“Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.” (Psalm 139:19-22 ESV)
I am angry! No, I am furious! Righteous indignation is building up in me, desiring justice for the ungodly and disturbingly demonic slaying of innocent college students and faculty at Virginia Tech.
Details are still developing, but as we piece together yesterday’s events, we are left mourning the existence of evil in this world. We cry to the Lord, asking why He allows such wickedness. We are harassed by unbelieving friends who bring up the question of why God allows bad things to happen to “good” people. And then underneath it all, we harbor zealous feelings, wishing for a “good old-fashioned biblical stoning” for the perpetrator of such horror – and feel cheated of that satisfaction because he has already killed himself.
Is it right to feel such anger? Aren't we supposed to forgive even the worst of sinners, knowing Christ Jesus has forgiven us?
There is such a thing as righteous anger. Jesus cleaned out the Temple, knocking over tables, and ruining the profiteering of the extortionists. He was not “hating the sin, but loving the sinner;” He was disgusted by the sinners dwelling in their sins. He hated their lack of repentance and so He executed judgment on them.
You and I deserve that same righteous punishment for our sin too. We deserve the wrath of our Lord. Yet Jesus in His boundless love has reached out with His Spirit, working repentance into our hearts. He gathers us to Himself in Holy Baptism, in hearing His Gospel, and in receiving His Holy Supper.
We can join the psalmist in praying against such wicked ones, but not because we have a superior sense of justice. On our own, we are no better than a cold-blooded killer in the sight of our perfect God. But there is a difference, thanks be to God.
Because you and I are baptized into Christ, He covers us in His robe of perfect righteousness, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” (Galatians 3:27 ESV). St. Paul also reminds us that we are now members of His body. In this way, we may join Jesus in His prayers, the Psalms, knowing that when we speak of “my righteousness,” it really is Christ’s. When we speak of “my enemies,” they are really His enemies: sin, death, and the devil!
In these verses from Psalm 139, Jesus Christ addresses the Father, telling of His hatred for those enemies. His is a holy hatred. Since Jesus has saved you and brought you into Himself, the devil will attack, more than ever, to try to separate you from the Lord. The fury of hell lashes out, hoping to convince modern “Jobs” to “curse God and die.”
The horrifying events of April 16 in Blacksburg are, without question, the handiwork of Satan, who used a disturbed young man to bring death and destruction to a place that is supposed to be a haven for work, study, and growth. We grieve for those who lost loved ones. We are sickened by the devil’s outpouring of death on the Virginia Tech campus. We pray for the comfort of the Gospel of our Risen Lord for those whose lives have been thrust into turmoil, including the young man’s family and friends.
It is truly acceptable to hate God’s enemies; just remember that His true enemies are sin, death, and the devil. You cannot be like rash Peter, eager to draw the worldly sword against Christ’s human enemies. Instead, join Jesus in hating sin, death, and the devil, as you continue to pray, “deliver us from evil.” God has delivered us from evil when He executed His justice and defeated His enemies through the death of His Son on the Cross for you, for all those injured and slain, and even for the one who caused yesterday’s tragedy. Amen.
Comments:
I still don't know what to say... Thank God the Lord hears prayers even when we don't know what to say.
Our prayers are with the families of those murdered, the students, the faculty, and the community.
We pray for such attrocities never to rear their ugly heads again, and fin dour only comfort in our Risen Savior. Lord, have mercy!
It's sad that it appears that the gunman had some sort of mental illness that contributed to his behavior. It's frustrating to learn that he displayed warnings signs to former roommates, professors, and other students.
It seems in hindsight that in many ways this bloodshed could have been prevented. On the part of the university, I feel (my own opinion) that warning folks could have been done sooner and more agressive. Reports have stated that they are currently evaluating a cell texting warning system and since many students used that means of communication it could have made a huge difference. My own university sends out emails of notable crime on or near campus, but these also come out after the fact or I read about them in the campus paper.
I also wonder if the "system" failed this young man. It seems like a caring professor recognized some of his issues and tutored him one on one and referred him to counseling. The professor also reported his bizarre writign to administration and campus police.
The question is why didn't this young man get the help he needed before it was too late for himself and all the others he affected? What more could have been done?
Unfortunately sin manifests itself in our world in more and more ways and violent events are becoming more common. Sad, but true.
Instead of giving false hope about the souls of the departed, as many of the religious talking heads on the news have done, we should spread the good news that God is full of grace. In this Easter season, we should put our hope in Christ, not universalism.
As I've pondered all of those sudden, horrific deaths, I was reminded of an image from The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis: As a young man dies during an air raid, his personally assigned demon is berated by his superior for not securing the man's soul. The demon is anticipating his hellish punishment as the young man rushes to meet God.
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit's work has reached some of these victims before they died. I personally find comfort knowing that those victims whose trust was in Christ, though not in the eyes of the world, indeed did have a blessed end.
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