God's mothering love, even in the midst of tragedy
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
The sudden, tragic slaughter of students in Blacksburg, Virginia, caught us all by surprise. I happened to be in a shopping mall at the time, and television monitors everywhere were focused on the breaking news. As the events in that beautiful Blue Ridge city unfolded, we reacted in shock and horror. Since Virginia Tech is one of our state’s major universities, we all know of relatives and students from our local schools who are studying there, and have friends who live there.
I wanted to join in prayer with others in my state, as well as all those across the nation and the world who were concerned, to bring comfort and healing to our communities. As I’ve learned to do in times of special need, whether it’s been of sickness or of stress, I turned to the Holy Bible for words of comfort.
The words that helped me were penned at the time of the invasion of Israel by a foreign power and the subsequent forced removal of the Jewish people to exile in Babylon. It was a time of great sorrow, loss, and death. “Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded.”
In the same chapter, just a verse or two above that citation, I found these words, “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.”
The feeling that good people’s lives can be invaded by evil, that joy can be turned into sorrow, seems very persuasive in the face of events at Virginia Tech. But if we can understand even a little that God loves each of us, and that even those who were killed are still in God’s care, we will begin to feel more peace. God is Love, and Love never leaves any of its children, the spiritual ideas that you and I actually are. Nor can God be deprived of us by death or evil.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, wrote in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “This is the doctrine of Christian Science: that divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object; that joy cannot be turned into sorrow, for sorrow is not the master of joy; that good can never produce evil; that matter can never produce mind nor life result in death.”
Jesus’ life and teachings make clear that death is no part of God’s plan for anyone. God’s path for us is always the path of Life. But to walk confidently on this path, we need to see ourselves as spiritual and to let the spiritual intuitions we get from God guide us each step of the way.
Even in our deepest sorrow and shock, it’s right for us to turn to God and to feel His tender mercies, ready to comfort us. And we can trust Him to guide us through times of trouble: He is already on the scene, already the source of the comfort that Mother love is so able to provide.
This Mother love isn’t always explicit in the Scriptures, but it is well-expressed in this passage from Isaiah: “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
This Mother love is present with each student and faculty member, with the school and the families, the local officials who are dealing with the case. Love is present for each of us, including the students and faculty who were killed and injured. Right now, divine Love is comforting and caring for each of its ideas.
When senseless tragedies strike, right then we can turn to our Mother’s comforting love. It can cut through the shock and horror of our first reactions, and lead us to find ways to help others. As we prayerfully insist on this great truth of Love’s ever presence, God can lift our sorrows and in turn help us bring a renewed sense of peace and joy to others. Then we’ll find that this is not an ignoring of another’s pain, but a divine impulse that leads us to take practical steps to bring them relief and comfort.
Spiritual comfort:
Science and Health
304:9-14
King James Bible
Jer. 31:13, 16 (to 2nd ,)
Isa. 66:13