Where Was God?

I've avoided saying much of anything about the Newtown, Connecticut shooting for a while, because - frankly - I think the whole thing was too raw and too emotional, and it was hard to really get a grip on my own feelings and know exactly what could be offered in the face of such brutal insanity. When 27 people are murdered (20 of them 6 & 7 year olds) what in the world are you supposed to say? But I think people of faith have to say something. Eventually. Once the rawness is over and all we're left with is still head-shaking bewilderment and grief. From a faith perspective, the question being asked is - "where was God?" It's a valid question for people who have questions about God in the first place, and it's a valid question even for those of very deep faith, because even those of very deep faith have somehow been conditioned by the feel-good religion that we like to promote to believe that God should simply take all the bad things away, and, if that's true, then children shouldn't be murdered. No one should be murdered, of course - but especially not innocent children who go to school in the morning to learn and to play and to see their friends, with dreams of Christmas probably in most of their heads at this time of year. So, yes, "where was God?" Valid question.

Because we're right around Christmas my mind first goes to what you might call the extended Christmas story in the Bible, and it reminds me that the occurrence of such horrible things shouldn't surprise us. That extended Christmas story includes what we call "The Massacre Of The Innocents." It's the story of King Herod, determined to kill this child whose birth has been foretold by the magi, ordering the massacre of all the boys 3 and under in Bethlehem, apparently concluding that it was better for many innocent children to die than that he feel threatened. That is a horrible story. I've preached on it a couple of times over the years, but it never feels right. Especially because it's part of the Christmas story. There's a Christmas carol that speaks of it. "Unto Us A Boy Is Born" includes the line: "Herod then with fear was filled: 'A prince,' he said, 'in Jewry.' All the little boys he killed at Bethlehem in his fury." But I don't use that carol very much. That's just an ugly line. But I wonder if that Christmas carol and that story from Matthew's Gospel isn't making an important point. Let's let go of the unrealistic notion that God's just going to make everything OK and nothing bad will ever happen. It's never been that way for people of faith; it never will be that way for people of faith.

I can rationalize the existence of evil and the fact that bad things happen to good people. That's not hard. Free will. God calls us to a life of love, but lets us choose whether or not to live that life of love. In fact, it's the granting of that choice that is the sign of divine love. God invites us to relationship. Relationship can't be forced; it has to be chosen. Because a relationship that is forced isn't a relationship. And if I have the right to refuse the relationship God offers then I will sometimes not live in love, and my choices will impact others. And before anyone says "but believers do evil things as often as anyone" - I wouldn't argue that, because believers make choices too, and sometimes we choose not to live in love. Tragic, but true. Bad things happen to good (or innocent) people because sometimes both believers and non-believers choose to do bad things, and our actions have consequences on those around us. I don't know how to deny that. Could God prevent any of that? I believe in a sentient and all-powerful God, so I believe that, yes, God could prevent that. But God won't - and I believe it's because of love. None of us can protect our children from everything - and we shouldn't. Otherwise they'd never grow up. They'd never become the people God is calling them to be. Jesus said that he wanted us to live life to the full. "Abundant life." Living life to the full presumably includes all the experiences of life - good and bad and everything in between. Should the children of Newtown have experienced more abundance of life? Yes. They should have. But they didn't. And that's evil. It's not of God, and it's not even a sign that God was absent. It's just a reminder - if we ever needed one - that evil is very real.

So, where was God? I believe God was there. I believe God was present in the love and courage shown, for example, by teachers who tried to protect and comfort the children in their care. Some would say, "why give credit to God? Give credit to the teachers." Well, I do. They have as much right to choose as anyone else. They could have chosen not to act with love and courage. But they chose to act with love and courage. I don't know whether or not all or any of the teachers (and others) who acted with such love and courage were believers. But I do believe that those are God-given qualities; qualities that let the light of God shine even in the midst of horrible, horrible darkness. When we see them, we see God, even if those displaying them don't realize that they're displaying God by their actions. So, God was there. As always, God is shown through the noble and loving and courageous actions of those whom God has created. Some choose not to show those divine qualities - that "image of God" built into each one of us. That choice is the reason for evil. Sometimes that choice doesn't have a lot of impact; sometimes it has a tragic impact. But it doesn't blind me to the reality of God's presence in the world. "God is love," Scripture tells me. Where I see love and loving qualities, I see God. I could see those qualities in Newtown. So I know God was there, as well. That doesn't mitigate the tragic insanity of what happened, but it helps me to make sense of it anyway.