‘Cling only to Christ’, bishop reminds LCA

‘The gospel of the love of Jesus Christ and our safety in God is the only message that can give comfort in a world of fear’, LCA Bishop John Henderson said in a statement published following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November.

‘Lutherans in Australia and New Zealand, together with people of faith everywhere, unite in expressing our deep sympathy to the people of France, and in particular to those whose loved ones have been murdered or injured. We pray also for those who witnessed the Parisian atrocities and will endure those memories forever’, he said.

‘This attack reminds us to pray also for those many thousands of people, in the Middle East and elsewhere, whose lives have been torn apart by the brutality of war and terrorism. We pray for people everywhere who are grieving over the loss of loved ones, homes and safety, including the countless thousands of refugees fleeing from the horrors of war.’

Pastor Henderson said that anger and fear were normal human responses to the recognition that there is no human guarantee of absolute safety, and that parents faced particular challenges in explaining terrorism to children and allaying their fears.

‘In an uncertain world St Paul’s encouragement to the Romans gains new meaning for us: “For I am ‘Cling only to Christ’, bishop reminds LCA by Linda Macqueen Inside what’s going on inside our church the story convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:38,39).

‘In responding to terrorism, as in all things, we must cling only to Christ, who does not promise that our life will be without pain, anxiety or uncertainty, but that nothing—even death—can separate us from his love’, Pastor Henderson said.