I have no words.
I have read so many words in these days, as if somehow we might be able to use our voluminous and conflicting words to forget the terrible fragility of human life, the awful vulnerability of our brothers and sisters and our own selves. We are so easily broken and dissolved, and nevertheless we are entrusted to one another. We are responsible for one another.
I have no words of my own for times such as these. They are too jarring, too painfully close to our broken hearts, too incomprehensible....
I need to listen again to what was spoken long ago, to listen as though I am hearing it for the first time:
"Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13).
Jesus said to his disciples, "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22).
"If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:20-21).Whoever loves God must also love his brother, his sister. Do we even know what this means, or how to even begin to love like this?
This is a time for silence, for grief, for sorrow, and for listening to God.
Can we not mourn the fallen, console the sorrowful, and clear away our own noise to make space for God to come?
