By Tommy R. McDearis
THEN CAME SUNDAY
Blacksburg Baptist is a large and vibrant church that holds three morning services by necessity on a normal Sunday, but April 22nd was anything but normal. The Sunday after the massacre saw crowds exceeding those of Easter Sunday. People were hungry, even desperate, for a word of hope.
I chose Romans 8:28 as my text in the belief that these simple and familiar words of St. Paul would become our watchword for the future: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
My proclamation, like that of Paul, was straightforward and positive. Yes, God does work for the good of everyone in times of trial, but there is an advantage for believers. We have the advantage of knowing that as “those who love Him,” we can recognize the hand of God working amidst the tragedy.
Advertisement
Moreover, while God issues His call to the world, we Christians can hear that call with a different ear, a spiritually attuned ear. As Christ-followers we are able to recognize from whence the call comes, and as disciples it is our duty to not only claim the peace that passes all understanding, but we are to respond to God’s call with confidence. We must become the instruments of God’s goodness and re-creation. Our call is to go into the grief and pain with a sure and certain faith that God will work through us to bring something good from the tragic.
RESPONDING TO THE CALL
In the days following the shootings some of my church members were walking into the War Memorial Chapel at Virginia Tech to pray. As they entered they met five Amish men exiting the chapel. Asking the men why they were there, they responded, “Everyone was so good to us when our girls were killed in Pennsylvania. We felt we had to come to do what we could to help.”
Someone had proclaimed the Word of God to those Amish men, and they heard that word as both an act of empowerment and as a summons to embody God’s goodness as a work of hope.
Like those Amish men, we in Blacksburg are the latest to experience an unwanted and undeserved visit by the sinister darkness of life. And like those hurting Amish fathers, we must be the latest to hear and respond to God’s call. Just as God called “the beloved” from around the world to touch our broken hearts, so we now must accept God’s call to do everything possible to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.
And if, God forbid, such a tragedy should occur, we must be the ones who will partner with God to bring light to the darkness. We must join our Lord in creating something good amidst the worst that life can send. Just as others have done for us in recent days, we must be the ones to shine the light so those who have been briefly blinded by the darkness may know an eternal truth: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
What did I preach that Sunday morning? I preached the truth. God did not take a day off on April 16th. Why this sad and deranged young man chose to turn our town into a sea of tears may never be known, but I cannot and will not believe it was because God was absent. I cannot and will not believe that God willed such a wound for our town. No, God was present, shedding tears, offering love, issuing His call and bringing strength amidst the wounds.
In his novel A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemmingway wrote, “Life breaks everyone, and a few become strong in the broken places.” We in Blacksburg have indeed been broken, but by God’s grace we will become strong in the broken places, and by God’s grace we will prevail.
_______________________
Tommy R. McDearis is the Senior Pastor of the Blacksburg Baptist Church, Blacksburg, VA, he is a minister to the Virginia Tech community, and he is a chaplain of the Blacksburg Police Department.
