If we can cover over deep pain with an attitude of ‘it’s meaningless to look for reasons’ then why do we lament ? Why do we have such deep empathy or a righteous anger over suffering? If suffering has no purpose, reason or meaning then why long for sympathy, mercy, hope OR be soothed by others entering into our pain OR want justice OR expect that there could be moral responsibilities to be realized on behalf of those who have been victimized?

There is hurt than there is terror level hurt

It’s been an epically awful week in our community and province.

Nova Scotia is in trauma level shock and soul level pain. Our sister provinces and our country share in the grief. Is there anywhere we can turn to find rest even as we weep and feel the horror of perpetrated evil?

There is Hurt

Over this last week we continued to see the rise of COVID-19 related deaths in our neighbourhood. Just up the street from my house there is a nursing care facility where currently 60% of all deaths in our province from this virus have been traced. We have people from our church who live in this care complex. The mix of fear and bravery from both people who live and those who work there is tangible in our community. We have been trying to find creative ways to care for those who we can’t even touch or visit.

Loving our city means we enter into the sorrow of those who are sorrowing. Listen to the anguish of those who are in anxiety. Own the brokenness of disease that so easily shows us how vulnerable and truly incapable we are of keeping ourselves safe. Our humanness is exposed right now screaming into our heart and heads, “We are incredibly limited!”

Then There is Terror Level Hurt

Our whole province is in a state of deep mourning. Our whole country is in shock and asking WHY questions. Why does someone go on a 12hr senseless reign of terror? Why kill neighbours? Whole families? People walking on the side of the road? Burn houses? Use the symbols of peace and order, a police vehicle and uniform, to get access into cars, homes and peoples private lives to bring them nothing but pain, sorrow and death? Why?

For many of us these were our neighbours, our family, our fellow church members. Their families are part of small communities that function often more like small families within the larger family of our province. We join with them in a collective moan and acknowledge that the terrors of death have fallen on us and the horror overwhelms us (Psalm 52 see above).

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