The lectionary epistle reading for last Sunday contained this well-known verse from Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice!” In light of the school shooting that took place in Newtown, Conn., Friday morning, Paul’s words almost seem like a cruel joke.
The theme the Third Sunday of Advent was joy. By Thursday afternoon I had finished my sermon on that theme, yet 24 hours later, I knew I could not preach that sermon. And to be honest, as I stepped to the pulpit Sunday morning, I wasn’t sure what sermon I was supposed to preach. I prayed and searched my own heart, and I knew I had nothing profound to say that would instantly wipe away our horror and grief — just a few thoughts on a note card.
Daniel Glaze
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I am both a pastor and a papa. And sometimes my experience as a papa influences how I pastor. As I turned on the television Friday afternoon and saw that six adults and 20 children (all of them 6 or 7 years old) had been killed, I thought I was going to be sick. I immediately thought of my two beautiful children. And if something like this ever happened to one of them … I can’t even imagine it. Those poor parents. God have mercy.
We are struck with horror and disbelief. As a pastor, many of my congregants look to me to share a word of hope — some word that might make us feel a bit better after what has taken place. But the truth is, there are no words.
There are no words which would justify why one person would murder another person, let alone a group of people, let alone children. At times like this when words fail us, we offer our prayers and our tears. We pray and cry out in grief and in pain.
We cry out for the children and adults who lost their lives. We cry out for their families, we cry out for the other children who witnessed this heinous act and will live with nightmares for a long, long time. Our pain is fresh and raw, and try as we might, we cannot banish these terrible thoughts from our hearts.
I realize that my job is to help us as a church see hope in the midst of life’s difficult circumstances. While we are in shock over this devastating news, as we mourn the death of those young ones whose names we don’t even know, as we consider this horror, we have to ask, “What hope is there for tomorrow?”
If you’re looking at me for the answer, I don’t have it.
But maybe that’s what hope is all about. Even at times when we feel that all hope is lost, even when we feel all alone, God is with us. That’s what Emmanuel is all about. God is with us — no matter what.
So in light of this tragedy, how do we make sense of Paul’s words to “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice”? It isn’t meant as a cruel joke. Let’s remember that Paul wrote these words from a prison cell — he was nearly blind and probably in very poor health. Paul didn’t rejoice because life was a bowl of cherries. Paul didn’t rejoice because everything was OK. Paul was able to rejoice (and call others to rejoice) because even when his world and his life was going down the tubes, he knew that God was faithful and would never forsake him.
That’s the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness depends upon our circumstances. Happiness comes and goes — happiness flew out the window when we saw the news reports.
Joy is different. Joy is deeper. Joy comes from knowing that even though the world seems to be falling apart, we have a savior who can heal all things broken. Joy comes from knowing that evil will not prevail for long. One day Jesus will return and set everything right. joy comes from knowing that you are God’s child and God will never, never, never leave you or forsake you.
Perhaps that’s the word we needed to hear Sunday morning — perhaps that’s the word we needed to share with our friends in Connecticut and across this nation and world. Emmanuel, God is with us; and the book of Romans tells us that nothing in this world — not even death itself — can separate us from the love of God.
There is so much about this tragedy that I will never understand. But this much I do know: Emmanuel, God is with us. And through the pain, grief, and even death, one way or another, God will take care of us.
Daniel E. Glaze ([email protected]) is pastor of First Baptist Church in Ahoskie, N.C.