Searching for Hope in a Time of Tragedy

Searching for Hope in a Time of Tragedy

Prayer of Hope:

God of all the nations,
Sometimes it seems that hope is too far away from us. We reach for it, but cannot pull it in. In those moments, lend us your spirit, that your strength and wisdom might become ours, leading us from death to life, from despair to hope. Amen

Reading: From Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
‘Where is your God?’

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise God,
my help and my God.

Meditation:

Senseless. What other word can there be for the shooting of little girls? It is senseless.
We find it difficult, in the face of unmitigated tragedy, to wrap our minds around the totality of the violence. Eleven little girls, kept safe from the world in a tight-knit Amish community, are shot and wounded, at least five mortally.
It is harder still to wrap our hearts around such an event. It is tempting, surely, to ask the question asked of the Psalmist: “Where is your God?”
The only answer we can give is the one that the Psalmist gives. God is in our hope, and our hope is in God. There is no sense to be made of such a horrific act. We can only do what that Amish community will do—pray to God for continued hope in the face of violence and tragedy, and pray for all of those who have been touched by this senseless act.
Sometimes our only hope is borrowed, from the God who is above all.

Prayer of Solace:

Loving God,
Surround those who are grieving with your love and comfort. Bring healing to those who have been deeply hurt, in body, mind and spirit. Lead us to new hope, which reaches out to those in need with hands that are gentle and hearts that are open. We turn to you now, our rock and our redeemer. Amen