The senseless tragedy that rocked Newtown, Conn., last week shook
us all. An equally horrific but less deadly tragedy in China on Friday left 22
children and one adult injured by a knife wielding man who attacked them at the
gate of an elementary school in the village of Chengping in central Henan
province.
Like many, I am overwhelmed with grief by the senselessness
of these tragedies. Explanations and analyses seem pointless. Words fail. Yet,
I’ve struggled through the weekend with every news report, aching for mommas
and daddies, grandpas and grandmas, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters
whose lives were forever changed last Friday.
Many are speaking into the Newtown tragedy. Many are asking
questions. A headline from a Dec. 17, Huff Post Religion column, reads,
“Faithful Fill Pews In Newtown Seeking Answers On How God Let Shooting Happen.” Many who are
smarter and more theologically astute than me will attempt to answer that
question. I think, though, that the better question is
“Was God there?” The answer is a resounding,
“Yes.”
God was there in the heroic acts of principal Dawn Hochsprung and school
psychologist Mary Sherlach who attempted to tackle the gunman and died in the effort.
He was there when Victoria Soto tried to divert the gunman to another location.
He was there with those who called 911 and allowed the intercom to broadcast
events to teachers as a warning of the chaos. He was with emergency personnel
who responded so quickly, possibly preventing the gunman from taking more
lives. He was with parents and families as they received news from the school.
He was in the closets and behind the bookshelves and under the desks with every
frightened child.
Yes, God was there. And He is with
the families now — through every funeral and every remembrance. He will be with
them on Christmas Day and every Christmas hereafter. He will be with them at
their child’s next birthday, at next year’s “first day of school” and at what
would have been high school graduations.
If He is with us, why then didn’t He intervene? One of the most
troubling aspects of our human nature is mankind’s free will. God allows us to
make choices — for evil or for good — and we bear the consequences of those
choices. Adam Lanza made a choice for evil and a community and a nation suffer.
Hochspring, Sherlach and Soto made a choice to protect their students to the
best of their ability. They will be remembered as heroes. It is unlikely that these
three women woke up Friday morning thinking, “I will perform an act of bravery
today.” More likely, they awakened looking forward to the coming Christmas
break, wondering how they would contain the students’ excitement as the last week
of school approached, planning last minute Christmas shopping or dinner with a
friend.
But when chaos reigned, they made a choice — a choice to fight evil in an
effort to shelter the innocent — and they gave their lives in the process. We
see in them the image of Christ.
This is the
image I want to take away from the Newtown tragedy. This is the image I want to
share with my children — of three strong women who fought for “their kids” and of those
who came to the rescue, including police, paramedics, firefighters and yes, even the
on-site media as they brought the tragedy home to all of us. I want to help my
children understand that even in the worst carnage, good people emerge, bearing
the image of Christ, sometimes unknowingly, and offering stability, peace and hope.
Yes, God was
there, and He is with us now. This is what Christmas is all about.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they
will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23