Blessed are those who mourn
21/07/12 04:32
There was a study, conducted by Princeton University school of psychology professor, Uri Hasson, in which MRI scans were conducted on people who were watching a movie. The experience wasn’t the same thing as going to a theatre because the MRI machine is too large and complex to use in such a setting, but the people in the study were all watching the same movie as their brains were scanned. The study revealed a remarkable similarity in the brain patterns of the people watching the movie. Watching a movie is a unique experience in which people focus their attention while at the same time surrender part of their consciousness. To watch a movie is to release some of the normal inhibitions and allow oneself to enter into the story. The process has been described as suspending disbelief. The study revealed that when a group of people attends a movie, their brain processes are remarkably similar. To view a movie is to share a similar experience – often with strangers who have come to the theatre.
Yesterday, as news of the horrors of the Aurora, Colorado shootings made its way across the world, we shared a similar experience in a different way. Shock and disbelief were common, followed by a sense of disgust and horror. The numbers were not accurate at first, but as the day passed, the count was high. 12 killed. 59 wounded. A man wearing a gas mask and black swat gear threw at least one tear gas canister into a crowded theatre during a special midnight showing and then began systematically firing on the moviegoers. The scale and the apparent senselessness of the crime have shocked us all.
It isn’t a movie. It is reality. And we have shared a common experience. That experience is grief. As horrible as is the loss of life and the critical wounding of so many people, that is not all that we have lost. We have also lost our sense of trust. Movie theatres are thought to be safe places. We go there to be entertained believing that our experience will be relatively free of risk. We take our families into such places thinking that we are providing safe entertainment. Now we will all think twice when entering a theatre. A note from a student in our church who works in a movie theatre caught my attention last night. His genuine expression of compassion, asking us to pray for the victims and their families, reminded me that his own workplace has become less secure and more threatening through the acts of the gunman.
In the beatitudes, Jesus declared, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” It is true, but at the time, mourning rarely feels like a blessing. It takes a long time for the grief to be experienced as anything different from pain. This weekend, our nation mourns.
Unfortunately, senseless shootings of innocent victims are far too common in our world. The site of the movie theatre killings is just 20 miles from the site of the 1998 Columbine massacre. One of the victims who died, Jessica Ghawi, had narrowly escaped a shopping mall shooting in Toronto, Canada just a month ago.
Part of what we have lost is our sense of safety in places that we once thought were safe.
There are plenty of unanswered questions. What was the motive behind the shootings? How can one person purchase tear gas canisters and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition in less than 60 days without raising any concern? What can cause any human being to go on such a rampage against complete strangers?
The grief of sudden and traumatic loss is often accompanied by questions that remain unanswered. We will never know what the shooter was thinking. We can never fully understand the circumstances that caused an individual to so carefully plan such a destructive act.
So we mourn over the deaths of people we never met. Just as the victims were strangers to the shooting, they are strangers to those of us who live far away from the tragedy. But we allow their lives to enter into our consciousness. We find points of connection with their families as they suffer this immense tragedy. We cry real tears of grief with those who have lost so much so suddenly. If a researcher were to conduct MRI scans of a cross-section of our nation’s population, it would reveal that we are sharing a common experience and our reactions are also common.
One of the blessings of mourning is that it brings the community together. When I meet with families who have experienced a sudden and traumatic loss I experience the first stages of this process. As news of the loss begins to circulate through the community, people begin to come together. Friends arrive to offer their support. Family members receive the news and draw together. Food starts to appear. Offers of help arrive. And slowly, the community begins to adjust to the reality of a loss that cannot be restored.
You don’t get over such a loss. You survive it. And survivors gain skills and abilities that help them face new life experiences. But no one can survive the journey of grief alone. Support is essential as the critical adjustments are experienced.
Another blessing of mourning is the understanding of how precious life is. We are, at the same time, both incredibly strong and incredibly fragile. The human body is amazing in its ability to endure injury and recover and its vulnerability to permanent injury and death. To be alive is to risk dying. We don’t think of that truth very often. Loss and grief remind us of how precious the gift of life is and how carefully it must be protected.
So there are no pictures with today’s blog. It is not a day for pictures. It is a day for reflection and grief. It is a time for mourning. Among my prayers for this time are prayers that we will together experience the blessings of mourning. In order to do that we must allow the grief to move at its own pace and the healing to come in God’s time not our own.
Yesterday, as news of the horrors of the Aurora, Colorado shootings made its way across the world, we shared a similar experience in a different way. Shock and disbelief were common, followed by a sense of disgust and horror. The numbers were not accurate at first, but as the day passed, the count was high. 12 killed. 59 wounded. A man wearing a gas mask and black swat gear threw at least one tear gas canister into a crowded theatre during a special midnight showing and then began systematically firing on the moviegoers. The scale and the apparent senselessness of the crime have shocked us all.
It isn’t a movie. It is reality. And we have shared a common experience. That experience is grief. As horrible as is the loss of life and the critical wounding of so many people, that is not all that we have lost. We have also lost our sense of trust. Movie theatres are thought to be safe places. We go there to be entertained believing that our experience will be relatively free of risk. We take our families into such places thinking that we are providing safe entertainment. Now we will all think twice when entering a theatre. A note from a student in our church who works in a movie theatre caught my attention last night. His genuine expression of compassion, asking us to pray for the victims and their families, reminded me that his own workplace has become less secure and more threatening through the acts of the gunman.
In the beatitudes, Jesus declared, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” It is true, but at the time, mourning rarely feels like a blessing. It takes a long time for the grief to be experienced as anything different from pain. This weekend, our nation mourns.
Unfortunately, senseless shootings of innocent victims are far too common in our world. The site of the movie theatre killings is just 20 miles from the site of the 1998 Columbine massacre. One of the victims who died, Jessica Ghawi, had narrowly escaped a shopping mall shooting in Toronto, Canada just a month ago.
Part of what we have lost is our sense of safety in places that we once thought were safe.
There are plenty of unanswered questions. What was the motive behind the shootings? How can one person purchase tear gas canisters and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition in less than 60 days without raising any concern? What can cause any human being to go on such a rampage against complete strangers?
The grief of sudden and traumatic loss is often accompanied by questions that remain unanswered. We will never know what the shooter was thinking. We can never fully understand the circumstances that caused an individual to so carefully plan such a destructive act.
So we mourn over the deaths of people we never met. Just as the victims were strangers to the shooting, they are strangers to those of us who live far away from the tragedy. But we allow their lives to enter into our consciousness. We find points of connection with their families as they suffer this immense tragedy. We cry real tears of grief with those who have lost so much so suddenly. If a researcher were to conduct MRI scans of a cross-section of our nation’s population, it would reveal that we are sharing a common experience and our reactions are also common.
One of the blessings of mourning is that it brings the community together. When I meet with families who have experienced a sudden and traumatic loss I experience the first stages of this process. As news of the loss begins to circulate through the community, people begin to come together. Friends arrive to offer their support. Family members receive the news and draw together. Food starts to appear. Offers of help arrive. And slowly, the community begins to adjust to the reality of a loss that cannot be restored.
You don’t get over such a loss. You survive it. And survivors gain skills and abilities that help them face new life experiences. But no one can survive the journey of grief alone. Support is essential as the critical adjustments are experienced.
Another blessing of mourning is the understanding of how precious life is. We are, at the same time, both incredibly strong and incredibly fragile. The human body is amazing in its ability to endure injury and recover and its vulnerability to permanent injury and death. To be alive is to risk dying. We don’t think of that truth very often. Loss and grief remind us of how precious the gift of life is and how carefully it must be protected.
So there are no pictures with today’s blog. It is not a day for pictures. It is a day for reflection and grief. It is a time for mourning. Among my prayers for this time are prayers that we will together experience the blessings of mourning. In order to do that we must allow the grief to move at its own pace and the healing to come in God’s time not our own.