After the rampage
A psalm offers insight and comfort after the tragedy at Virginia Tech.
from the April 18, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
It is not too late. It is never too late to reach out for solace and for comfort. The source of comfort is real and is at hand. But even more than that, it is not too late to reach out to the Almighty for healing.
It is a time for healing, a time for appealing to the Creator for some glimpse of His power, His care, His love. And even for some glimpse of His safety. Yes, it is not too late to seek such a glimpse in prayer and to expect to find a meaningful answer.
As the first reports of the rampage at Virginia Tech spread across the Internet, I turned to the Bible for comfort.
But I also wanted more than comfort.
I hungered for an answer to the violence itself, an answer that would transform the aftermath of a horrible tragedy into a time of first steps toward safety and security for every student at every university – a time of seeing that the ultimate source of safety is real and meaningful and present.
The Bible, yet again, spoke as if holding a message meant just for this moment. It fell open to the Psalms. "There be many that say, Who will shew us any good?" It was easy to imagine grieving friends plaintively asking just that, "Who will show me any good at all?" as if, in the face of tragedy, it was impossible to imagine goodness of any kind.
But the Psalm does not end there. It goes on a verse or two later and affirms, "Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety" (4:6, 8). Here, I thought, was a powerful fact, a spiritual truth.
The one God, who is inextinguishable Life, changeless Truth, unstoppable Love, is at hand. And this God does make each one of us dwell in safety. God has the power, is the power, which makes safety possible. The Psalmist could assert this. How? By being naive? Hardly. By somehow being blind to harsh scenes of tragedy in daily life? Not possible.
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