“Evil visited this community today”...

We now interrupt this blog...to bring you this unexpected blog...

I had planned on another subject for this blog today...but things change. Sometimes things change in such a dramatic and unexpected way that we're are momentarily stunned...I call it being knocked out of our tree. No doubt, some obscure reference to where we roost. Sometimes things change in such a horrific and evil way it forever defines who we are. We lose any shred of innocence...any sense of safety...This incomprehensible evil visited a small town in Connecticut, shortly after 9:30 am, on a sunny winter morning leaving carnage and mayhem in its' wake. In an instant...in the blink of an eye...things changed...forever. Not one single mom or dad, when sending their child off to school that morning, imagined or could ever imagine the idea that gunshots would ring out as teachers cowered and struggled to maintain their composure as they protected their children. It's just the absolute worse case scenario for both parent and teacher. No training...no college course...no advanced degree prepares you for this day. Your basic raw instincts take over...your focus become acutely sharp...time stands still. We try to protect those we love...not because it is our job, but because it is in our DNA...it is really in every fiber of our being. It is placed there by God. This is the exact place that we struggle so desperately to understand. Thousands of “hows” and “whys” are resonating all across the world. There are no words that can come close...we strive to make some sense of a day turned so upside down it's surreal. Sometimes there are just no answers...nothing can be spoken that doesn't provoke even more questions. In the season of winter there are many references to darkness and the bleakness of the days. I am sure that it couldn't feel any darker and more bleak and hopeless than it feels for many in light of this heinous act. However, I also know that in the midst of all that darkness and despair... there is light. While it may be exceedingly difficult to see, it is there. In John 8:12, it says, 

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." 

 And in 1 Peter 2:9, it says, 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

I have suffered my share, if there is such a thing as a share, of losses and unexplained tragic events and I understand the difficulty to focus on these verses from the Bible. Admittedly, I have never lost a child and simply cannot even imagine the depth of grief I would feel. But, the one thing I do know is that light dispels the darkness and we are called to be that light in the world...especially to others who are in darkness for whatever reason. We are called to be the ones to reach out to those who are suffering...are hurting...are trying to make sense...to struggle to move forward...to heal...and most importantly...to forgive. Endless hours of analysis and investigation and blaming and finger pointing are not helpful and only serve to mire us in a victim mentality. Sometimes very bad things happen that breaks our collective hearts. As much as we struggle to know why, sometimes...many times...we just can't know. There is no understandable explanation no matter how bad we want it. The sovereignty of God is easily accepted when all that matters is our intellectual agreement and understanding. But most often it is very difficult for us to accept, even unfathomable, especially when that practical reality strikes close to home through a difficult, tragic event like so many we have witnessed in recent months. In practically all cases like this, we feel compelled to ask, "Where was God?" I know this question echoed both out loud and silently with many of us. This is probably the tandem question to why. I really like what Father Dwight Longenecker says on his blog, Standing on my Head, 

“Where was God in Sandy Hook? Just where he always is, in the midst of the mess. He’s there suffering with the victims, bearing the horror with us and weeping with those who mourn and raging with those who rage. Do you feel righteous rage at the insanity and senselessness of this evil? So does God. Now you understand what God’s wrath is like. Do you feel helpless sorrow, pity and nameless frustration in the face of such terror? So does God. Now you understand his frustration and anger at humanity’s inhumanity. Do you feel compassion and heartache, and don’t you want to do something for the people who are hurting–do just anything you can? So does God. Now you know how much he longs to come in to our lives and help us and do something for us to heal and reconcile and make things right. Don’t you feel rage and frustration and confusion and fear for the poor sick boy who pulled the trigger? Don’t you ask what made him do such a thing? What turned him into a murderous monster? God is in the middle of all the emotions–in the middle of the mess with us. “ 

Indeed, he is...I pray we find comfort and healing in that...