We are 
Too patient when it comes to injustice
Too proactive when it comes to bigotry. 
Too grief-stricken to do the right thing.
Too short of time not to celebrate unjust victory. 
We have no time to love without condition
We are too busy to care for the needy. 
We are too polite to call out hypocrisy
We are too afraid to stop by the neighbor by the wayside. 

Therefore, we are yet again going through the trauma of injustice at the loss of Tyre Nicols, because we failed in timeless love. We are afraid to speak up, stand up and stand with the poor, the needy, and those who are treated unjustly. 

The death of Tyre Nicols is not to be isolated from other incidents of brutality in the past under the hands of law enforcement officers, self-identified vigilantes, and power-hungry politicians. The death of Tyre is a reminder that we haven’t formed our conscience to recognize humanity but rather attached it with features we are comfortable with. When we do not know who is our brother and sister, whom God has already placed right in front of us every single moment, we become the unjust oppressor we read in the book of Prophet Amos.

This tragic incident is yet another reminder of how fragile we are as people and how easy it is to incite violence against ourselves to inflict pain and suffering on others unless we form our hearts to love people unconditionally. As astronaut Edgar Mitchell invites us, “It’s when we look at the world around us from the vantage point of the moon we realize how silly and stupid it is to differentiate one human from another. "

So today, I mourn with the Nicols’ mother, family, and friends. I mourn again with the families of all who suffered and died under the hands of those entrusted to their protection. I pray for the souls of the leaders with the power to change the system for the better, and for the people lost in the continuum of justification for their inaction. 

I ask forgiveness for my own failure to uplift the poor, care for the needy, fight against injustice, and speak up for the oppressed. May God help us be better neighbors to each other. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15: 13

Your Brother in Christ
+Jos

The Rt. Rev. Jos Tharakan
XIV Bishop of Idaho