NEWTOWN KILLINGS - STARK REALITY

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." (Matthew 2:16-18)

This past Thursday night as I was driving along Route 2 heading east from Westminster, Massachusetts to Route 95 I noticed an exit sign for "Newtown Road". That's nowhere near Connecticut, but the word "Newtown" triggered a memory. I remembered that Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut just outside Danbury. I can recall driving through it a few times. That part of Connecticut contains some pleasant memories for me. There's a large Assemblies of God church in Brookfield, just outside Danbury. I was Ordained there in 1985. Through the years, I've been to a number of church-related events in the Danbury, CT area; staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, etc. How shocking and stunning it was to hear the news of the shootings on the radio the next morning. I can't help but wonder why Newtown, Connecticut came so vividly into my mind on Thursday night, just hours before the massacre. Sadly, now when I think of Newtown, I don't think I'll be remembering pleasant spiritual experiences. No, my first thought will be of the horrific shcool killings.

Many of you know I'm not pastoring at the moment. I loved most of pastoring, and most of the whole experience of being part of the clergy. Honestly, the part I least liked was trying to cope with events such as this terrible crime of little kids being massacred. Of course, all the atheists and God-haters love to throw in the faces of Believers that, "there is no God or this would not have happened"; or even worse, "God is cruel, doesn't care, and caused those kids to be murdered". Then there's also the famous, "God is weak and can't do anything about evil" line, and finally, "this proves it does no good to pray". While I don't agree with any of those comments, I will admit that the mass murder of (mostly) children does leave me speechless. There are simply no words that are adequate to express how evil and senseless these killings were. I can certainly quote some Bible passages and put my arm around grieving people, but there is no way I nor anyone can bring back lost loved ones or remove the devastating pain and loss. I'm one who frankly did a very good job conducting funeral services. It's one thing to eulogize a Godly 90-year-old who died peacefully in his sleep, but it's frankly another to make sense of a 6-year-old being shot dead. I can't imagine what I would say at such a funeral service; honestly. I am not a fan of President Obama, but his words to the nation just a short time after learning of the shootings were powerful and well said.

One thing's for sure. Things will never be the same for that Town, that school, and those grieving families. The Bible passage I quoted above comes from the Christmas story in Matthew's Gospel. It's a portion of the Christmas story that is usually left out of Christmas pagents and Christmas songs. It's one we don't like to think about. That passage speaks of what the Roman Catholic Church calls, "The Feast of the Holy Innocents". King Herod the Great was so jealous of the possibility that a future "King of the Jews" was born in the Bethlehem area that he had all male children age two and under slaughtered. It made about as much sense as the killings in Newtown did. I realize many believe that story is just a "myth" or "fable" to add drama to the Christmas story. I don't believe that. Just like that killings in Newtown, it can leave you wondering about a loving God, fairness, justice, etc. Yes, as a famous Rabbi from Natick, Massachusetts has often reminded us, "Bad things happen to good people".

Experiencing an evil event such as either one of these slaughters of little children will make some people forever better, but can be an opportunity for great spiritual growth. Several decades ago, an affluent Sharon, Massachusetts mom came home to her find her 9-year-old daughter and her maid both dead in the family swimming pool...their bodies floating there. Neighbors said they'd never heard screams such as Patti, the mom screamed that day. It was later theorized that the child had been trying to teach the maid to swim. That terrible tragedy led to the parents, David and Patti searching for God and coming into a very deep commitment to God and relationship with Him. A number of years later, Patti was a layleader doing children's ministry at a large church were I served as a staff pastor. She referred to that 9-year-old child she'd lost as "my little angel who brought me to the Lord". It is my prayer that as terrible and senseless as this massacre is, ultimately there will be many "David and Pattis" who emerge victorious and Godly in its aftermath.