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A Christian Reflection on the Murder of Alex Pretti
Shock and sorrow blanketed our community when news broke that Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. In the face of such senseless violence, we wake with no words, just woe & wound. How do we, as followers of Christ, respond to such grief and outrage?
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount offers us a path. He taught, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” In other words, those who grieve are not abandoned by God; they are seen, and divine comfort is promised. Today, we are those who mourn. We mourn with Alex’s family, with his patients and colleagues, and with all who are anguished at this injustice.
Even as we grieve, our hearts burn with a righteous anger for the injustice of Alex’s death. The poet Amanda Gorman captured this outrage in a lament for Alex, writing: “Our own country shooting us in the back is not just brutality; it’s jarring betrayal; not enforcement but execution.” These words sting because they ring true. What happened was a betrayal of what is just and right. In moments like this, we remember Jesus’ promise: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Righteousness means justice, the longing to see things set right in God’s way.
Our hunger for justice is itself a reflection of God’s heart. It is not wrong to feel anger at wrongdoing; in fact, Jesus blesses those who yearn for righteousness. The violence that took Alex’s life points to deeper systemic sins, abuses of power, fear, and prejudice. Gorman’s poem warns that the greatest threat “isn’t the outsiders among us, but those among us who never look within”. In other words, we must examine our own society and leaders, rather than scapegoating the vulnerable.
As Christians, we are called to a prophetic witness: to name evil for what it is, to demand truth and accountability, and to hunger for a more just and merciful world. This is not a time for apathy or despair. Jesus assures us that our longing for justice will not be in vain; God’s righteous kindom will fill it.
Last Sunday, I spoke about the coming of the Kindom of heaven. It is in-breaking today and yet is still to come. As Christians, we are also called to compassion and love, a hallmark of the Kindom of God, where everyone is loved and valued regardless of their status. We are made in the image of God (Imago Dei).
Amid our righteous anger, Jesus also reminds us of the power of mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Mercy is more than a feeling; it is compassion in action – the willingness to enter another’s pain and respond with care. In times like this, mercy means caring for those who are hurting, tending to the trauma of our community, and refusing to let hatred consume us. It also means extending humanity to those who have done wrong, praying that they, too, might repent and receive God’s grace. This does not negate justice; rather, it prevents our pursuit of justice from turning into vengeance. Mercy keeps our hearts open and soft when everything tries to close them and harden them.
Merciful love is at the core of our Christian witness. Gorman’s closing refrain in her poem affirms that “the only undying thing is mercy”. Empires rise and fall, violence flares and fades, but mercy endures. Every act of compassion, every effort to “open ourselves like doors” to our neighbors in need, every life we gently save or heal – these are not wasted. They are seeds of God’s kingdom that will bear eternal fruit (Facebook-Amanda Gorman).
Amanda’s poem is included below.
The prayer I posted on Tuesday, January 27, from Prayer Ventures, is our call to each other to “Ask God to help us bridge and mend divisions in our faith communities and society that get in the way of valuing one another and working together for the benefit of all, especially our neighbors in need.”
Amen.
Join us on Sunday at 10:30 AM or on Facebook at Hopeclinton.
All are welcome!
Pastor Eric
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