Thoughts and Prayers

stuartkurtz

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Sunday May 07, 2023 · 10:16 AM PDT

2023/05/07 · 10:16

Another day, another mass shooting. This post isn’t about yesterday’s specific shooting, nor even in the ever-present hypocrisy of the phrase, “thoughts and prayers,” as it is so often used by apologists for the gun industry at times like this.

This morning, for some reason, my thoughts turned to Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” And so my thoughts turned, both to the victims of gun violence, and to those who enable or profit from it. And I prayed for those who enable or profit from gun violence, that God might soften their hearts.

This is a hard prayer to pray. But in the end, this is the miracle we need.

Of course, thoughts and prayers of themselves are never enough. Not when our enemies and those who persecute us pray them, not when we pray them. We need to continue to act to make this world a fit place for humanity, a place worthy of being called ”God’s creation,” whether we believe in God or not.

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