This week's news 

This week it is impossible to avoid the shootings  at the Westgate Shopping Mall  in Nairobi. We are stunned by the event and puzzed by the bizarre behaviour of some of the attackers. 

This is an opportunity to look at feelings provoked by this in the context of the Scripture. 

What sort of feelings does the massacre at the Westgate Mall provoke? 

There will be huge compassion for the victims and their families and all those caught up in events. Maybe for some there will also be compassion for the gunmen

There will be shock – it appears beyond comprehension that any group of humans can treat another in this way; and fear– is this the beginning of a new terror campaign?

There is powerlessness. The victims of the attack were vulnerable, and as we watch the events unfold, we, too, feel powerless. There is a desire to do something but it feels as if there is nothing that anyone can do.

And there is anger. Underlying all sorts of feelings towards the gunmen is a feeling of anger, which cannot, and should not, be denied.

Reflection

How do these emotions relate to this week’s Luke passage?

At the beginning of the passage there is compassion for Lazarus. He is poor; hungry and disabled, and no-one seems to care for him. It is possible that by the end of the passage we feel compassion for the rich man. He is in agony and that agony will be eternal.

The whole passage can shock, as it gives us a reminder of the suffering that some have to endure.

It may be that the plight of the rich man shocks people into action or that fear will provoke them to respond more actively to the plight of the poor on their own doorstep.

Lazarus is powerless, but in time he receives his reward. There is an initial feeling of powerlessness about the rich man who is faced with eternal suffering but in fact he has not been powerless. He has refused to listen and respond to the means offered to him (through Moses and the prophets). In a sense he has disempowered himself.

Through Jesus’ use of story to provoke reaction, he affirms the presence of emotions such as anger within the human emotional spectrum and thereby encourages us to channel them into positive outcomes.

As we read the Bible passage or reflect on the events in Nairobi, which emotions help us to channel our feelings in a positive way?

In the parable Jesus is encouraging his listeners to see and respond to the needs of those around them.

Similarly with the Nairobi events we can respond to the events not simply through prayer but also by reflecting on areas where we know of conflict – political, religious or any other other – and by seeking ways to promote peaceful co-existence.

Prayer

In order to allow people time to process their thoughts and feelings you could stand in silence for a minute, in solidarity with those directly affected and bringing the whole situation and those affected by it. Conclude with these prayers:

To the families who have lost loved ones:
grant healing and peace.

To those who have been injured:
grant healing and peace.

To those traumatised by what they have witnessed:
grant healing and peace.

To those who are fearful of the future:
grant healing and peace.

To those divided by race, politics or religion:
grant healing and peace.

Dear Lord, we pray:
Amen.

Questions

• What does the action of the gunmen in giving the children chocolate bars say of mercy?
• Who are the equivalent of Lazarus in our own time and place?

Action

Try and offer prayer each day for people of other faiths. If you know someone of a different faith, pray for them. If not, pray for ‘people who are Muslim, Hindu’, etc. Each day, try and find out a little more about a particular faith.

Young People

Simply ask the young people what they think about events and give them an opportunity to express how they feel. Help them to see that there are no easy answers but encourage an attitude of tolerance.

Stuart Wild is Superintendent Minister of the Manchester Methodist Circuit.

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