Orlando

A Song for Those who Hurt // Soundtrack Part 3

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This is part of a series where I hope to join two of my life long loves together: the music I listen to, and the Scriptures I read – in a series I’m calling Soundtrack, because each piece will explore the music that has often marked the various chapters in my life with the soundtrack of Scripture, the Psalms.

 

I can’t believe the news today
Oh, I can’t close my eyes
And make it go away
How long
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long
‘Cause tonight, we can be as one
Tonight

“Sunday, Bloody Sunday” (on U2’s album, War. 1983, Island Records.)

Orlando, FL.  It’s now another another short handed addition to a long list of cities we associate with tragedy.  Other cities are, of course on the list: Newton, CT; Aurora, CO; San Bernardino, CA.  The mere mention of the city reminds us of the not distant enough, and all too often occurrence of tragedy brought about by other human beings.

We wake too often to the tragic (and sometimes mass) loss of life. Continue reading

How (NOT) To Respond to Tragedy // A reflection on the mass killings in Orlando

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Sunday marked yet ANOTHER mass killing here in the United States – resulting in the largest number of deaths to date, when Omar Mateen opened fire on Pulse, a night club established for the LGBTQ community.

Each week it seems we wake to another mass shooting and another threat of terror somewhere on the globe that feels all to close to home.  We shrink back at the news of viruses and illnesses seemingly capable of wiping out larger portions of the population.  And then there are the often unpredictable natural disasters that lurk beneath and above us waiting to catch us off guard.

There has been and always will be plenty to fear.  Perhaps this is why God often attempts to comfort those who follow him with the charge, “Do not be afraid.”

Continue reading