|
LITTLETON TRAGEDY #5
Friday, April 23, was supposed to have been a special
Shakespeare day at Columbine High School. It was the 435th birthday anniversary
of The Bard, and Carol Samson's advanced placement English students were
assigned to bring a cake to class decorated with their favorite quotes.
Tradition was to take the cakes to the cafeteria and share them with everybody.
Well, you can understand that the cafeteria was closed Friday, two weeks
ago today as you're hearing this. But several students, in the midst of
their grief, made their cakes anyway and took them to a faculty meeting
which was happening at a nearby church. And some of the Shakespeare quotes
would tear your heart out.
From Macbeth:
Angels are bright still though the brightest fall.
What is done is done. Let me enfold thee and hold thee to my heart.
From Hamlet:
"When sorrows come, they come not in single
spies but in battalions.
And from King Lear, dedicated to Lauren Townsend, who
died in the April 20 killing spree:
Was ever low, gentle soft — an excellent thing in woman.
And certainly they could have included the line from
Romeo And Juliet:
Death lies on her, like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of
all the field.
Well, friend, I'm sure on that Friday the town of Littleton
ached to be able to travel back 72 hours and erase all of Tuesday the
20th. To have back the innocence, the carefree countdown — 19 school days
until graduation. To have those 13 lives back again, with their smiles,
the banter, the bulging backpacks. And today as you're hearing this, on
the 7th of May, I know those parents and friends would sacrifice anything
they possibly could to spin back 17 days and have their loved ones safely
in their arms again. But death seems so permanent, so forever, so unfix-able.
Maybe you recall an old science fiction moment from the first Superman
film, where Christopher Reeve has just lost Lois Lane in an earthquake.
She's lying there dead, and even the Man of Steel can't bring the dead
back to life. He feels that crushing ache, missing her so badly. And so
he breaks the rules. Even the Son of Jor-El is not to tamper with the
way things are, the time line of life — and death. But his grief is too
great. So he flies into space and then orbits the earth in reverse: over
and over, faster and faster, until the planet itself slowly stops and
begins spinning backwards. He's able to erase those FIXED hours, take
this world back in time to where Lois is alive again. But this is science
fiction. Even Christopher Reeve can't time-travel back and take away that
horseback-riding fall which rendered Superman powerless and paralyzed.
And I'm sure these grieving parents in Littleton are looking up at heaven
to plead: "Take away these past 17 days! Spin us back to the morning
of the 20th of April . . . and we'll never ask for anything again."
Maybe you recall a New Testament story where Jesus arrives at the site
of a funeral. Already four days have gone by since the death of His good
friend Lazarus. And Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, are wild with grief.
Where had Jesus been? Why hadn't He hurried? Because of course, NOW, four
days have gone by. Even Jesus can't spin the planet backwards and give
them their brother back. Even Jesus can't create a time tunnel and turn
death into life. But Christ calmly walks with them down to the cemetery,
says a prayer, calls Lazarus back to life, and then smiles. "Unwrap
him and let him go." Case closed. Problem solved. Death destroyed.
For Jesus it's so easy.
And friend, in these last few moments, I just want to say this to each
of you listening. What Jesus did for Lazarus that day, and for his grieving
family, is REAL. This is a true story. It's not a fable, a fairy tale,
one of the great legends. A man was dead for four days . . . and Jesus,
with absolute assurance, brought him back to life. And what Jesus did
in Bethany 2000 years ago, He is equally capable of doing now in the state
of Colorado. The Bible promises in His own words:
"I AM the Resurrection and the Life: he
that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
So friend — and to our grieving friends in Littleton,
Colorado — let me say this. The promise of our Savior and Friend, Jesus,
is absolutely true. And here's an additional word of comfort. What happened
to you 17 days ago . . . Jesus knows all about it. I remember a line from
the hymn: "There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus; No, not one.
Jesus KNOWS all about our sorrows; He will guide till the day is done."
We notice that in the Lazarus story, even while Jesus was still on the
road, He suddenly said: "Let's go to Judea." How come? Well,
He told them, Lazarus was dead. He said "sleeping," but dead
is what He meant. Now, how did Christ know his friend was gone? How did
He know? There were no news reports, no phones or faxes. The earlier messenger
had simply said: "Lazarus is sick." How did Jesus have this
latest update? Because He just KNOWS. Friend, whatever grief you're feeling
today, Jesus already knows. There's no friend like the lowly — and loving
and all-knowing — Jesus.
You know, all this week we've said a special word about a few of these
students because the brief, one-paragraph newspaper synopsis described
their faith in Jesus Christ. John Tomlin. Rachel Scott, who wanted to
be a missionary to Africa. Cassie Bernall, who escaped from witchcraft
and now wore a bracelet reading "What Would Jesus Do?"
But what about Kelly Fleming, who wrote songs and was learning to play
the guitar? Or Steve Curnow, who wanted to pilot an F-16 in the Navy,
and who watched Star Wars so often he knew all the words? Or Daniel Rohrbough,
a 15-year-old boy who held an exit door open so his fellow classmates
could get out? He ended up dying there on the sidewalk, just a few feet
away from safety. The L.A. Times, in the two sentences they gave us, didn't
say any more than that, except to tell us that he helped his dad in his
electronics business. Dave Sanders, the 47-year-old computer teacher,
coach of the girls' basketball team, slowly bled to death that afternoon,
as students vainly pressed T shirts against his wounds. "I'm not
going to make it," he told his young helpers. "Tell my girls
that I love them." That's all we know about him, except that he had
five grandkids.
Did these people, too, have a saving relationship with Jesus? Were they
living in connection with God? You see, I don't know that because all
we have here are tear-stained copies of the L.A. Times. Recording here
on April 26, we don't even have the latest Newsweek or Time magazine yet.
But friend, Jesus doesn't need the L.A. Times to know who are His. He
KNOWS. He knows these young men and women, and that courageous teacher.
He knows it all.
Sometimes at a funeral, or following a tragic event like this, some are
tempted to decide on their own, or even publicly announce, who among the
dead were "(quote) saved." I hope no one at Columbine High School
is doing that today, and certainly none of us sharing together in this
brief radio moment ought to do it. Because, friend, only Jesus knows.
Jesus the merciful Savior, and God the loving Judge, know everything.
And we don't.
Maybe you've been to a funeral for a friend, and you had no knowledge
that this person had ever said a specific and definite "yes"
to the claims of Jesus Christ. Had the gospel message ever been placed
directly in their path? Had they ever experienced a firm yes-or-no encounter
with the claims of God or literally heard Joshua's invitation: "Choose
ye this day whom ye will serve"? As far as you know, they never did
. . . and so your heart was gripped with the fear that this person might
be lost.
Let me encourage you today to leave all such thoughts in the loving care
of Jesus. And here's even something else. Many times a person is struck
down before they ever get an opportunity either way to really face that
eternal choice. Cassie and Rachel and John were given that privilege,
and we rejoice today that their lives' destinies are secure. But how does
God the righteous Judge make a decision regarding a person who lived a
typical teen life, went to school, had friends . . . and never once was
called on to choose, or reject, Jesus?
I imagine young Daniel Mauser, who died 17 days ago at the age of 15,
could have explained to us the mathematical principle of "extrapolation."
In addition to Daniel's cross-country runs and his contributions to the
debate team, he got straight A's in science and math. And extrapolation
allows a student to project from what IS known and determine what WOULD
have happened if x had led to y and then to z. Friend, God knows each
of us. He knew all of those kids. He saw their generous moments; He knows
their hearts. And God never once makes a mistake when it comes to what
a person WOULD have done in life if life had extended beyond 11:20 in
the morning on April 20, 1999.
You know, even in the cases of young Dylan Bennet Klebold and Eric David
Harris, the two boys who planned for a year, hoping to destroy an entire
school, kill 500 classmates, attack neighborhood homes, and maybe even
crash a hijacked plane into New York City, God knows it all. Not us. What
kind of confusion, loneliness, despair, or early life experiences, would
have led to such grievous and wicked decisions? God knows all the factors;
we don't. And God's love and wisdom are so much greater than ours that
when it comes to judgment, our best response is simply prayer. Probably
SILENT prayer.
|
