Finding the Way of Jesus in the Wake of Kirk’s Assassination
Like many of you, I have been stunned and grieved by the news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. In moments like this, the air feels heavy with shock, sorrow, and even anger. Tragedy forces us to wrestle, not only with what has happened, but with how we will respond and engage with a world writhing in both anger and confusion. I’m beginning to see these cultural moments as an invitation to discover the way of Jesus and invite other’s into it. It seems as if the whole world is watching and waiting to see how we respond in this moment. Will the people who claim the name of Jesus follow the way of Jesus.
Jesus once warned His disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod” (Mark 8:15). Yeast, He said, spreads quietly until it transforms the whole batch. The “yeast of the Pharisees” was religious hypocrisy, self-righteousness dressed up as holiness. The “yeast of Herod” was worldly compromise, the corruption of fear, power, and violence. Both spread quickly if left unchecked.
And both tempt us in moments like this. On one side is the temptation to claim the moral high ground, to let pride or partisanship twist our grief into self-righteousness. On the other side is the temptation to answer violence with violence, hatred with hatred, despair with despair. But neither path is the way of Jesus.
The way of Jesus is different. At His own unjust execution, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He overcame evil not by mirroring it, but by absorbing it in love. Paul echoed this when he wrote, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
So how do we walk in that way now? We begin with lament. Scripture teaches us to bring our honest cries to God: our confusion, our questions, our pain. We pray for Charlie’s family, for those who loved him, and even for those who brought harm. We resist the yeast of division and fear, choosing instead to be peacemakers, heart-healers and truth-tellers in a fractured world. We pray that the mercy of God would be poured out on our nation. And we entrust ultimate justice into the hands of God, who alone judges rightly.
Most of all, we anchor ourselves in hope. The cross reminds us that violence and death do not have the final word. Resurrection does. So “we don’t grieve as those who have no hope.” We see Kirk’s death as a transition, not an end. One day, as Revelation promises, God will “wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.”
Until that day, may we embody the way of Jesus: love stronger than hate, hope stronger than despair, and peace stronger than violence.
