Friday, December 14, 2012

In Despair


“And in despair I bow'd my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"GOD IS NOT DEAD, NOR DOTH HE SLEEP!
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
with peace on earth, good will to men.”
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Massachusetts, 1864
*





The last thing Jesus said before He died on the cross was, "It is finished." Well, was it finished or not?!? ...we can't help but wonder as we hear the horrific news of Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. I can't even breathe. The mindless evil chokes the life -- the faith -- right out of me.
 
During the Advent season, we look forward with HOPE that does not disappoint. Here we suffer still, that's true, but not in endless drudgery. THE WRONG SHALL FAIL, THE RIGHT PREVAIL because Jesus came into the world as weak and as wrought with suffering as any of us. That is what He finished: His return, along with our salvation, is set in stone.

Jesus died for today, and how bitterly He has wept for it. He also rose for it, and so we know how warmly He is at this very moment embracing those who came home to Him today, albeit far, far too soon. May the God of all comfort guard those whose hearts are left obliterated (2 Corinthians 1:3).
“We are afflicted in every way,
but not crushed; perplexed,
but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

For more on the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, click here.
Here is our President's appropriately tearful and angry response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The Scripture verse he quotes is from Isaiah 61:1, and refers of course to Christ.

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

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