Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
O Lord, God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Psalm 80:3-7
How many times in my lifetime will I hear the phrase, “worst mass shooting ever?” How many times will the familiar refrain sound out of lone gunman, disgruntled, angry, bitter, loner who no one suspected, whose neighbors say he, “seemed nice”, who purchased guns legally, who “had a history with”, be it law enforcement, military and/or mental illness? How many times will we continue to discover that the shooter “fell through the gaps” of mental health care (which doesn’t exist in many places) or background checks (which function more like a sieve than a barrier)? How many times will we see this scene played out again and again, with prayers and “thoughts” and no change from any avenue, any statehouse, any pulpit, any legislature?
We are on the beaten path now, reacting and lamenting, pointing fingers and blaming, saying its “too soon” to discuss gun control, or clamoring to stop “politicizing” this tragedy. And yet here we are –again. Can we really stop these events? I don’t know. Would gun laws actually prevent things like this? Well, they do in other countries, but I don’t know if they would here and I remain very clear about the chances of getting them enacted. If nothing happened – and I mean NOTHING – after Sandy Hook, where 20 children and 6 adults were murdered by the same scenario, then I have little hope that anything will change.
And that’s where I am this morning, Fellowship. Maybe by the time you read this I’ll be in a different place. Maybe by this Sunday I will find some small candle somewhere that warms up the blanket of snow that has covered my heart. I don’t see it now. Now all I have is the same cry that the psalmist has for a God who seems so very absent these days. Now all I have is the need for some divine intervention.
Peace-
Chris