It was supposed to be a normal Wednesday night  on June 17, 2015 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.  Faithful parishioners were going to the church’s mid-week Bible study and prayer meeting.  Many of them made this activity a part of their normal schedule and spiritual growth.  But what was anticipated as a regular Bible study and prayer meeting soon turned into one of the most horrific events ever imagined.  Nine people were killed, including the pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, also a SC State Senator.

This week, the court trial of the suspected killer was held, bringing back vivid memories and images of this 18-month old horror story.  A recent New York Times article on this court trial highlighted in my mind three responses that Christians should give when faced with the madness and darkness that is often seen and experienced in our post-Christian culture.  They are forgiveness, submission, and faith/hope.

Forgiveness: It’s easy to talk about it than to give it, but that’s what this Charleston congregation did and continues to do.  In the midst of unspeakable horror, they chose to show the forgiving grace of Jesus Christ to this madness, even though it cost them precious lives.  In a post-Christian culture, the forgiving love of God is the only “sane” thing you can give.  The NY Times article highlighted the remarks of the  pastor who lost his wife in this event when he said of the shooter: “He is not a part of my life anymore. Forgiveness has freed me of that, of him completely. I’m not going to make him a lifetime partner.”

Submission: You sense very deeply in these parishioners’ lives a submission to the perfect will of God.  No one can give an adequate explanation of madness.  We see it practically everyday, but feel it when it strikes close to home.  In times of soul-troubling fear, we need to rest in the hands of a sovereign, all-knowing God.  His ways are perfect, even when we don’t understand it.

Faith/Hope: An event as senseless as this not only reminds us of the post-Christian madness often around us, but more importantly it gives us hope to know that there’s something better, not only in this life but also in the life to come.  Faith enables us to look beyond the hate and the insanity that is often seen to the better life in the Christian gospel.  It is in the gospel that we see hope, meaning and value in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Charleston congregation’s response to post-Christian madness–forgiveness, submission, and faith/hope–help us understand how to live and to respond in a world filled with hate and insanity.