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.

Walk By Faith

God is righteous because of whom he is. God’s righteousness is inside; ours is outside.  Remember when God declared all that he created was good, yes, very good. Righteous. Somewhere along about Genesis 3, Adam and Eve – we – take upon ourselves the knowledge of good and evil. What did we do? We think if we listen to lies and deceit, we will become like God. God, I Am Who I Am, has created us in His image, made with all the right stuff. We are who we are, but by disobedience, we get un-right. We are no longer that who we were.

When God calls to us in the garden, we have hidden because we are exposed. Righteousness is no longer internal. We have become afraid of whom we have become. We try to make ourselves right. We sew fig leaves together; we try to hide the unrighteous shame.  We think maybe if we hide, God will not note we are no longer right when he finds us. We make excuses, thinking if we introduce the blame game, we can distract God from the wrongness. Instead, God sends us out to understand who we were. To discover who we are. Did anyone notice? Not in fig leaves. Not in shame. No, God covers us. If we would but see, he has given us a Robe of Righteousness. The flaming sword of His creative Word becomes the first law. We cannot return. We separated ourselves from God. He gives us the Law and the Prophets. He sends his only Son. God gives us everything we need to become who we were.

From time to time, we remember. Cain saw the carefully stored garments, but dies because his brother does not know. Abel banished and Seth born. Their sons hear the stories. We realize that even though we are unrighteous, we can proclaim God’s righteousness.  From generation to generation, the story can be told. The robe of righteousness can be passed. Often it is carefully unpacked. We learn to sing and dance. We call it prayer and praise. Then we carefully conceal it so it will not give out.

Along comes a great, great, ever so great grandchild. Enoch becomes a father. Enoch took the cloak out of moth balls and wore it – all the time. Then Enoch walked with God. He understood. He got it. Enoch’s grandson told that story. It is possible to recover one’s righteousness. All we have to do is put on the robe, and not take it off. Noah got it. When God finally got fed up with the pack-it-up, put-it-in-moth-balls, take-it-out, put-it-back. In all this time, two men – only two – figured it out, Enoch and Noah.

God chooses to start again, not from the beginning, but from the point of understanding. He made His instructions clear and unambiguous. Noah wears the Robe of Righteousness onto the ark.

Paul, a whole testament later, tells us the story. He gives us a roll call of the heroes who unpacked the mantle and wore it as they walked with God. He finds in in the Prophets, packed carefully away, the path of righteousness: wear the robe, live by faith, walk with God. The course he thought he knew until he learned on a road leading to Damascus. The path Jesus walked to Gethsemane.

One cannot go back beyond the flashing sword, but one can walk on by faith. The trust that Jesus God, true and righteous, took the sword of unrighteousness into his side. The story told by John, the beloved disciple, who took up the Cup of Salvation and heard Jesus say “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Thomas put your hand into my side. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.”  Wear the robe. Carry the cup. Receive His Spirit.  Walk by faith. Not from but to, Amen and amen.

Genesis 3-6, Habakkuk 2, Hebrews 11, John 20