Tag Archives: mourning

A prayer for a day of sad anniversaries

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nycWars and rumors of wars.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
They say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

How long, Sovereign Lord? How long?

A time to mourn

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As Ecclesiastes says, There is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” This is a time to mourn. 38 people were killed when a helicopter was downed in Afghanistan on Saturday. Not 30. Not 22. 38 people. We don’t just count the Navy SEALs nor the U.S. servicemen. The loss was just as great for all involved.

It’s tempting to use this moment for political purposes. If you favor withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, this proves your point. If you oppose withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, this proves your point. If you support the President, this proves your point. If you oppose the President, this proves your point.

But this is a time to mourn, not to politick. I posted a comment on Facebook yesterday (in a group), and I now think that it was mistimed. There are points to be made, but this isn’t the moment. This is a time to mourn.

It’s only natural, I guess, that we in the U.S. should relate to this death more than the recent killings in Norway. Had these been servicemen from the base here in Abilene, I would probably feel it even more. But I can’t help but think that citizens of the kingdom of heaven should mourn all deaths, not just the passing of those geographically or ideologically close to us.

I would ask that, if you feel pain today, that you remember that pain when you hear of other deaths, of suicide bombs and drone strikes. Even if they aren’t Americans, even if they aren’t specially trained soldiers, we should feel the pain of each and every loss. May those days also be a time to mourn.