Along with the rest of the nation, I struggle today with the school shooting that occurred two days ago in Uvalde, Texas. I believe that there are good and bad parts within every human being: we all have the capacity to be loving, kind and generous; and we all have the capacity to be selfish and cruel.
Fair enough. But here is a person who tried to kill his own grandmother, then killed young children. To get to that place, you have to forget everything you’ve always known about goodness—that you are loved, that people are kind, that life contains joy and beauty. You have to forget all that and listen only to the darkest voices in the human soul--that life is dangerous, that lashing out at anyone and everyone is the way to survive.
We need to mourn and lament. We need to try and make sense of this moment. And we need to contemplate how to create a better society where this is less likely to happen again. Of course this means taking away guns from dangerous people and stopping them from getting them in the first place. Finally, to stop the next mass shooter from going all the way to that darkest place of the human soul, we need to empower teachers, parents, grandparents, doctors, social workers, police; we need to empower religious leaders, youth group leaders, and social media watchdogs with resources and support. We can create a society where this kind of tragedy is much less likely to happen. Not a perfect society, but we can improve our society in the direction of love and of safety. We have to will it to be so. Along with mourning and healing, this is the work that this moment calls us to do.
PRAYER
Loving Spirit within each human soul, I call on you now. Accessing the Loving Spirit within myself, I pray to the Loving Spirit in my fellow human beings.
Let us unite to bring forth hope and kindness. Let us remind one another that forgiveness is possible. That we can open our hearts to one another, finding compassion and connection. Let us seek to cool anger and to soothe sorrow in ourselves and in one another.
May we always return to the Loving Spirit within when the shadow voices rise up within us.
May it be so.
Rev. Andrew Frantz
May 26, 2022
Fair enough. But here is a person who tried to kill his own grandmother, then killed young children. To get to that place, you have to forget everything you’ve always known about goodness—that you are loved, that people are kind, that life contains joy and beauty. You have to forget all that and listen only to the darkest voices in the human soul--that life is dangerous, that lashing out at anyone and everyone is the way to survive.
We need to mourn and lament. We need to try and make sense of this moment. And we need to contemplate how to create a better society where this is less likely to happen again. Of course this means taking away guns from dangerous people and stopping them from getting them in the first place. Finally, to stop the next mass shooter from going all the way to that darkest place of the human soul, we need to empower teachers, parents, grandparents, doctors, social workers, police; we need to empower religious leaders, youth group leaders, and social media watchdogs with resources and support. We can create a society where this kind of tragedy is much less likely to happen. Not a perfect society, but we can improve our society in the direction of love and of safety. We have to will it to be so. Along with mourning and healing, this is the work that this moment calls us to do.
PRAYER
Loving Spirit within each human soul, I call on you now. Accessing the Loving Spirit within myself, I pray to the Loving Spirit in my fellow human beings.
Let us unite to bring forth hope and kindness. Let us remind one another that forgiveness is possible. That we can open our hearts to one another, finding compassion and connection. Let us seek to cool anger and to soothe sorrow in ourselves and in one another.
May we always return to the Loving Spirit within when the shadow voices rise up within us.
May it be so.
Rev. Andrew Frantz
May 26, 2022
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