Do you recite the Lord’s Prayer mouthing “thy Kingdom come” without thinking about what it might look like if it were here?  I’ve been contemplating it lately especially after seeing crowds cheering the death of Osama bin Laden.  Would they consider their actions part of God’s will:  that He would want his children to celebrate vengeance and violence?

             I am not the first to argue that violence creates more violence and hate breeds hate; but I am wondering how America which proclaims itself to be a primarily Christian nation can stand and cheer the violent death of an unarmed human being.  There was rejoicing in the streets at the same time it was understood that bin Laden’s death would undoubtedly result in more terrorist attacks around the globe. 

             It is one thing to stand up for freedom.  Defending yourself in a life-threatening situation or killing to eat in order to survive are inherently accepted survival methods.  But when will we as a culture move beyond the “eye for an eye” theology of the Old Testament and into the “turn the other cheek” ideals of the New?  From where I’m standing, the Kingdom looks like a place where people try to understand one another and work toward a goal of mutual respect.  So when the towers fell, why didn’t we as a nation ask ourselves what we’d done to initiate such contempt?  Why wasn’t our rage directed toward the apparent incompetence of appointed officials who ignored the warning signs of an attack?  And most importantly why haven’t we as a Christian nation stood up to violence and met it with love and compassion as our teacher instructed us?  Instead many have turned to hating Muslims – in many cases proclaiming theirs to be a violent religion; at the same time turning a blind eye to acts of aggression by American's who call themselves Christian.  This isn’t what my Kingdom looks like.  In it there is forgiveness, understanding and peace and no one celebrates the violent death of another.