“Darkness has clouded out the light” pray for our Children

I’m in tears to hear about today’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown,Connecticut! What is wrong in THIS WORLD?

Loving God, darkness has covered our nation, and thick darkness has descended upon our people. Tragedy has clouded out the light.
In this time of darkness may your resilient light shine forth.
May your light shine on all of us who are saddened and sickened by the news of this act of violence. We suffer from afar as we hear about this on our TVs, and read about it on our computers and in our newspapers. In our own work of processing this event, Holy God, bless us with enough frustration to reject acts and symbols of violence in our world and bless us with enough hope that we’re inspired to work toward building a better world.
May your light shine on the friends and family of the murderer – who may be asking questions to which there are no easy answers. May their sadness, anger, guilt, and shame be accepted by those around them as they process this situation. And someday, may they be able to see and know that light does shine in the darkness – and the darkness will not overcome it.

And may your light shine on all the people who create the movies, music, and news that we watch each day. May it shine on filmmakers who make bloodshed look acceptable. May it shine on musicians who write songs that glorify violence. And may it shine on the political pundits and shock jocks who fill the media with hatred, rage, and incivility. There’s no such thing as a lone gunman – and sometimes the violence and rage in the media are enough to tip the balance of an already imbalanced person. Yet the people who fill the airways with this kind of darkness need light, too. So, Loving God, through your light, may they see the damage that their words and images can do. And may their hearts be softened, their words be tempered, and their styles of entertainment be changed, so that their positions in the media can be used in the service of fostering a more civil, gracious, and peaceful nation.

Even in the midst of this tragedy, may we hold onto the hope that your light will continue to shine forth in the darkness until we are able to boldly proclaim, with the author of Isaiah, “Arise, shine; for our light has come, and the glory of God has risen within us.” Amen.