After 15 months of loss because of a deadly virus, after ignited racism in the United States and here at home, as we grieve the cascading affects of Canada’s Residential Schools, we are horrified again by the violent, murderous act carried out on an innocent Muslim family. Our hearts are breaking.

The four people who died in London, Ontario were targeted because of their Islamic faith. They were intentionally hit with a vehicle by a man consumed with unthinkable hatred. It was an act of terrorism.

Terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation. The purpose is to put people in a state of fear, to make them feel totally unsafe, and to somehow gain power over them. It is inconceivable that someone would be so consumed with hatred that they would deliberately take the lives of innocent people out for an evening stroll.

As I reflect on all of this, it is as though both Covid-19 and the hatred brought about through racism are deadly viruses that desperately require a vaccine! Perhaps that is where our hope lies, in the vaccine against Covid-19 and the vaccine of Christ’s love against hatred/racism.

As followers of Jesus, our response is important and God’s love is the antidote.

We must overwhelm and undo hatred with God’s love.

We must surround those who are feeling targeted, both physically and figuratively, with God’s love.

We must pray that God will give safety and peace to our Muslim brothers and sisters, in God’s love.

We must work to disable the structures and systems that propagate racism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia and religious persecution, in God’s love.

We must pray for the young orphaned child who is facing a tragedy no child should face, that somehow, someway, God would heal his body and his heart of this atrocity. May God give him and all those hurting and fearful, comfort and peace, in God’s love.

We must be the people of God’s Light and Love. And if we along with our brother and sisters hold our opinions loosely and show God’s love fiercely, imagine how we could change the world!

Join me as we pray, act and illuminate.