"Deliver us from evil" are the final words of the prayer Jesus taught his followers. ("For thine is the kingdom..." was added later.)
Yesterday's attack on the Boston Marathon reminds us that we repeat these words every day for a reason. Those who want to do evil are out there, seeking an opportunity to act. Whether the bombs were placed by a domestic or international terrorist remains to be seen.
We forget that as we commute to work, enjoy our weekends, and struggle with our burdens, there are others around us suffering in isolation from benefits they think we enjoy.
When mental illness or some ideology enters the equation, we see an attack like those on Sandy Hook Elementary School or the Twin Towers or the federal building in Oklahoma City.
Someone yesterday exploded the circle of his suffering to include hundreds of others--three dead, 176 hospitalized or treated in emergency rooms, and many in shock.
The joy and excitement of completing the marathon on Boston's Patriots Day was erased.
Like Grendel in Beowulf, the person or persons who did it slipped away, temporarily satisfied with having been heard but doomed to be tracked down and killed.
Prayers for all those suffering in Boston.
For those of us as yet untouched: deliver us from evil.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/us/officials-investigate-boston-explosions.html?hp&_r=0
Yesterday's attack on the Boston Marathon reminds us that we repeat these words every day for a reason. Those who want to do evil are out there, seeking an opportunity to act. Whether the bombs were placed by a domestic or international terrorist remains to be seen.
We forget that as we commute to work, enjoy our weekends, and struggle with our burdens, there are others around us suffering in isolation from benefits they think we enjoy.
When mental illness or some ideology enters the equation, we see an attack like those on Sandy Hook Elementary School or the Twin Towers or the federal building in Oklahoma City.
Someone yesterday exploded the circle of his suffering to include hundreds of others--three dead, 176 hospitalized or treated in emergency rooms, and many in shock.
The joy and excitement of completing the marathon on Boston's Patriots Day was erased.
Like Grendel in Beowulf, the person or persons who did it slipped away, temporarily satisfied with having been heard but doomed to be tracked down and killed.
Prayers for all those suffering in Boston.
For those of us as yet untouched: deliver us from evil.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/us/officials-investigate-boston-explosions.html?hp&_r=0
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