The School Bus

Exodus 19:2-8a, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

Lectionary 11, Year A

Violence is a Problem

I like to walk. It’s peaceful. Maybe it owes to the fact that I had to walk a mile down a dirt road uphill both ways to get to the school bus stop. In the winter when the nights were long it was still dark when the bus picked us up. The amber lights of the school bus glowed warm. We didn’t live within the city limits of Sedona, we lived in an unincorporated area of Yavapai County. The bus stopped in two places: Upper and Lower Red Rock loop road. I walked to the Upper Loop Road bus stop: one mile of dirt road uphill both ways. The bus stop could be a rough place. It drew a diverse crowd of anglos, latinos, rich, middle class, and poor. Some kids lived in houses, others lived in mobile homes. I don’t mean double wide modulars with neighborhood associations. These were trailers parked on the dirt with weeds growing around.  We all knew each other or knew of each other. Siblings, cousins, family feuds, Spanish speaking, english speaking, we all knew each other. Truth be told, there wasn’t that many of us. Most of the people who lived on the loop road and Chavez ranch road were older. Retired people from Phoenix, New York, and Los Angeles who wanted to live peacefully under the shadow of Red Rocks. Kids were not the focus, we all were the minority. 

So it was a big deal when a new kid moved onto the Loop Road. Everyone paid attention. Heads turned on the bus when they walked on. Who would become their friend? Where did they live, was it a house, a shack, or a trailer? It must have been 6th grade, I was eleven at the time, when a new kid rode the bus for the first time. I jumped at the opportunity to make a new friend. I sat by the new kid. We hit it off! Laughing and joking around, I thought maybe I could have a new friend. Then Marcos showed up. He sauntered up to us, sat down, and right away insulted me. “Why are you talking to Wes?” he said. It felt like someone dropped a brick in my stomach. Marcos was known for starting trouble and getting into fights. He was a year or two older than me, and had mercifully ignored me most of the time, but today was different.

I told the new kid to ignore Marcos. “What did you say? You don’t tell them ignore me,” said Marcos. Things started to escalate. I really just wanted to have a new friend, but now I was having to defend myself. Marcos made some more rude comments, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. I tried to find a different seat in the bus, but it was too late. Marcos said, “This isn’t over. We are going to fight when we get off the bus!” I started to shake with fear and anger. Marcos was from a rough and tough background. I’m sure he had been in lots of fights. I wouldn’t stand a chance. 

God is Peaceful

As scary as it may be to worry about a violent confrontation with another human being that is bigger and stronger than you are, there are things that can be far more scary. Like God, for example. If you read the Bible, you know that there are many stories in which God violently punishes human beings for committed sins. Since God is all powerful, there is really nothing more terrifying than considering your fate should you incur the wrath of God. 

Read Exodus chapter 19. It is the buildup to the Ten Commandments. God tells Moses and the people, that now that he has freed them from salvery it is time for them to receive the law, the 10 commandments and to follow them. If they don’t there will be punishment for their sins. We read in the Bible that indeed there was punishment from God at times, when the people sinned and didn’t do what God wanted.

Do you worry about God’s punishment? Some have wondered if the Sars-2 Novel Corona Virus which causes Covid 19 is a punishment from God. Do you live under the threat of violence? Perhaps you are afraid that someone may lash out at you emotionally, verbally, or physically for offending them, or for no reason at all. People experience violence for the most arbitrary of reasons including their gender, sexual orientation, or the color of their skin. If God punishes with violence, then does that give license to God’s people to punish with violence too?

Then again, what if God doesn’t punish with violence? What if God doesn’t punish at all? Paul writes in the letter to Romans chapter 5 that we have “Peace with God through Christ.” We have peace with God. If we have peace with God, that means that God doesn’t punish or hurt. God is peaceful, loving, and graceful with us. Jesus saw crowds of people during his time that seemed lost. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He called the twelve disciples and sent them out to be peacemakers, and to care for the people. Jesus ministered to Roman Centurions, keepers of the law, and to the people who lived under their rule. Jesus imagined a new Kingdom of God, a peaceable kingdom. Peace and justice are a common goal that we can all share. Peace for all people, all religions, all races, all nations, and all creatures. God wants peace not punishment.

Pray for Peacemakers

I like to walk. It’s peaceful. But I was not looking forward to walking uphill the one mile home that day on the dusty dirt road. I was afraid that I would be pulled into a fight. As we neared the bus stop Marcos kept egging me on. Then something caught my eye. I saw that he was wearing a small gold crucifix, that is a cross with Jesus on it. I asked him about it. He got defensive, “Do you have a problem with my religion?” I said no, but I wondered how he believed in Jesus and called himself a Christian. Would Jesus approve of fighting with me for no good reason? As I said the words I saw him shake his head, look down, and simply walk away. It was all over. He got off the bus first and walked home quickly ahead of me. He never tried to bother me again. In fact, as time went on, we were friendly to one another and rode bikes together. We rode around pyramid rock which was right by his home peacefully. If you like mountain biking enough you need anyone’s help to get hurt! 

Jesus told the disciples to pray for workers to help the Lord of the harvest. You can see the harvest that the Lord is gathering now. People are yearning and hungry for peace. People want a better world and peace. Pray that God might call you to be a peacemaker, to use your head, your heart, and all of your strength to make the world more peaceful. Amen.