Dan Czaplewski posted on April 18, 2007 13:41
Not again! That was my first response when I heard about the tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday. It brought back images and memories of Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. For some it brought back memories of the University of Texas tower shootings of May 10, 1966. From deep within us comes the cry, “not again!”
But it has happened again and this time it is worse than ever. A troubled young man, warning signs, something causes him to snap, and we have yet another national tragedy. The news reports show us pictures of young men and women with bright smiles with bright minds and bright futures that will never be realized. But we’ve heard this story before and all we can say is “not again!”
I was teaching at Concordia University – Portland in 1999. During the Spring semester I always had a lot of student teachers, so I was on the road a lot and in a number of schools. Walking into teachers’ lounges and school offices during those days after Columbine was like walking into a funeral home. The teachers had a sense of being personally violated by the shootings at Columbine High School. We all grieve at times like this and we can’t believe what has happened. But it has happened before and all we can say is, “not again!”
There is a familiarity that we feel with each new tragedy. This has happened before; we have heard this before; and, whether it is deeply personal or national, we say “not again!”
To all of our “not agains” – both personal and public, God has a response. In the words of the Psalmist: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. That is why we are not afraid even when the earth quakes or the mountains topple into the depths of the sea.” (Psalm 46:1-2) God is greater than tragedy. God has more love than you have hurt. God is your refuge and strength.
Over the coming weeks more and more information about the massacre in Virginia will be revealed. We may understand what happened better or we may deplore it more, but it will soon become “yesterday’s news.” The story will become a movie or a book and it will recede into our public consciousness. What I pray will not be pushed to the back of your mind is God’s faithfulness and grace in this and every time of tragedy.