Grief

[Jesus said] “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14:27

Dear Friends in Christ,

I found myself without the words to write for my weekly message last Thursday. It was September 11, and we were remembering that day in 2001. Vin Tighe’s funeral was that afternoon, and we were preparing for the funeral of a teenager who lost a battle to cancer. A new level of national divisiveness was in the background, and we were just hearing about the political murder of Charlie Kirk. There were a variety of observations that came to my mind, but invoking them would be so easily misunderstood in a time of grief. I was left, as we so often are in grief, speechless.

I hope that we find our voices again. Not voices that lash out (for anger is often a feeling of grief), but rather voices that engage each other with respect and hope. That was a hopeful part of Charlie Kirk’s efforts, as I understand it: engagement about ideas rather than rejection of those with whom we disagree. Perhaps the best comment I’ve read in these last few days is the quotation from The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

This is Jesus’ response to our darkness: to love us generously even when we rejected him. Let it be our response to the darkness in others and in ourselves. May God’s grace and mercy help us to love across differences and disagreements, even to love those who do not love us back. In so doing, we teach ourselves and others how to love as Jesus loves, pressing back the darkness. In so doing, we grow more as disciples of Jesus. God bless you and guide you in your grief.

Yours in Christ,

-Tom