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I never would have thought that another St. Valentine’s Day massacre would happen on Ash Wednesday in another one of our nation’s schools. But it did happen. Once again, we are a nation in crisis and mourning. Remember, though, and never forget: life has the final word, not death. During a televised on-site interview, one person made a very dark comment. She said, “It’s horrible, of course, but it seems to be ‘the new normal.’” Tragically, these shootings are not new, but for the sake of Christ and his Kingdom, these shootings cannot become normative in any society.

One news anchor remarked that shootings in our schools, churches, and entertainment venues are escalating at such a rapid pace that we are becoming numb. He could be right. One of my favorite songs is “Comfortably Numb” written and performed by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. The content of the song has nothing at all to do with the reality of the ongoing mass shootings; however, the song title hauntingly resonates throughout my mind. Have we become comfortably numb? Do we live with the belief that a tragedy like this could never happen any place close to us?

Call this deadly act of violence a manifestation of mental illness if you wish. Call it domestic violence. I choose to call it an act of pure premeditated evil. A 19 year-old man listened to the evil one — the prince of darkness. As children of the Light and children of the Most High God, we have a lot of work to do to in bringing people out of the darkness and into the light.

We pray that God will be with us and will keep us safe. God, however, also gives us the gift of reason and intelligence. Please stand vigilant in prayer, and know that Trinity’s leaders are working diligently to do everything possible on our end to keep all who come into our place of worship a safe sanctuary. I am thankful for the work of Jay Roach and our Board of Trustees and Claire Sanger, chair of our Emergency Response Team. We will not live in fear, but we will be smart.

The Lord be with us all.

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