I am writing this a week after the bombing at the Boston Marathon. At this point the suspects have been identified and caught. The story still makes the front page of the newspaper but no longer fills it. We are settling in and calming down. With the culture of running that is part of Cape Cod, especially the Falmouth area, many people feel a kinship with the victims of the attack, having crossed the marathon finish line themselves.
Soon we will start hearing stories about the good that has come out of these attacks. We are already hearing stories of heroes, marathoners finishing the marathon then running to give blood; first responders and soldiers running toward the blast to help others. There will be other good things that happen as communities band together to help those who were injured. I do not want to take away from any of these stories.
At the same time I do want to be careful as we hear about the good that comes out of tragedy. Sometimes we reach a place where we use that good to justify the evil saying, "These attacks were allowed to happen so that good things might come out of them." This thought process is part of our very human need to find a reason for things. For Christians this tendency may go back to the image of the cross where we see an ultimate good coming out of a violent action.
Sometimes there is no reason. Sometimes we need to be clear that evil is evil. I do not believe that there is reason for the attacks at the Boston marathon that will make sense outside of the minds of the perpetrators. I do not believe that there is a political or symbolic reason that can in any way justify attacks on the innocent.
But after these things, good will come. For some people, they will see the good that comes out of evil as a triumph of the human spirit. For me, as a person of faith, I see the divine at work when good can come from senseless violence. This good does not justify the violence or the evil, but it reminds me that evil cannot have the final victory.
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