Late last night, I was about to go to sleep when I heard my iPad ding. That’s the signal from the New York Times that there is breaking news. I went online, and discovered that the President was to make a statement on national security. It was on Facebook that I first heard that Osama Bin Laden was dead. I found myself breathing out, as if I’d been holding my breath, without even being aware of it, and feeling an immense sadness, as his death brought home all the deaths these last ten years that one way or another have been related to the 9/11 attacks - here in the US, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and elsewhere.
And I thought of those who lost family and friends on 9/11, and especially our junior warden, whose brother-in-law was killed that day. As we waited for the President’s announcement, the Junior Warden and I began to chat online, as we struggled with how we should respond as followers of the Jesus who said we should love our enemies and forgive seventy times seven.
The reality is that it would be simplistic to say that we should have just forgiven Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Yes, we are called to forgive. But true forgiveness is not something easily done. It can take a lifetime, or longer, of intentional work, just as it can take a lifetime, or longer, to heal.
But there is another question that as Christians, we have to address. How do we deal with evil? Is it ever right to kill someone? What's the difference between revenge and doing something to prevent someone from committing more evil? Does the technological capacity to do mass murder make a difference?
Those are questions that have exercised Christian theologians ever since Jesus was crucified and resurrected. There is consensus that we should always resist evil - but there is less agreement on how we do that. Some concluded that it is right - or at least justifiable - to participate in a small evil to prevent a greater one. Others concluded that it is never right to participate in evil, and that non-violence is the only option for us as Christians. And there is a whole range of opinion in between.
We live in a fallen world. There are no easy answers or perfect solutions. There is no doubt that Bin Laden was the leader of an organization that was committed to bringing death and destruction, and was the perpetrator of evil. We are called to resist that evil.
But I do not rejoice in his death. I wish - and yes, I know it’s not particularly realistic - but I wish that he had repented. I wish he had been brought to justice. And I pray that his death will not fuel a further cycle of violence and fear. It is time to stop.
As we wrestle with these difficult questions, perhaps the best thing we can do is pray. And so we turn to our prayer book:
"O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth: deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord." “A prayer for our enemies,” Book of Common Prayer, p. 816
