Dawn of a New Day

"My friend, killing will not bring you peace." — Dr. Charles Xavier, "X-Men: First Class"

Today we wrapped up our series on grief with a look at the last part — moving forward. When we suffer a grief or a loss, there are a few reactions. As I looked at last week, one of those can be an unhealthy expression of grief.

In the movie "X-Men: First Class," Magneto (Michael Fassbender) wants to get vengeance on those who killed his parents. His grief has twisted in him and become something ugly. Though his friend, Dr. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) tries to persuade him otherwise, his grief has turned to anger and he can't get past it.

That is one reaction to grief. Another is not being able to reconcile the idea of the goodness of God with the evil and grief we see in the world. When I think about that, I always think about "No Country for Old Men," the fate that befalls Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). He sees a violent dance play out between Llewelyn Moss and Anton Chigurh. It's something he's wrestled with for years. He can't reconcile the evil he sees in the world with what he thinks God's grace should provide, so his answer is complete withdrawl.

You get that sense when reading the novel, from Cormac McCarthy, that begins with narration from Ed Tom Bell. Clearly you can tell in that opening paragraph that he has trouble reconciling what he sees with what he believes. He says, “The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure. It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job. But, I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, ‘O.K., I'll be part of this world.’”

Faced with a dark world he didn’t understand, haunted by the events depicted in the film, Bell’s response was to withdraw. It’s a sad end. His dreams speak to that. The first dream, he talks about his father giving him money and him losing it. That speaks to the fact he feels like he squandered his family legacy in law enforcement by quitting. The second dream talks about his father taking the torch and going ahead into the darkness. Bell says he lost him. That’s emblematic of his feeling that he’s lost his way, that the world has changed, and that he can’t understand what the world has become. I think that speaks to the condition of many people who are not faith followers in the world today, and maybe even to some who claim to follow Jesus but don’t understand where their hope comes from.

But there is another reaction — to move forward and to lean into the love of Jesus even in our weakest moments. Pastor Graham touched on one of my favorite examples of this in his message, telling the story of Horatio Spafford, who wrote "It Is Well." It's a beautiful and moving song, but what makes it even more moving is the circumstances that led Spafford to pen it.


In 1871, his one son died. Later, he was financially ruined in the great Chicago Fire. In 1873, Spafford, his wife, Anna, and his four daughters were to travel to Europe. He was bogged down in work, so Spafford sent Anna and his daughters ahead of him. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship carrying Spafford’s family collided with another ship and sank. Anna was saved and sent her husband a telegram containing two words, “Saved alone.” As Spafford crossed the Atlantic to be with his wife, he penned these words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

When I hear the hymn, I can’t help but be moved and comforted. The Apostle Paul conveys a similar message in Romans. The first week I read Romans 5:3-5 which says, “…but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Though we suffer and struggle, Jesus is with us. In fact, he can identify with our pain in a unique way because he suffered and died for us. Later, in Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We just have to have faith and the strength to persevere.