I saw that under the sun,Comments are reserved for those who wish to leave their own memorials.
the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong,
nor bread to the wise,
nor riches to the intelligent,
nor favor to the skillful;
but time and chance happen to them all.
For no one can anticipate the time of disaster.
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
like birds caught in a snare,
so people are snared at a time of calamity,
when it suddenly falls upon them.
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun,
and it lies heavy upon us.
This is vanity; it is a grievous ill.
What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Even those who live many years
should rejoice in them all;
yet let us remember
that the days of darkness will be many.
All that comes is vanity.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
In memory of those who died at Virginia Tech
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12; 6:1-2; 1:15; 11:8
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Gospel of Thomas, Saying 51
His disciples said this to him, "Which day will the repose of those who are dead come to be, and which day is the world coming anew?
He said this to them, "That which you look out for, it has come, but you, you know it not."
~~~~
Repose in peace and light.
Gregory Wonderwheel
Call Me by My True Names
Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.
I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to, my
people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.
My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.
Thich Nhat Hanh
We were all a part of the VT shootings, and we all mourn for those who were killed.
"Comfort, O comfort my people" (Is 40:1)
From the other side of the ocean, let me express my nearness.
The Talmud says that
To save one life is as if you have saved the world and to destroy one life is as if the world has
been destroyed
The memory of Professor Libruscu who sacrificed himself to save the lives of his students will be honored in the memory of his students friends and family untill the ending of the world. Likewise the memory of the man who took his life and the lives of 31 others and injuried countless more will be forever reviled.
we must not forget the dreams and visions of those who were lost because, by fulfilling their dreams and vision we honor their memory.
In addition to my deep sorrow for those students and staff who have died and those who remain, grieving, I would like to add sympathy for the Cho family who have to come to grips with the reality of what their son/brother has done. I cannot imagine how one might begin to deal with that.
Peace, Salaam, Shalom.
Post a Comment