For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ...a time to weep…a time to mourn…(Ecclesiastes 3:1,4)
On Monday morning at 7am, my cell phone rang. It was the school that my son attends. I thought to myself, “That’s strange”. I answered and got a pre-recorded message. It announced that classes were canceled that day due to a shelter in place order. I quickly opened the Internet browser on my phone and went to a news page and saw that there had been a shooting on the grounds of my alma mater. Three students were dead, two critically wounded, and the shooter was still at large. Once again, violence had reared its ugly head in our community.
When such violence occurs, we often respond in ways that try and help us make sense of what has happened. This is a coping mechanism to create distance between us and the tragedy. Some will argue for gun control. Others will counter with the constitutional right of gun ownership. Some will speak of justice for the victims, for the need to punish the assailant in order to deter future acts. Others will decry the societal conditions that lead to such violence. These are all worthwhile discussions but now is not the time for them.
Now is the time to weep and mourn.
Weep and mourn for the families of the slain. They were probably looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving break when their student would be home. Now, they will gather around tables with an empty spot. It will be nigh to impossible for them to give thanks. Their lives have been irrevocably changed forever.
Weep and mourn for the family of the shooter. This may be harder to do. But do you imagine that his parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members envisioned this for him? Do you think this is what they dreamed and longed for him? Their lives have also been irrevocably changed. They will forever be marked as “the shooter’s family”. Imagine carrying that burden with you for the rest of your life.
Weep and mourn for the shooter. This may be the hardest of all. We recoil from his actions and we know the consequences he will likely face. But we know little about him. Therefore, while we may rightly condemn his actions, let us be slow to condemn him. For what we do know is he is one made in the image of God. He may also be one for whom Jesus died.
Weep and mourn for our children. Clearly, we need to pray for the students at UVA. But almost every student in the area had their day altered by this event. Imagine their delight of an unexpected day off from school was transformed when they learned the reason why. Studies, polls, and other evidence continue to pour in that the last several years have been hard on our children. Rates of anxiety, suicide, and other mental health issues have skyrocketed. And now this, reminding them of how fragile life is.
Why do we weep? Because Jesus, our Savior, wept. When he looked out over Jerusalem and saw all of the fruit of lives that were marked by sin and disorder and brokenness, he wept. When he stood at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus and was confronted with that ultimate distortion, death itself, he wept. And he did so, knowing he was going to raise him. He did so knowing that in his life, death, and resurrection, he was going to secure a kingdom where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4).
And yet Jesus wept because it was the right response in those moments. Because there is a season for everything. And in our community, now is the season for weeping.
(Note from Pastor Jon: As I finished writing this on Monday evening, news came that four students at the University of Idaho were found dead. It is indeed a time to weep and to cry out, Come, Lord Jesus, come.)
