Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demon (Mark 3:13-15).

“How do we deal with the anger? We start a new program!” These words from the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb ring in my ears. Dr. Raheb is pastor to the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, and founder of the International Center in Bethlehem, where the “whole community is served,” www.mitriraheb.org.

Just recently, for the third time in three weeks, our beloved church was burglarized. I kept thinking of Rev. Raheb’s words while I cleaned up the broken glass and fingerprint dust. Almost one month ago to the day, I heard Dr. Raheb tell how in their community’s despair from violence, they create room for hope; from liturgies of death they celebrate the mystery of the risen Lord of life.

On facebook I posted, “I'm vacillating between anger, grief, and determination. Our church has been burglarized 3 times in the last 3 weeks, twice within 48 hours. So hard when all we are trying to do is love God and serve our neighbors. Please pray.” So many people responded with words of empathy, and prayers of support and remembrance of how God had helped them through similar situations.

Our recent burglaries do not begin to compare to the experiences of those living in violent places in the Holy Land, but how we respond in our own difficult circumstances does compare. Knowing the heart of the FPCJ members and Session, we will take measures for security as suggested by the Clayton County police, but we will also remain resolved in our love for God and neighbor. We will continue to extend and strengthen our outreach within the community. Burglaries may cause a momentary tremor, but they do not shake our foundation in Christ.

Surely we have neighbors who share the experience and feelings associated with property being breached and stolen. As a neighborhood church let’s show them how Christ’s love makes all the difference in how we get through it. When Jesus was being taunted and tested by his adversaries he did not hide, he turned and spoke God’s truth to them, and then took his disciples deeper into communities where he preached and taught and healed.

That is how we will respond to this adversity; we will speak God’s truth and go deeper into the community to share Jesus’ healing love. Gatherround, God’s chosen disciples, we’re following Jesus.