On the Events of January 7, 2026 in Minneapolis, MN
Updated: Jan 9
Yesterday I was sitting in my class at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta on the Role of Religion in Conflict when I received messages from a colleague in Minneapolis alerting us to the news that a U.S. citizen had been shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer as they operate throughout the area. The news alone brought about a rush of questions and emotions. Subsequent bystander videos of the incident left me absolutely horrified.
Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three children, was shot and killed while driving her vehicle in a confrontation with ICE agents. Everyone seems to have an opinion as to whether or not the agent who shot at her was operating in self-defense. I doubt that I have enough information to be able to adequately make a determination, and I doubt that any such determination would be worth much to any person. Regardless, I mourn the death of Ms. Good and reject any narrative which suggests there could not have possibly been alternatives to the actions taken by ICE agents against their neighbors.
For those here in Chattahoochee, this distant event comes less than two weeks after a murder in our own community. Similarly, I have not near enough information to make any conclusion regarding this killing other than this: Christians must always work to preserve life.
Then [Jesus] said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But [the Pharisees] were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. -- Gospel of Mark 3:4-5 (NRSVue)
There are two phrases that stand out to me in the passage above.
The first is the question that Jesus asks the crowd gathered around him. "Is it lawful... to save life or to kill?" This is a little tongue and cheek. To Jesus and his audience, the answer is obvious. The topic at hand is the work we do on Sabbath, but Jesus' rhetorical question implies that saving life is the right thing to do on the Sabbath because saving life is the right thing to do everyday.
The second phrase that stands out to me in the above passage are, "he was grieved at their hardness of heart," and this is the space that I'm currently living in. I first want to acknowledge that I am grieving and I am grieved. I think about Rep. Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk and Renee Nicole Good. I see the rise of political violence in my country and I see the toll of community violence in Chattahoochee and throughout our area.
It is against this backdrop of violence that I pray for you: Do not let our hearts to become hardened.
Do not let your heart to become hardened. Resist the temptation to normalize violence of any kind, because violence of every kind carries weight, imparts harm, and impacts communities both broadly and intimately. Real people are waking up today broken, their lives utterly shattered. Real people in Minneapolis, in Colorado, in Chattahoochee, and in Bainbridge -- and all over the world -- are staring at a wall today and asking the question, "Why?"
What happened in Minnesota this week should evoke anger. What happened in Minnesota this week should evoke grief. This is not normal, and it should not be. It should not be normal for children to wake up without their mother. Do not let your heart to become hardened.
Maybe it's just a coincidence that today I am sitting again in a class on the Role of the Church in Conflict, but I am certainly reminded and prodded in this moment that we are the Church, and we have a part to play in what happens next in our country.
Jesus expected an answer when he asked the question of the religious establishment, "Is it lawful to save life or kill?" Jesus is asking us that question today, and is likewise expecting an answer. Jesus was disappointed, angry, and grieved then because of the hardness of their hearts.
Will he remain disappointed, angry, and grieved today? Or can we, with softness and gentleness, remember the humanity that was lost in recent days and weeks? Can we, with softness and gentleness, recognize the withered hand of the family of Renee Nicole Good, and their need today for restoration? Can we recognize the withered hand of our country; our collective need for restoration? Can we stretch out our hands toward one another? Can we take this moment to save life and to heal?
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