Realengo: THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS.
put all my hope in the Lord, he turned to me and heard my cry (Psalm 40.1)
Larissa Saints Athanasius, 13 years
Samira Pires Ribeiro, 13 years
Laryssa Silva Martins, 13 years
Bianca Tavares Rocha, 13 years
Paula Luiza da Silveira, 14 years
Mariana Rocha de Souza, 13 years
Lorraine Karine Chagas de Oliveira, 14 years
Milene Santos Nascimento, 14 years
Géssica Guedes Pereira, 15 years
Rafael Pereira da Silva, 14
Pacheco Ana Carolina da Silva, 13 years
Igor Moraes da Silva, 13 years
Silence! Tears! Pain! Perplexity! As we remember, on this Sabbath day, the names of sons and daughters who were killed at the Municipal School Tasso da Silveira (RJ), this past week, we mourn with the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, teachers and friends to death of each one of these children / adolescents who lost their lives in the unfolding of life.
One of the hallmarks of our Christian faith is a God of compassion. A God who knows how to receive and embrace every one of those who today feel the emptiness and pain of the absence of their loved ones. Our prayer is that God manifests as the God of comfort for each of the bereaved. The tears of God come together to tears loss that run through so many faces.
Another hallmark of our faith is that children will be attracted and absolutely received by Jesus. In one of his encounters with Jesus, she puts them in his arms and blesses them. Our prayer is that in these days of much regret, the parents and family members who mourn the brutal death of his to be hosted by the blessing of Jesus, who shares your pain.
And not least, our prayer want to welcome many "Wellingtons" which, alone and without direction, just one path of destruction that leaves around them not just pools of blood but also desperation.
There is no word explanation we can say at this moment, and share, as an expression of the Brazilian Evangelical church, the bewilderment of so much pain and brutality. Our option is to surrender our lives as individuals and as a nation in the hands of a God whose presence and mercy cry.
Have mercy on us!
Teach us to build a society where children do not die so!
Valdir Steuernagel
Christian Evangelical Alliance Brazilian Pastor Carlos Augusto Lopes
Theologian