This past week the media has watched, and in turn the world, as a lone gunman entered the quiet simple life of the Amish of Nickle, Pennsylvania and ripped 5 of their young girls from them through murder. He took the girls hostage in the one room school house in rural Pennsylvania and as police swarmed the area, he shot them and then himself.
The Amish people are a simple people, living out what they believe is God’s call to them. Little changes from one generation to the next in their world, modern technology and conveniences are shunned by them, farming is carried out in traditional ways and the community is close knit.
The gunman didn’t have a particular hate for the Amish, their children were just vulnerable enough that he could get to them easily and they were close by. He was one of a cluster of suicidal males intent on taking others with themselves which have struck in Canada and the US in recent weeks.
Beyond the horror of such a brutal assault upon this community what is truly extraordinary about this whole story is the community itself.
They have not responded with rage or recriminations. They have responded with stoic acceptance of what has happened, circled the families of the victims and started to move forward. They’ve reached out to the family of the shooter, expressing the need for forgiveness, asking the spouse to attend the funeral of at least one of the victims, expressed the desire for the family to remain in the area that they might also be supported at this time and appealed for some of the financial support being offered to their own families to offset medical costs be directed towards the family of the shooter.
As a practicing Christian it leaves me watching in awe. In awe of their demonstration of faith in practice. Their faithful response and demonstration of the call of the scriptures. I don’t know that I would be able to respond to such horror with the faith and humility of these simple people.
Maybe the difference would be that their culture demands the response they have given and for them this is a test of their faith and the strength of their community. In similar circumstances, even if I found the strength to reach out as these people have done, I’m not sure I would be able to do that with the support of my family or community as we are so quick to cry for revenge and retribution that we don’t stop to give the measured faithful response of this Amish community.
Faith in action, maybe we as a society could benefit by truly embracing the example.
