I often don’t know how to respond to major world events. There is no shortage of talk among my friends about the attacks in Paris. I’ve heard a wide variety of responses. Folks who for several years have spoken derisively of France, seeing the country as weak and somehow anti-American, are all about solidarity in the wake of the violent attacks that left 129 people dead and 352 injured, 99 in critical condition. Like the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and many other major terrorist actions, it may take months to understand the dynamics behind the attacks. The response of the world to the attacks may include acts of war, political interventions, and much more. It is generally assumed that the claim of the ISIS to be behind the attacks is valid. If so it is the first major attack outside of the Middle East carried out by that group. Like other major acts of terrorism, it is likely that the horrors of the attack are so intense that support for a large-scale, worldwide response is likely to be galvanized.

In the midst of all of the news reports and analysis and outpouring of sympathy from around the world, I am at a loss for words. Of course we pray for the victims and for their families. It is the nature of terrorism that the victims are innocent. The attempt to strike fear into others has no respect for human life. The claims of the perpetrators of the crimes that they have been victims of injustice ring hollow when they attack innocents and expand the violence. In the face of senseless violence, I don’t pretend to be able to make sense of the events, I simply mourn and grieve with the victims and try to discover what can be done to assist them in the difficult journey of recovery. A nation doesn’t get over an attack like those of Paris’ Friday night. A nation gets through it and moves on.

I’m no expert in world affairs, but it seems likely that a large-scale invasion of territory held by the Islamic State, especially in Syria, will come. Had the attacks not come, it seemed that the group's attempts at forming government in Syria and Iraq was destined to failure. The attacks may have the effect of hastening the demise of the attempt to become recognized as a legitimate government. The Islamic State has been incredibly well funded and has attracted militants from around the Middle East. It seemed to be primarily focused on building a state in Syria and Iraq and encouraging other groups to do the same in other parts of the Middle East. It has shown great brutality in its internal politics and has been incredibly cruel to people within the territories that it controls. The Paris attacks seem to be a shift in target, but not in the tactics of the group, which previously has not been adverse to the use of bombs and attacks on innocent victims.

Of course being involved, doesn’t mean that the central operations of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq was the primary director of the attacks. Supporters of the group who carry out attacks abroad are not the same thing as operatives who are trained, funded and deployed by a central government. It is clear from what I can read about the subject that it will take some time to know all of the connections and how the attacks were planned and carried out. Like other major crimes, there are likely details that will never be fully known.

The other recent attack by the group, the downing of the Russian airliner, seems to indicate the the group is targeting countries outside of its normal sphere of influence and in doing so has selected countries with substantial differences than our own. I do not know but I suspect that the choice of targets was not based on ideological stances of governments, but rather what was perceived as weaknesses in defenses. Terrorists are opportunists before ideologists. They attacked the victims that they attacked because they believed that they could do so. Had another country or another opportunity presented itself, the attacks might have been carried out against other nations.

This much I do know, however. Responding with fear is exactly what the attackers want. Suppressions of liberty, restrictions of freedom, increased monitoring of civilians by the government are all possibilities both in France and in other countries. When we allow the terrorists to make us fearful and we surrender our freedoms out of fear, we allow them to control our actions. It is not strong central government expanding its authority that the extremists have attacked, it is the notion that people can live in freedom. Restricting freedom is allowing those forces which attack it to gain ground.

There are church leaders who believe that our congregations will be the focus of future attacks. There are seminars on church security and congregations that are training and deploying armed guards. I doubt that our congregation is on the radar of any international terrorist group, but even if we were, we will maintain our worship in a sanctuary - a peace of peace and not of violence where people can freely come and go.

In our sanctuary we will pray for the victims. In that sanctuary we will pray for peace. In that sanctuary we will admit that we do not have the knowledge or capacity to solve the world’s problems and call upon the help of God.

I have no sermon to give in response to the terrorism. I do not have advice for governments or for individuals. I ponder the situations and try to learn as best as I am able, but I do not pretend to be able to know how to respond to current acts of violence nor how to prevent future terrorist actions. I turn to Psalms of lament and the cries that our people have made to God for help in the past.

The answers will not come from me, but I do know where to turn with our questions.

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