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There are no words. And yet, I find myself trying to say something, write something, about the mass murder of 19 children and 2 teachers this week in Uvalde, Texas. This horror is a repeat of the horror that happened a week ago in Buffalo, New York. And the one before that and the one before that. Too much. Too many. Too long.
In the Book of Psalms are songs of lament. They are the voices of thousands of years ago crying out to God for deliverance from evil, pain, indignities, violence. They end with words of remembrance for who God is, was and always will be. They are raw. They are hard to read. They are true. So these are the words I will offer in this space today. Not my own, and yet, my own.
From Psalm 95: 1-7, 12-19 in the Message:
1-2 God, put an end to evil;
avenging God, show your colors!
Judge of the earth, take your stand;
throw the book at the arrogant.
3-4 God, the wicked get away with murder—
how long will you let this go on?
They brag and boast
and crow about their crimes!
5-7 They walk all over your people, God,
exploit and abuse your precious people.
They take out anyone who gets in their way;
if they can’t use them, they kill them.
They think, “God isn’t looking,
Jacob’s God is out to lunch.”
12-15 How blessed the man you train, God,
the woman you instruct in your Word,
Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil, while a jail is being built for the wicked.
God will never walk away from his people,
never desert his precious people.
Rest assured that justice is on its way
and every good heart put right.
16-19 Who stood up for me against the wicked?
Who took my side against evil workers?
If God hadn’t been there for me,
I never would have made it.
The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,”
your love, God, took hold and held me fast.
When I was upset and beside myself,
you calmed me down and cheered me up.
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