there are no words

Let us begin with an admission of our fragile understanding: there are no words.  There is nothing that we can say to each other that will allow us to make sense of the tragedy in Connecticut this morning.  Even our most dedicated resolve will not heal the wounds that have been made, for even the outrage we now express will crash down in the vast expanse of shock and loss.  We each feel the weight of this, though most of us have no immediate connection to the situation at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  That is because pain of this magnitude shakes the whole of our culture, it is a hurt that resonates through us each as a people.  And, there are no words that allow us to make sense of it all.

Sometimes things happen that have no good reason, though we know that good things can come from all things that happen.  Perhaps that is the reminder of Peace, as time continues to move through this second week of Advent.  Tonight parents will hold their children closer, and maybe the next time the hectic rush of a family's morning seeks to define our relationships, we will take a brief pause to remind ourselves of our love for one another.  All because we have just been reminded of both the frailty of our human existence - that we know not what a single day will hold for us - and that humanity is broken, corrupt and taken in by their evil thoughts.  A profound reason for faith to be made the center of our families and our communities.

In 2006 a gunman went into a Pennsylvania Amish school and killed five girls.  What made that situation profound was the incredible faith which the Amish community displayed to the family of the attacker.  And they showed their heart to the world in the process of mourning and recovery.  I do not know how I would respond if one of my children were victim to this horrific event, and I do not wish to say how any of the families who have lost so much today ought to react.  But, I do know that we as a Christian community need to be dedicated to the hope of the gospel even through tragedy.  We cannot allow ourselves to get caught up in the political debates which will undoubtedly rage, very few with an agenda which looks like God's kingdom.

There are so many angles to consider, so many facts yet to be shared, and so much hurt to be expressed.  Now is the time for prayer and reflection, for the families of the victims and for ourselves as a nation, that we might rediscover our morality, our faith, and our life.  This is the time for the church, not because we can lobby for laws, regulations or retribution.  But because we can show the love of God in the face of tragedy.  The original Christmas event was one that was met with a vicious slaughter of innocent children.  So we might take notice that the light of the world shines brightly into the darkness which, to this day, has not understood or overcome it.

There are no words, but there is Hope ... there is Peace ... there is Joy ... there is Love ... for, there is a child who has come that we might have life no matter what rages through creation.