When There Is No Meaning

 In many ways, clergy play the role of “meaning-makers.” Their vocational role is to interpret this sometimes senseless world so that it has some kind of purpose. After all, we are not, to summarize Jerome Bruner, simply “information-processors,” because information alone is not enough.

Yet, all explanations fail when forced to interpret the horror of what happened at Emanuel AME Church just days ago. We, the meaning-makers, we who are charged with producing tidy, digestible solutions to all of life’s problems, well, we just can’t do it.
In an iconic photo taken outside of Emanuel last week, a group of church members were mourning, and one of them was holding a giant sign with one word on it: “Why?” That’s the word that says it all.

We might be tempted to direct that question toward those who continue to rebuff common sense measures related to America’s “gun culture:” Why won’t you lead this country toward greater responsibility?

We could ask it of the hateful racists who terrorize people of color a full century and a half after their Emancipation: Why do you perpetuate thuggish bigotry toward people simply because of their God-given epidermis?
We could put it to South Carolina: Why did you continue to fly a battle flag that represents an army that warred to enslave a whole race of people?

We should direct the question to ourselves, our neighbors, friends, and families: Why will we not change this society that is violent to its deepest innards; violence that seems to be glorified on every screen, in every movie, game, sport, and “heroic” tale we tell? And we place it at the feet of God: “Why?”
On the first Sunday after the Mother Emanuel shooting I read the words of William Sloane Coffin to my own congregation.

Back in 1983, Coffin delivered his “Eulogy for Alex” to the Riverside Church in New York just days after the death of his son.
A single line from that sermon rings in my head. Coffin said: “My own broken heart is mending, and largely thanks to so many of you… You gave me what God gives all of us: Minimum protection, maximum support.”
Faith in God is not an insulator from tragedy, injustice, or a trouble-free life. Nor will having “more faith” lead to meaningful explanation for every sorrow. Faith is minimum protection from suffering, but thank God, it is maximum support.

Ronnie McBrayer is a syndicated columnist, blogger, pastor, and author of multiple books. Visit his website at www.ronniemcbrayer.net.