7/17/24

I’ve lived long enough to witness quite a few of our national tragedies (and, no, contrary to anything Dorene might tell you, I was not present when Lincoln was shot).

My folks always said I was too young to remember it, but I think I remember watching JFK’s funeral. I definitely remember when Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy were killed. My brother was draft age in the late 60s, so I vividly remember the coverage of the Vietnam conflict and the riots during the chaotic National Democratic Convention in Chicago. 1968 was a hard year for our country.

I was home alone in 1972 when the news reported that George Wallace was shot while campaigning in Maryland. I called my mother while she was at work and told her Governor Wallace had been shot in his behind (it was actually his abdomen . . . 10 year old me wasn’t up on my anatomy at the time).

Then there was the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981 . . . then came 9/11 . . . then came the attempt on Donald Trump this past Saturday.

I recently ran across a quote from Lord of the Rings that I thought was worth sharing:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

With Frodo, I could look at any or all of these needless tragedies and say, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.”

But they did.

What do we do about these situations? How do we respond?

The words of Gandolf are a good place to start. To Frodo’s wish that it had not happened in his time, Gandolf replies, “So do I . . . and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given.”

It’s really easy to get caught up in world events and forget who we are and Whose we are. The world is going to do its thing and often its thing is something awful. Especially during an election cycle, we can expect all sorts of unholy shenanigans.

It’s up to us to decide how we’ll respond – not react, but respond. There’s a difference.

In a March 2023 article, “Reacting vs. Responding in Difficult Conversations: A Neuroscience Perspective,” Dr. Laura Noel wrote: “Reacting is an instinctive, emotional response to a situation. It’s often impulsive and can be influenced by our past experiences or fears. On the other hand, responding is a thoughtful and deliberate action. It involves considering the situation, weighing the options and making a conscious decision.”

Thoughtful and deliberate action . . considering the situation, weighing the options and making a conscious decision.

Our response to any situation should come out of a deep well of trust.

We live in a very volatile world, and I shudder to think what might have happened in our country had former President Trump not have turned his head at the right moment. Even if he had not and we were plunged into the national chaos many fear, we as children of God, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, as the light of the world, as the city set upon a hill – as the peacemakers who are blessed, are to remember who we are and Whose we are. And then respond accordingly.

As we’ve read in Romans 8, part of our calling is to stand in places of pain, in those places where creation groans, and be God’s representatives. Even if we don’t know what to say or how to pray, we have the assurance that God’s Holy Spirit is within us interceding through us for the hurting world around us.

And our task is to keep our eyes on Jesus and our trust in God. “Do not be anxious for anything,” Paul wrote to the Philippians. “But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When pressed between the charging Egyptian chariots and the Red Sea, the Israelite were instructed to “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Why? “For Thou art with me.”

When the world is losing its mind around us, we can stay calm and have the peace of mind and the stability of spirit to be able to say or do whatever God wants us to do about the situation. As the old gospel song says, “May the peace of God, my Father, rule my heart in everything so I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing.”

Calm to comfort.

This doesn’t just happen. This godly response to the tragedies of life – whether national or personal – can only come when we train our hearts by spending time in the presence of God.

It comes from a lifetime and a lifestyle of faith.

Blessings,

Pastor Terry