howdy

Yesterday I was listening to radio coverage of the recent shooting in Colorado. The host was taking calls from across the nation, inviting people who had had similar tragedies in their cities to call in and share stories of their experience, and the short term and long term learnings. One caller was a journalist who was on the scene at Columbine, releasing the first reports of the shooters. He along with many others initially described the shooters as unpopular loners who were taking revenge on "jocks" at their school. On the phone call yesterday, he said something like, "I was wrong, we were all wrong, but that's what he world remembers about those guys." I was caught up in the stories I was hearing about other tragedies, about communities coming together in the aftermath of such shootings. I heard a woman say that in one case when the criminal received the death penalty, the town and victim's families lamented that it was just one more death, and didn't help their grief. The over-arching theme of the calls was a warning against jumping to make immediate assumptions. Understanding, they suggested, is something that comes only after a time, if at all, and usually comes from the response of the community, rather than an understanding of why the thing happened in the first place. 

I arrived at my destination, and for the first time considered that I was going to sit in a movie theater to watch Dark Knight Rises, the same movie that was showing where the shooting took place. I couldn't help but pay attention to the people who arrived after me, and I wondered if they were thinking about the shooting, if they were wondering about me. The previews didn't help much. A lot of shooting and violence. And of course the movie had plenty of violence on its own. 

I picked up Eli on my way home, and we went for a bike ride. The trail we ride, along White Oak Bayou usually has a lot of users. I try to let folks know when we are passing, calling out "passing on your left," and then I say howdy, or something as I pass. If they are going the opposite direction, I just say "howdy." Since I am towing Eli in his trailer, I often have an echo. "Howdy," "Owdee." If I forget, sometimes he beats me to it. Most people respond, some are focused on the music in their earbuds.                          I say, "howdy!" to people to acknowledge their existence. I say it to let people know they are not alone out there. I greet these strangers, my neighbors as I ride along. When I'm conscious of it, as I say, "Howdy!" I mean "God loves you." I mean, "you are beloved." If I were in South Africa, among Xhosa speakers, I would say, "Molo!" meaning "I see you." That Xhosa greeting acknowledges existence. It brings a person into existence. Rather than the belief "I think therefore I am." The philosophy is "I am because we are." The word for that concept is "ubuntu." Our sisters and brothers in South Africa can remind us something about community that we may have forgotten. We depend upon one another. We are not actually isolated individuals, but a community that is more linked than we know. It's what we practice when we take one loaf of bread that we call God's own body, break it into pieces, then feed it to the community. One bread, one body. A community is one.  

These shootings arise from complex and particular circumstances. I wouldn't suggest the shooters are not responsible for what they have done. However, we have lost an opportunity to grow if we do not consider the larger question, "Why do we do this?" These killers are us, they are our brothers (and sisters.) These events show that we are sick and need healing. The body is broken, the members are isolated. 

Sometimes I literally say, "I see you!" to Eli when he seems to want some attention. I want to acknowledge this precious child of God who has been given to Laura and I. I want to do what I can to let him know he is loved, connected, and cherished. I'm thankful that he echoes my "Howdy!" on the bike trail, and that he gives hugs to strangers and friends when we exchange Christ's Peace during worship. 

Of course, I can't give the same sort of attention to everyone I encounter on the trail, or as I walk into a movie theater. But I can do small things to express my deep belief that God loves all of us. I like to remind people that God loves them when I feed them bread and wine, or saying "The Lord be with you." or more simply, saying, "Howdy!"