osama - death of a terrorist

Last night as I was watching one show on the big screen in the living room my husband yelled the news to me from the den; Osama bin Laden is dead. I can vividly recall that day, when the phone rang and my daughter Gretchen called from work in tears to tell me to turn on the TV and in horror I saw the first tower fall as we spoke. Who thought that any human being could conceive of this type of evil, nor would I have ever have dreamed that I would have witnessed such an event in my lifetime.

The days that followed we heard that people we knew lost their lives in those towers, innocent people doing what they do every day working- making a living expecting to see their loved ones at the close of business. And of course we can never forget the fireman, police officers and other emergency persons who lost their lives doing their duty; New York's finest fallen-may you rest a bit easier each and every one of you. Then of course there were the attacks on the plane and the Pentagon.  One can hardly imagine how the families must be feeling right now, reliving their worst days over again with the news of his death.

picture courtesy of mirror.co.uk

I turned on the news after my husband told me of his death, I like every other person on the planet wanted to see what the President Obama  had to say, wanted to know the details of his death. So many American lives and lives of others have been lost at the direction of this man and his cause.

Perversion of the word of God when it is used to generate violence in His name is truly evil. I am relieved that he no longer walks this earth.However I must admit it bothers me- makes me feel a bit uncomfortable when I see others celebrating on the streets that he is dead. I know as American's we are free to gather on the streets and express ourselves, it's our right and we are free to do so as we wish; I cherish that right; please don't get me wrong. But what does the celebrating say about us as Christians?  Any thoughts?

*I have added this Vatican statement after reading it, it was not included in my original post, but I found it to be worthy of sharing.

Today the Vatican's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, S.J., released this statement on the death of Osama Bin Laden.

"Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions for this purpose. In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred."