The stories of the incredible massacre in Charleston have only one teaching for me. At the bond hearing for the accused, Dylann Roof, the relatives of those killed displayed the essence of their religious faith. To a person, those who spoke offered forgiveness, compassion, and mercy for the accused (and apparently confessed) perpetrator.
Here are the ones I've found:
Felecia Sanders...survived the attack, [but] her son, Tywanza, died. “You have killed some of the most beautifulest people that I know. Every fiber in my body hurts … and I'll never be the same. Tywanza Sanders was my son, ... Tywanza was my hero,” she said. “May God have mercy on you.”
Anthony Thompson, whose grandmother Myra Thompson died, said to Roof,
“I forgive you, my family forgives you. … We would like you to take this opportunity to repent. Do that and you'll be better off than you are right now.”
The Roof family also expressed:
“deepest sympathies and condolences” to the families of the victims. “Words cannot express our shock, grief, and disbelief as to what happened that night. We are devastated and saddened by what occurred,” they said, asking for privacy.
Perhaps the most profound though, at least to me, is:
“I will never talk to her ever again. I will never hold her ever again,” said one sobbing woman who identified herself as the daughter of Ethel Lance. “You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. But God forgive you. I forgive you..........”
In the several religions I have studied either extensively or superficially, I have found that the highest quality, the most revered value in all of them is compassion.
I would say that these people are living their faith, and our entire society needs to learn from that.
Quotes taken from LATimes.