, too many cases remain unsolved. As justice fails the poor once again, all I can do is pray that the streets will be filled with peace and not revenge. All I can do is pray for his friends and family who are swamped with anger and hatred, that they'll move toward peace and reconciliation. My prayer is the cycle of violence will cease!
Despite the ugliness, there is hope, and it comes from the Lord. When Jesus died on the Cross, and then rose from the grave, he gave us an unusual Hope. The Resurrection made wrong things right and reversed the unjust order of this world. He gave us hope that Walter's blood will cry from the grave, causing Jesus to weep, and bring about eternal justice. I don't know how this all works, but the Bible preaches that God sees all and will bring about perfect justice, and this promise gives us nothing but remarkable hope and irrefutable joy.
Cornerstone is a bizarre place to work, and today was no different. As we tried to deal with and mourn over this tragic killing, life continued at it's rapid pace with all it's twists and turns. It's a place of many highs and lows, and today was no different. Remarkably, I was able to celebrate Jeff and Anthony signing their leases and getting their keys, Don finally being approved for SSI and another couple of people qualifying for housing. Despite the difficulty of trying to process these emotional highs and lows, these successes bought much light to such a horrifying tragedy.
Wow! What a day!
Walter RIP. I can't wait to see you again; standing tall in your resurrected body.
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| Image attributed to this Chicago Now article |
Sadly, he'd achieved his dream, only for it to be shattered by the brutality of the gun!
Who knows if the killers will be found. It's a sad reality in the US, that when a poor black man is murdered, too many cases remain unsolved. As justice fails the poor once again, all I can do is pray that the streets will be filled with peace and not revenge. All I can do is pray for his friends and family who are swamped with anger and hatred, that they'll move toward peace and reconciliation. My prayer is the cycle of violence will cease!
Despite the ugliness, there is hope, and it comes from the Lord. When Jesus died on the Cross, and then rose from the grave, he gave us an unusual Hope. The Resurrection made wrong things right and reversed the unjust order of this world. He gave us hope that Walter's blood will cry from the grave, causing Jesus to weep, and bring about eternal justice. I don't know how this all works, but the Bible preaches that God sees all and will bring about perfect justice, and this promise gives us nothing but remarkable hope and irrefutable joy.
Cornerstone is a bizarre place to work, and today was no different. As we tried to deal with and mourn over this tragic killing, life continued at it's rapid pace with all it's twists and turns. It's a place of many highs and lows, and today was no different. Remarkably, I was able to celebrate Jeff and Anthony signing their leases and getting their keys, Don finally being approved for SSI and another couple of people qualifying for housing. Despite the difficulty of trying to process these emotional highs and lows, these successes bought much light to such a horrifying tragedy.
Wow! What a day!
Walter RIP. I can't wait to see you again; standing tall in your resurrected body.
Comments
That is the reason I chose the title I did; if the circumstances were different, and let's say a hammer was used, I probably would have called it "the brutality of the hammer"