Wednesday of this week I was at the civic for the press conference announcing a settlement between the City of Uvalde and some of the families whose children died in the Robb School shooting. Two years ago tonight I was at the civic center with families as they awaited an announcement about their children. We prayed. We cried. We waited. About midnight I went home to Cyndy. They went home without their children. 

Last year I thought the first year was the worst year. Then the second year came. I’ve heard some of you talk about that too. The second year confirms again and again everything we lost, everything that was taken, everything we never wanted to see or feel, everything that was unbearable about the first year.

Second year truths are so painful, so overwhelming, so devastating that we often turn away. It’s too much. So we intellectualize what happened. We divide. We isolate. We criticize. We explain instead of experiencing and feeling what happened. We say it’s time to move on. We talk about what “they” are doing and what we think they should be doing. That’s what Job’s friends did to him. With friends like that … Well, you know. 

The parents I saw at that press conference, however, don’t have the privilege of turning away. I wish you had seen what I saw. I saw empty faces, exhausted souls, and broken hearts. How could they be anything else? They were standing in the room but they weren’t really there. 

I watched and listened. I felt my own grief, frustration, and anger. And I wondered. They reached a settlement with the City but I wondered what they really need. I wondered what our city really needs. I wondered what the people of Uvalde really need. What do you think? 

I think the answer to all those questions is the same. They need us. That’s why I so wanted you to be here this evening. The families who were directly impacted by the shooting need us. Our city needs us. The people of Uvalde need us. They need us to show up and do something. Isn’t that what Isaiah, Micah, and Amos are saying in today’s readings? (Isaiah 58:6-12; Micah 6:6-8; Amos 5:21-24)

One of the things that strikes me about the prophets is that they never tell the widow, the orphan, the victim of injustice, or the one in need, “It’s been long enough. It’s time to move on.” They never tell them what they should be doing or how to handle their grief, pain, or anger. Instead, the prophets tell everyone else, “You are to care for the widow, the orphan, the victim of injustice, and the one in need.” They call us to do justice and righteousness which are really just acts of love.

I don’t know much Hebrew but I’m guessing a rough literal translation of what the prophets are saying might go something like this:

“Y’all get off your asses and do something.” 

I know it’s a bit out of character for me to say something like that and I hope the Bishop doesn’t find out but I think that’s the message. I’m saying it to myself as much as I am to you. It’s been two years and it’s time.

What if instead of saying what we think “they,” ought to do we simply asked them, “What do you need from me? Tell me where it hurts. What can we do for you?” We could do that with the families, police officers, city officials, teachers, school board members, one another. 

What if instead of being upset by the families’ anger and outrage we listened to their hurt and then asked ourselves, “Why are we not also outraged and angry?”

We will never undo what happened or go back to the way it used to be. That’s a second year truth. But we can respond to the needs that have been created and revealed by the shooting.

And I’m talking about more than prayer. I’m not against prayer but I don’t think the victims of this shooting, our city, or the people of Uvalde need your prayers or mine. They need people of prayer. 

They need people willing to take on God’s concerns, values, and priorities as their own; people willing to let their lives be shaped and reshaped by the words they pray; people who embody, enact, and live the words they pray; people who say their prayers and then do what they pray for. 

That’s who I want to be and how I want to pray, don’t you? I don’t want us to leave Uvalde languishing in the gap between our words of prayer and our prayerful actions. I want our “Amen” to be the start of doing something, not an ending to a prayer. 

What are your best prayers for the families, our city, the people of Uvalde? Go do that.

If we really want to remember and honor those who died and were injured then we need to change the way we live today. If we really want to give value to their lives then we need to reprioritize the values that guide our lives today. 

What does that mean and look like for you today? Maybe it means we tell the truth about America’s addiction to guns and our epidemic of gun violence. Maybe it means we show up to public meetings in support of one another. Maybe it means listening more than talking. Maybe it means getting involved, speaking up, reaching out. 

Two years ago today we experienced the unimaginable. Every day since then we have borne the unbearable. And today you and I must bear witness, not just to what happened but to what might be. Today we remember, not only for the sake of the past, but also for the healing, well-being, and future of Uvalde.

You are not required to complete and finish the work of healing Uvalde but neither are you free to turn away from it. (Pirkei Avot 2:16)

In your pew you will find slips of paper and pencils. In a few moments I will invite you to write one thing you will do for the healing, well-being, and future of Uvalde. Let it be your prayerful action. Then I’ll ask you to come forward and offer your prayer by putting your paper in the offering plate and dropping a small pinch of incense on the charcoal. Let that one thing you wrote down be the fragrance that fills Uvalde.

We are the ones who can make a change. We are responsible not only “for the memories of those who died, we are also responsible for what we do with those memories.” (Elie Wiesel) This is your and my opportunity to do something with their memories.

Let’s not turn away from their memories and let’s not waste this opportunity. It’s time for us to do something. 

Let me give you six reasons why I’m saying all of this and asking you and myself to do something: 

1. Jackie Cazares, 
2. Jose Flores, 
3. Annabell Rodriguez, 
4. Lexi Rubio, 
5. Eva Mireles, 
6. Salvador Ramos.

I’ve got sixteen more reasons but I trust you understand why we have to do something. 

I trust you will do something.