lord have mercy
words from peter eaton, the dean at my current church.
once again we have the news that a gunman has killed young people on a school campus, and the first reports indicate that this is the worst mass shooting in our history. this fills us all with a range of emotions, and it is no surprise that today’s shooting once again leaves us stunned, bewildered, grieving, fearful. for us in Colorado, it opens up for us the wound of columbine.
why did this happen? we may never know the answer. here, as in so many of these apparently random acts of violence, the gunman is also dead, and whatever may have been his reasons have died with him. and this only magnifies the pain and confusion. it all seems so senseless, and we all feel so vulnerable.
but there is a sense that, even if we knew why the gunman did this, the answer would not satisfy us. because no answer satisfies a broken heart. so in the face of this terrible act of violence, we do what christians have done down the ages when their hearts have cried out for reasons why: we turn to God in prayer, and we turn to each other in support.
we pray for those who have died, that God may give them rest. we pray for those who have been wounded and who are fighting for their lives, that God may surround them in love. we pray for the families of the dead and the injured, that God may give them hope even in a day of darkness. we pray for all who are helping, especially the doctors and nurses, that God may give them steady judgement and healing hands. we pray, as we are bound, for the one who did this, for the forgiveness of his sins and for the salvation of his soul. and we pray for ourselves and for those whom we love, that we may be committed anew to building a world in which such acts of violence know no place.
lord, in your mercy... hear our prayer.
once again we have the news that a gunman has killed young people on a school campus, and the first reports indicate that this is the worst mass shooting in our history. this fills us all with a range of emotions, and it is no surprise that today’s shooting once again leaves us stunned, bewildered, grieving, fearful. for us in Colorado, it opens up for us the wound of columbine.
why did this happen? we may never know the answer. here, as in so many of these apparently random acts of violence, the gunman is also dead, and whatever may have been his reasons have died with him. and this only magnifies the pain and confusion. it all seems so senseless, and we all feel so vulnerable.
but there is a sense that, even if we knew why the gunman did this, the answer would not satisfy us. because no answer satisfies a broken heart. so in the face of this terrible act of violence, we do what christians have done down the ages when their hearts have cried out for reasons why: we turn to God in prayer, and we turn to each other in support.
we pray for those who have died, that God may give them rest. we pray for those who have been wounded and who are fighting for their lives, that God may surround them in love. we pray for the families of the dead and the injured, that God may give them hope even in a day of darkness. we pray for all who are helping, especially the doctors and nurses, that God may give them steady judgement and healing hands. we pray, as we are bound, for the one who did this, for the forgiveness of his sins and for the salvation of his soul. and we pray for ourselves and for those whom we love, that we may be committed anew to building a world in which such acts of violence know no place.
lord, in your mercy... hear our prayer.
posted by saara at
9:42 AM
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