Isaiah 25:4-5 But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.

When, Lord? How long must the people of Venezuela suffer from the ruthlessness and oppressive acts of their rulers?

But you ARE a tower of refuge to the pastors of Venezuela who have chosen to stay, and serve, and care for your people, under impossible conditions. This is an amazing thing to watch. Their love and commitment are a continual wonder to me.

Here is a translation of an email I received last week from a dear pastor’s wife in Venezuela. She—who must struggle daily to find food for her family to eat, who constantly faces blackouts, violence in the streets, failure of public services including her children’s schools, where 80% of public transportation is no longer functioning (and they have no car), and on and on it goes—is praying for Dave and me:

“From the balcony of my house, looking out on a rainy vista and listening to the calling of a variety of birds, I have the privilege of praying for you. May God continue to renew his mercy in your lives. I am asking our Father to increase your energy, abolish your fatigue, and supply you with all that you need to hear and obey God’s voice. May his plans for you in these days be fulfilled and his Spirit flow through you to bless many more people with the love, perseverance, and passion for God’s ways that have marked our hearts and so many others. May he bring to fruition the dreams he has yet to accomplish. I bless you as fathers and friends to us here, with a hug from my heart.”

Only a person who has found the Lord to be her tower of refuge can so generously pray for us, well fed, free, and spoiled in every way. Please, pray with us for God’s protection, miraculous provision, and encouragement for the pastors of his people in Venezuela!

1 Chronicles 16:26-27, 33-34 The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and joy fill his dwelling. . . Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise, for the Lord is coming to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

This morning I went for a walk to soak in the splendor of the fall leaves. I scuffled through burnt orange, carmine, russet, and gold, joining my prayers to the thousands who are remembering the families whose loved ones will be buried today. It seems the Pittsburgh trees this year reserved their full glory until this week, so they could celebrate with us the loveliness of the eleven lives laid to rest in these days. I will always now associate the bittersweetness of autumn with the events of this week.

Oddly, as I walked I found my thoughts turning to judgment. And more oddly still, I felt the Lord flood my heart with peace and gratitude. Because he is good. And one day, out of his goodness and faithful love, he will judge the earth. Human efforts to bring justice to this situation will be imperfect at best. None of us is wise enough to know, understand, and properly discern all of the complex factors in this case or any other. But God, who not only created the heavens but each one of us, who sees beyond appearances into the heart, will one day come and make the world right. I find such comfort in this promise.

I reflected too on the difference between the beauty of the individual trees, valiantly displaying their loveliness to gladden our neighborhood, and the grandeur of the bluff on the other side of the river, where each tree adds its charm to the whole forest.

We need both, the individual and the communal. Without the individual, the communal lacks luster. The community celebrates the individual contribution of each of its members. Watching the Jewish community band together this week reminds me that this is my heritage too. I have been grafted into this trunk (Romans 11). I want to learn more deeply what this means, and offer more freely what God has given me to the beauty and wellbeing of the particular communities where God has planted me.

Isaiah 53:3-4 He is a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him . . . But he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.

With all of Pittsburgh, we are shocked and grieving. The massacre at Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill Saturday took place just a few minutes away from us, in a lovely neighborhood that is home to many of our church family. Dr. Rabinowitz, who was shot when he tried to give aid to other victims, was a friend and colleague of one of our members for forty years. He (and other victims) was known and loved by many others, including a couple who saw him at breakfast shortly before he was killed.

Last night at our service of mourning, we could weep knowing that God is acquainted with deepest grief; he carries our sorrows with us. And yes, one day he will swallow up death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears (Isaiah 25:8).

But “how long, how long till these tears are gone?” (Eric J. Marshall’s song that Elise and Chris so eloquently shared with us). We weep that this tragedy has hit us here, where we live, tearing the fabric of our peaceful lives. But we weep for all of the senseless killing that has taken place across our broken and bleeding nation. How long, how long must we all endure this?

We must each of us do what we can, not only in grieving and expressing our solidarity with the families of the victims, but also in taking action to limit such tragedies in the future. This has nothing to do with the second amendment! No one suspected Robert Bowers would be a killer.