Some months ago a quiet milkman with no history of criminal behavior or madness stormed a schoolroom of Amish children in Pennsylvania. What he did there to little girls ranging in age from six to 13 defies explanation. His actions were far worse than words can explain, but far less than he apparently intended before the police arrived and cut short his time. After shooting the girls, he killed himself.

An Unusual Response

There have been other school shootings and other attacks upon innocent children by criminals and madmen, but there is something different about what happened in Pennsylvania.

The first indication came shortly after the news of the attack broke. I heard how one worker went to meet with some of the Amish families to see what kind of help they needed in dealing with the tragedy. However, stepping into the meeting the worker found them already discussing how they might reach out and help the family of the man who had killed their children. What could be more amazing than a community ministering to the family of a man who has attacked and killed their children?

Later I listened with increasing amazement to a story about how the Amish had lovingly reached out to the killer’s family, even inviting them to attend the funerals of the victims. They wanted the man’s parents and wife to know they did not hold them responsible for what he had done.

A headline in our local paper declared, “Amish Mourn Gunman.” As it turns out, about half of the approximately 75 people who attended the funeral of the killer were Amish. They went to mourn and to sympathize with the family of the killer. Since then I have learned that the Amish have insisted that some of the money donated from across the country be used to help the attacker’s family.

In the movie Batman Begins Bruce Wayne says, “People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy.” Of course his alter ego, Batman, is one such example. Batman is able to make sure that justice is done in the end. How does he do it? By responding with force and violence. By personally retaliating against those who do evil. It is all very satisfying somehow—from the perspective of the flesh; but of course it is just a fantasy world of cartoons and superheroes and not part of the new nature I have in Christ.

When I look at the Amish I get the feeling they have never seen a Batman movie. I get the feeling they have not seen any of the revenge movies out there. No, the dramatic example that drives them comes from the pages of one of their favorite books. It is the example of Christ in the New Testament: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).

A Matter of Trust

Of course, this is the example all believers are called to, not just the Amish. Do you remember Romans 12? The subject there is personal retaliation. Paul commands us not to repay anyone evil for evil and not to take revenge for the things done to us, “but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (v. 19). In chapter 13 Paul makes it clear that one of the ways God ensures justice in the world is through civil government. Praise God for not leaving retribution to the individuals who have been harmed themselves! In the end, it comes down to trust. Do we trust God to keep his promise to see that justice is done in the end? Do we trust him enough to restrain our natural desire for revenge?

Do the Amish have superheroes? They have at least one. More powerful than Batman, he could have commanded angels to intervene on his behalf, but he did not. Instead he trusted and believed in the God who is just and he refused to retaliate against those who abused him. Now he calls me to be more like himself. If it were not for the example of people like the Amish, I am not sure I would believe anyone could live up to that high standard. However, I have learned something from these folks who are in many ways so unlike myself. First, I have learned it is possible to trust God rather than retaliate against those who do terrible harm. Second, I have learned it really is possible to love one’s enemy—as well as his wife, his parents, and his children. |L

Terry Chaney is a freelance writer in Joplin, Missouri.

OUTLOOK is a forum for responsible Christian writers. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Standard Publishing or The Lookout.

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