Dark Night Rises

It was late Friday night when I heard of the violence at a midnight viewing of the most recent Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado. Like so many of you I was horrified by yet another random act of violence that didn’t have to be except that evil has no conscious and once again the dark night rises and catches us off guard – totally unprepared for such violence. We shake our heads and wonder, why?

I recall the shooting of Amish children attending school, Columbine and Virginia Tech. Violence continues to show its ugly head and another night of darkness rises from the insufferable dung heap of unresolved anger and lonely desperation and as Christians we struggle to find the words to console our anxious hearts especially when such acts of violence taunt the very values we hold dear.   When the dark night rises and taunts the values that shape our community, how do Christians respond to such acts of violence?

As painful as it may be for all of us, we must learn from the Amish community that shows us that forgiveness works. We must also believe that even when the dark night rises from its lurid, murky grave of hopelessness and despair, we must believe that evil is the aberration and not goodness. In God’s time, goodness, not evil will prevail. In the meantime, we must remain steadfast, teaching our children about the importance of love, acceptance, tolerance, and an abiding faith that is nurtured from the day our children were baptized. Through thick and thin, through tragedy and grief, our faith must be strong -- strong enough to stand in the shadow of the dark night, fearlessly proclaiming the power of God’s love and grace for this will be our salvation.

Prayer

We cry out and ask WHY God, why? We struggle to understand, to make sense out of such tragedy and we ask WHY? Because we become anxious in times like these, we plead for answers. Until we hear from you O God, remind us that we do not grieve alone for you grieve with us. In our weeping, in our mourning, and in our struggle to understand, may we feel your presence, your comforting Spirit that covers us like a warm blanket of peace. Amen.