Over the past week there has been a lot of media coverage surrounding the senseless killing of innocent people in front of a neighborhood grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. As I have intermittently watched the coverage and listened to the people I work with discuss this event, I see a theme throughout many of the conversations. Fear…

mp3 audio file

During this same time period I have been reading from a book that was published back in 1885. The title of the book is “DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY AND OTHER SERMONS, BY REUEN THOMAS, MINISTER OF HARVARD CHURCH, BROOKLINE”

The chapter I was reading in at the time of the shooting was:

Here is a quote from that chapter:

But there is a limit even to the worst things that a man can do. When he murders me he comes to the limit of his ability. He releases my soul from its fetters, he unbinds me from this earth, he hurries me into the spiritual world. It is an immense thing to do for me ; it may be, as far as I am personally concerned, a great blessing conferred ; as far as the doer of the deed is concerned it must be the weightiest curse, for he has done his worst on me.

The Christian view of death does not make murder any the less of a crime, it does nothing to justify war, but it does a great deal to relieve our minds when we think upon Divine Providence. What meditative mind is there that has not been on the edge of disbelief in a Divine Providence in times of dire calamity, when human life seemed so cheap as almost to be worthless, blood poured out like water, and for what?

One of the reoccurring themes in this chapter comes from the book of Matthew. (Matt 10:28)

One of the primary functions of a person with this kind of killing capacity is to invoke fear in people. In addition to threats of terror, we are constantly bombarded with threats of economic downturns, never ending wars, and an ever present evil that is among us. All of which can cause us to respond with fear. I admit, I have times when things around me cause fear and anxiety in my life. Jesus tells us to not fear those who can kill the body…

I pray today that you can experience His peace in times of trouble.

Blessings,
Keith

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