Innocence Lost:

Where Can We Turn?

The Rev. Janice Ford, Rector
The Church of the Reconciliation Episcopal
Webster, MA

What happened last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School has shaken us to our very core.  We are desperate to understand how this could happen, but we are equally desperate to determine how to deal with it.  In time we will know more about the young man who orchestrated this unspeakable horror, and we will be able to piece together the jagged puzzle of a life gone terribly wrong, but we will still be left to wonder how to make sense of this senseless tragedy. 

On September 11, 2001, our nation lost confidence in the security of its borders.  On December 14, 2012, our nation lost its innocence.  I am not just referring to the innocence of all the children at Sandy Hook Elementary.  I am referring to the loss of our nation’s belief that there were certain things that would never happen. 

Though many children have been victims of horrible violence in the past, we could never imagine horror of this magnitude.  We sent our children off to school each day confident that they would be safe and well cared for.  We especially considered our elementary schools to be a kind of sacred space.  Now we know that nothing is sacred except Almighty God.

What this knowledge does is to help us realize in the most profound way how much we need God in our lives.   I cannot imagine being one of those grieving parents trying to get through it all without faith to sustain me.  It is only in God that we can find true consolation.  It is only in God that we can find relief in knowing that these children rest in the arms of the Creator, never to be hurt again.  It is only in God that we can be assured that we will see these little ones again in Paradise.

The truth is that we will probably never be able to make sense of what happened last Friday.  It simply defies our comprehension.   There is no doubt that our nation will never be the same because of what happened.  We lost something on Friday that we can never regain.  In order to heal, we need to acknowledge that loss, and look for ways to hold each other up with ever increasing strength.  Mostly, we need to pledge that we will not allow these children and teachers to die in vain.  Each of them had lives that mattered— however short, and so they must be honored.  We can do this by opening our hearts to one another, appreciating one another more, and being mindful of those times when we take our family and friends for granted.  Perhaps we can even pray more.  I believe that we honor those lost most profoundly when we acknowledge our reliance on God as our sustainer and comforter.  We simply cannot get through this alone.