Dear People of Central New York,
I think I am experiencing what I might call “atrocity fatigue.” I do not like saying this as I do not want in any way to minimize the pain and grief of people who are suffering, this time in San Bernardino. Yet I find myself lamenting with the Psalmist, “How long O Lord, how long!”
What do we do as we hear of another victim of violence, when our own fear rises up from within, and hope may be elusive? My sense is that we do what we always do. As a faith community we name our fear, speak God’s hope for the creation, pray for all, and then find ways locally to make a difference as an instrument of God’s love and hope for the world. Perhaps we work with a group that teaches non-violence or with those seeking to care for the mentally ill.
To speak a word of love in the midst of a deeply broken world can be a very radical statement. Trust that no matter the circumstances, and sometimes in the midst of the deepest pain, God’s promise of Emmanuel, God with us, can never be broken.
In Christ,
Bishop Skip
