In Memoriam Newtown, CT 12/14/12

I believe there can be no greater pain than the loss of a child. God knows, he lost his son at the hands of angry men. This leaves families feeling powerless, helpless and even hopeless. Even God covered the earth in darkness and sent an earthquake that rent his garment - the veil - to the Holy of Holies

I want to share with you the thoughts of some folks who pray intentionally, who love unconditionally, who know what it is to mourn and grieve through their own experiences and the experiences of those they love. Some believe Christ has come, and are waiting his return. Some are waiting for Messiah. Some believe in Allah. Some believe the no matter where or how we worship:

We all reach out to Newtown in ways that show we are greater than the sum of our parts.

Most loving and ever-present God, this morning we join our country in mourning for the senseless and tragic loss of life on Friday morning.  In shock and despair, we come before You begging for peace. 

We grip tightly to hope during this Advent season.  You alone, O God, can heal this kind of pain. You alone, O God, can comfort the parents and families impacted by such horror.  May we remember that our joy, which we seek at Christmas, is not found in the circumstances on this earth, but in the presence of Your mercy.  

May we remember that the joy of your unending love in the Christ Child, is the only hope we have and the only hope we need.  O God, surround the community in Connecticut with intense and unmistakable love.  

Heal our human ability to destroy life.  May we know and truly understand the message of the manger in Bethlehem– darkness and evil in whatever form is never the last word.  

For You, O God, came to heal, came to save, came to give life and came to give us rest.  May our hope abide in You now and forever.  Amen.     

                                                                            Rev. Laurie Moeller, Pastoral Prayer
                                    Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, 12/16/12, Marietta, Georgia

Guns don't kill people, people kill people.            Eddie Izzard,British Stan-Up Comedian

All people grieve differently. Today is not the day to talk about forgiveness. Today is the day to mourn and commemorate and love and celebrate with the families of Newtown, Connecticut. Later, those same families will need to find a new normal, because the old normal is no longer there. Only then can we deal with forgiveness. We need to be our brother''s keeper. We need to love and support these families in the midst of their loss, and all families who struggle with mental health needs, who need answers that are not easy to find.

Pastor T. D. Jakes, Potter's House, Dallas, Texas

Crawling out is long, hard and searing. First Responders, particularly will need long term mental health care.
                                                               Frank Keating, Former Governor of Oklahoma

It is my hope that the kids and schools find a way, at what would be these precious children's graduation, to once again call their names; to present their diplomas en abstentia. Those of us left behind are the children. We need to allow the reality of the tragedy be what it is. We should also remember Moses' family's grief as they released his basket to the Nile, to help know that we all daily release our children as they pass from our care to another's, We must have hope in the midst of tragedy.

Rev. Dr. Joe Peabody, Mt Zion United Methodist Church, Marietta, Georgia 

The NRA and weapons dealers have gone dark. The are distancing themselves from the slaughter. Is this temporary measure enough?

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under in accordance with the time he learned from  the Magi.

The Slaughter of the Innocents, Matthew 1:16, NIV

Violent events such as the wars in Iraq, [Afghanistan, Somalia, Israel and Palestine ... ] and the post-war conflict, acts of terrorism, crime, and natural disasters affect everyone. Children receive different information about these events. 

Some children are included in discussions, some overhear adults’ or other children’s talk, some hear or see it on the news. Many young children may be confused or frightened and try to work out their feelings and understanding in play. 

Adults can observe and guide the play by responding to what children say with simple, accurate information and keeping the play within safe physical and emotional boundaries.

For more information contact TRUCE: 

www.truceteachers.org

PO Box 441261, West Somerville, MA 02144  

e-mail: truceteachers@aol.com

You are not alone. A real God can find one in the midst of tragedy. Overwhelming grief enlarges and deepens our faith with evidences of grace. In the midst of the process we must find ways to forgive the broken..

                                                    Bishop Robert Wright, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Heaven is very busy this morning.                                              Meredith , 6  years old

Violent movies and video games will desensitize; and causes one not only to perpetrate acts of violence, and to be less likely to assist victims of violence.

Police across the country have announced a zero tolerance for copycats.

In Newtown, a local builder plans to repair at no charge the homes of the families affected by the violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

I pray President Obama holds to his resolve. I pray Congress, rather than sit across the aisle from the "other" party, stand instead, to encircle the children. Remember they have no voice but yours.

Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted

because they were no more.

The Slaughter of the Innocents, Matthew 2:17-18 NIV

Toy Soldiers, Real Guns

We are greatly removed from the effects of the wars we prosecute. We are then tempted into nihilism and despair when seemingly random violence comes our way. On the day of the shooting my Facebook friends posted updates suggesting we hug someone close to us. Parents that evening squeezed their children tighter than ever when they picked them up safe and sound from school.

To talk about healing, we must talk about love. We must confront what is not love. Violence begets violence; despair begets despair. But we also never know how much reaching out to a shy, angry young man with a simple kindness might actually do.

It takes courage to keep caring after a tragedy. It takes courage to lay down our weapons and stop the violence, big and small. Such acts may not count as heroism in any headline. Yet they just might be the cure for our collective sickness, the only real way to heal.

Robert Peake is an award-winning writer and poet. 

He lives in London England. Visit him online at www.robertpeake.com 

I encourage you to add your prayers or comments (quotations) you have heard or read to this post in the comment box. Remember the goal is to encourage and lift up. The murderer is dead, so the only justice is the actions we take to love and enfold Sandy Hook Elementary School teachers and children; to repeat the names of the children who left the world too soon; to pray for the first responders and surviving mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters; to aid a community experiencing a depth of surrealistic pain we cannot know, but only touch.

All Saints Nov 1

Psalms am: 111, 112 pm: 148, 150

Neh 4:1-23

am: Heb 11:32-12:2 pm: Rev 21:1-4, 22-22:5

2012/Year B

Psalm 111:7-10 (MSG)

He manufactures truth and justice;
All his products are guaranteed to last—
Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof.
All that he makes and does is honest and true:
He paid the ransom for his people,
He ordered his Covenant kept forever.
He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect.
The good life begins in the fear of God—
Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.
His Hallelujah lasts forever!

Psalm 112-4-6

Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious, compassionate, and just [who are in right standing with God].

⁵ It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.

⁶ He will not be moved forever; the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) shall be in everlasting remembrance.

First there was Prevenient Grace. All the people, places and things God placed in my path. The nouns that caused me to stop and turn to see who was REALLY tapping on my shoulder

Next there was Saving Grace. The mystery of faith. Christ came, Christ died, Christ rose, Christ is coming again. All the verbs that caused me to stop and turn and place my life, my being in the hands of God.

Next there is Sanctifying Grace.  All the adjectives and adverbs that give faith it's meaning. From Paul and the apostles I learned it is sanctification by grace not works. From Luther I learned  it is the working out of my faith. From Wesley I learned the theology is in the hymnal. For me it is learning to be rather than to do. But out of the abundance of my heart, I give and give and give. Until there is less of me and more of Him.

 

^32-38 I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

^39-40 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.

 

Discipline in a Long-Distance Race

12 ^1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (MSG)

 

Some days, the work seems too hard, too scary, too far to go. But I am reminded over and over again. Do not look at the work or the adjectives or the adverbs. Look only to the goal.

 

I only know that every morning I wake up it is because God must have something more for me to do. More prayers to pray, More cards to send, More love to give, More blogs to write. More books to read. Whatever it takes to draw nearer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

The New Jerusalem

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.^{[a] 4} He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”