Paris Dawning

I love Paris.

I don't think there is any time of year that I would not want to visit Paris.  It is a beautiful city.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. For behold, darkness covers the land; deep gloom enshrouds the peoples. But over you the Lord will rise, and his glory will appear upon you. Nations will stream to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning. - Isaiah 60:1-3

In today's reading, Isaiah is not talking about Paris, but I like to think he could be.

He describes the rising dawn of a new day when the gloom that has covered the land will be lifted and people will come.

We are a resilient people, we humans.  We can take a beating and come back.  But we cannot do that alone.  We need help.  We need to know there is a force, a power, an existence beyond us, beyond life itself.  We need God.

You could argue that it is easy for those least affected to bounce back.  Tragedy strikes in concentric circles.

Those at the center are the most affected and may not survive at all.  Then come the wounded, the families of those lost and hurt, the survivors and bystanders, the relatives and friends, the neighbors, the city dwellers, the people of the nation, and then everyone else.

I am in the everyone else category when it comes to Paris, but like many, I search for connections, people I know who have someone who may have been there.

There is a need in us to connect to those wounded, killed, changed for life.

We are a woven people, connected to each other by nature and genetic make-up.  God made us as one, so when a part of the body is hurt, the hearts and souls of all are affected.

So, how can it be that there are some who inflict this pain and suffering?

Don't they feel it?

Aren't they children of God?

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, we need to stay connected.  We should not look for the evil in everyone.  It will make us like those who have no hearts and souls.

We need to stand together in the light of dawn and breathe life back into Paris and every city devastated by terror.  There is something stronger than evil and it is love.

Let us love and live.

More to come...