Who is responsible for Uvalde?

Who’s responsible for Uvalde?

Tragedy. n. a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event of affair; calamity; disaster.

Tragedy never makes sense. It never will. We understand what it is when it happens, but we can never make sense of why something horrific happens. Not really.

Is tragedy God’s fault? After all, he’s omniscient and omnipotent. If anyone could stop the massacre at Uvalde, God could.

So God knew that Sandy Hook was going to happen. He knew Robb Elementary was going to happen. And Columbine. And the hundreds of mass shootings in between. Yet he did nothing.

Here’s where we must remember that God is not a God of tragedy. He’s a God of love and free will. He’s a creator of beauty and innovation. He doesn’t destroy or kill or condone anyone who destroys or kills. It’s not his design or his character. Death is the product of a sinful world which God sent Jesus to redeem.

Faith is hard in tragedy, but that’s the only place faith is actually faith. Practically speaking, nobody feels the lack of faith when life is kind.

This is where reverence and faith comes into play. Since God has proven himself as a God of love, tragedies test our faith and give us opportunity to shine light into darkness. Joy into sorrow. Peace into pain.

Pain is the Christian experience, the defining difference throughout the centuries. The Christ-follower believes, and the rest of the world rages. The Christ-followers have leaned into suffering and have strengthened their faith.

Faith doesn’t make sense. We forget that, somehow, when we are hurting. We forget the power of faith during those times.

So how should we process violence and injustice? On social media, I’ve noticed many responses calling out the futility and cowardice of prayer during this recent travesty. A harsh indictment, but I understand that it comes from a place of grief and frustration.

True, we can use prayer as a cop-out for getting involved in something difficult. Even then, I don’t think a public censure against prayer is necessary or right; God will hold us accountable for any inaction that was sinful. I would argue that prayer is an action–hopefully, one of many actions.

As a Christ-follower, I have to say we all need to take responsibility. The Church is not responsible for this tragedy. God is not responsible for this tragedy.

Then who is responsible for the tragedy of Uvalde? Well, obviously, Salvadore Ramos is guilty for killing a classroom full of children and teachers. Mental illness and abuse don’t exempt him from culpability. But all of us, when we hear about someone who’s struggling emotionally, should take responsibility to help that person find health. We should treat one another kindly, so abuse never happens. We should inform authorities of violent behavior and restrict access to weapons of any kind. We should rush to defend and protect.

And we should also pray because people are hurting, because lawmakers are failing us, and because we need to develop more compassion for the innocent.

Instead of protecting innocent, unpolitical lives during the aftermath of mass killings, we have spent 20 years arguing over who’s platform is right. When will we realize that arguing doesn’t work.

Maybe that’s why we’re angry. Because we’ve failed again. And we’re looking for someone to blame.

 

Some prayers and blogs for tragic situations like this one:

A lament about violence

How God shows truth when you’re in a desert

Praying for school safety

4 Comforting prayers for the loss of a child

Lament and confession over gun violence

Praying over the Michigan shooting