The events of December 14th, 2012 cause us to take a deep breath. They are moments that once upon a time we thought would never happen. Similar to 9/11, we as a country were reminded that we are not invincible, we do not live in a protective bubble, safe from harm. Even the events of Oct 2nd, 2006 in which a gunmen murdered some of the nation's most peaceful, the Amish, remind us that no banner of religion creates such a safe bubble either. Or consider the events of November 5th, 2012, a young girl was spraying graffiti on the side of a church while worship was taking place inside. When two worshipers tried to stop her, they were gunned down by a man in a car across the street. Houses of worship are no safer than school buildings or shopping malls. So at some point, we must recognize that we all live in places where "we didn't think this could happen here" is a phrase that simply doesn't make sense.
Furthermore, some responses offered by others to comfort those who are grieving only add to the pain. God does not "need another angel" in heaven and thus fulfilled this need by having your child brutally murdered. A violent death is not somehow part of some divine plan that we are not privy to. No, God creates and redeems. Does God destroy, yes of course, but not at the hands of violent human beings. Death is a part of life, it is the other side of being created as finite creatures, but death by murder does not glorify God, does not speak of God's character and therefore, is not of God. Therefore, let us not attempt comfort at the expense of God's character; let us not belittle God's power robbing God of the chance to bring redemption out of chaos.
Even though we may so desperately want to comfort, and rightly so. As Christian people, I believe our response is to offer hope in place of fear, and love in place of vengeance or retaliation. In Revelation 22, it is said that God will create a new Heaven and a New Earth. Without getting into the exact details of this (which we cannot know yet) suffice it to say that God creates newness when we only see death and destruction. Is the death of 28 people part of God's plan, absolutely not. Is God mourning with us, absolutely yes. It was in the darkest of nights, in the hardest of circumstances that Jesus Christ was born into the world to give us new life. So too, it is in these dark days, that we pray God to work most powerfully among us. May we be God's agents of healing and hope in a world inundated with death and loss, may we offer signs of God's continuing love and mercy as we await so desperately, the Advent of God's redemptive work.
The pain and loss will not go away, but just as sure as there is Resurrection of the body, so too there is of the soul. May God grant us patience and peace as we seek to support and love on those of us who hurt the most.
Finally, I serve a blessed church in Kennett, MO, where after the events of 9/11, a second grade class wrote a book offering signs of hope. The book was simply called "September 12th: We Knew Everything Would Be Alright". The premise of the book was that the sun still rose, teachers still greeted their students, homework was still assigned, and they knew that all would be alright. I pray we continue to learn from those students. The sun still rises, parents still cling to their children, and churches still sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", and therefore all will be alright.
