Job 10:4 Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see?
I am writing this reflection eleven days after I was on the streets in Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting a white supremacist rally. The streets were desecrated by the presence of evil made manifest. No amount of spiritual preparation could have readied me to walk that day, and the fear and shock still stand gaping in my community. We will live under the pall of a Holy Saturday moment for quite a while. For me, time stands still.
Yet despair can be a holy thing. Like Job, I am dwelling on how suffering begs the deepest questions of God’s relationship to us. My questions do not center around God’s existence or God’s goodness but rather around wondering how we could possibly stitch these events together in a way that points toward resurrection. I believe that time will come, slowly. I believe God sees and feels this pain with us, and
God isn’t rushing us through this hard moment. Now is a time to cry and wail. And that is a holy and right thing to do.
MOVING FORWARD: Spend some special time in prayer or silence with a friend or loved one who is struggling.
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