We can have no doubt now that our world can be a very dangerous place for these are buildings some of us have visited or where colleagues have worked.  It has been graphically demonstrated that there’s no such thing as copper-bottomed security. We may act to minimize risk to our communities, and to ourselves, but violence and bloodshed can come very close to home. As Jeremiah says: Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses, it has cut off children from the streets and the young men from the public squares. (9:21)

So how do we react as Christians? Is there any balm in Gilead, any hope of healing? First we need to acknowledge, uncomfortable as that may be, that there is a spiritual dimension to these terrible events. Our society obsessed with material things has either ignored or forgotten that people can be motivated by something other than money or pure revenge. There is a distorted spirituality behind these past events. The religious fundamentalists who are the likely perpetrators of these attacks see themselves as spiritually purer than us decadent Westerners. They really believe in an eternity, not just the here and now, so a martyrs’ death guarantees a place in Paradise. They also believe that they are victims of Western greed and oppression. Undoubtedly there has been long history of colonial exploitation and economic imperialism. This in no way justifies such actions, but perhaps helps us to understand their motivation. When communities are persistently denied justice they feel hopeless and disenfranchised and so provide fertile recruiting grounds for terrorism. We’ve seen this in Northern Ireland. And tragically religion is used to validate or even incite violence. And no religion including our own is immune from it. Witness the shameful demonstrations against young girls walking to school in north Belfast. Stones, pipe-bombs and abuse were hurled in the name of a Protestant Christ. Therefore there can be no excuse whatsoever in venting our natural anger against terrorism by singling out those of the same faith community for abuse or intimidation. The vast majority are as appalled as we are by the actions of those who slaughtered thousands on Tuesday. They are ashamed that their faith has been besmirched by such actions. Our only antidote to fanaticism of whatever creed is an authentic, humane Christianity vibrantly lived out. Where Christians act in mercy and grace and demonstrate love and justice. When Christ is incarnated in the loving compassion of his people then this not only exposes the evil nature of fanaticism, but also shows a better way.

One lesson we Christians need to learn from what has happened is that we cannot combat terrorism based on an ideological conviction simply by better intelligence-gathering and bloody counter-strikes. Instead we have to recover the true spiritual values which were the foundation of our liberty, namely to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. We must repent of the selfishness, greed and materialism that have fuelled our lifestyles all too long. Faith should be integral to our living not simply a Sunday peripheral. Our security lies not in the gun, nor the bank balance, but in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we should pray. Now prayer isn’t a good luck charm designed to ward off evil. Doubtless there were many fine Christians who perished on Tuesday and many of them prayed before they went to work. Praying to God does not guarantee us immunity from suffering, pain, tragedy or even death. What God promises, however, is never to abandon or forsake us even in the darkness and make us safe for eternity. We can and do experience many answers to prayer. But prayer is more than a personal hotline to God. When we pray we are seeking God’s face, groaning with him in the hurt and heartache of a world that has largely forgotten him. Prayer is engaging with him against the forces of evil and darkness that threaten to engulf our world. Jesus told us to pray for the kingdom, to cry out for the rule of God because of the devastation human beings are causing. When the church recovers a heart for prayer then God will act in sovereign mercy and power.

So we pray for comfort and strength for all who have been devastated by this evil. For the rescuers, for those who wait unavailingly for the phone call or message that their loved ones are safe. For the survivors who feel guilty that they are alive when so many they know are not, for the injured and traumatised and those treat them. For wisdom and integrity for those in positions of leadership whether their responsibility is to track down and punish all responsible for this outrage, or whether it is to rebuild lives, businesses or buildings. For wisdom and restraint in the media and among politicians that they avoid (in their natural condemnation of those responsible) inflaming passions to prevent a racial or religious backlash that compounds the suffering. There’s much to be prayed for and much that prayer can achieve.