Hokie Tragedy

There's no need for links -- everyone knows the story of what happened at Virgina Tech today. We kept re-checking news sites this afternoon as the toll mounted, and the depth of the horror sank in.

I think it takes reviewing (literally, the re-viewing) the coverage to make it believable, and not just a "oh, isn't that too bad..." thing you see and forget. At least, that's what I tell myself as I scan for more info, reactions, answers from anyone...anyone?

Padre talked yesterday in the homily about not having answers for tragedies like illness and death. He didn't give some sort of glib quote at the end, for which I'm glad. If answers, insight and understanding were that easy to obtain, what we experience of pain and suffering would become cheapened.

I'm reading Fearless Faith by John Fischer. In the first chapter, he looks at the "Lord's Prayer" (the prayer Jesus, Himself, prayed for us who would follow Him.)

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (John 17:20).

That would be us, of course.

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15).

Ah yes, there it is--the part of this prayer that tells us what to expect. This is where he reveals what he intends to do, and not do, for us. And what he won’t do is as important as what he will. He doesn't intend for us to be removed from the world, but to be protected in the middle of it. He doesn't want us removed from danger, he wants us surrounded by danger on every hand--but safe from the evil one.

It is important to realize, in our current dilemma, that the prayers of Jesus are more effective than ours. Our prayers are attached to our human need, a limited view of our situation, and the options we have for relief. Sometimes our prayers are no more than wishes. The prayers of Jesus, on the contrary, are completely in accord with God’s will because he and the Father are one. If Jesus prays for our protection, then it is because he knows God fully intends to protect us. And if he prays for us not to me removed from the world, it is because he has no intention of rescuing us out of the world. This is not a well-intentioned wish on the part of Jesus. It is the will of God to leave us in the world and meet us with all the provisions and protection we need to be here and be involved in the world. Anything short of this is less than what God intends for us.

Two things are clear about these petitions from the last request of a dying man who also happened to be the Son of God. The first is that he expects us to be in the world, and the second is that in doing so we will be in danger. Apparently Jesus has no intention of relieving us of the cause of that danger. There would be no need for him to pray for our protection if this were not so. Notice also that there are no qualifiers to this statement--as in “keep the world from getting too bad so it isn't so hard on them.” No matter how bad the world gets, he still wants us in it.

Divine Mercy Sunday gave us the opportunity to implore God for this protection, for what is needed to live in this fallen world. It's hard to see that protection in the face of tragedies like today, or those tragedies to which we've become numb.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion;
Have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Tonight, especially on those in Blacksburg.