Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn
And Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes?’ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
Jesus’ condemnation of evil, and our part in it. And a clear warning as to the consequences of rejecting God’s law of love.
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
From PBS’ NewsHour, stories of the Las Vegas dead:
Michelle Vo worked at an insurance group in Pasadena and, at 32, was the youngest of four siblings. “She was such an inspiration to so many of us,” a co-worker said. “Any time I had a question, she would always be there.”
Twenty-two-year-old Christiana Duarte had just taken her first job, working in marketing for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. “She was a bright, beautiful young woman, full of life and energy,” a family friend commented.
Adrian Murfitt was a commercial fisherman in Anchorage, Alaska. The 35-year-old used his earnings from a successful fishing season for a trip to Las Vegas. “He was more than happy [to] give himself away to his friends,” a buddy remarked. “Always wearing the smile only a friend wears.”
One survivor answered the question as to why these mass murders keep happening in our country by saying that love is gone. But we know that is not true. We know that the cornerstone, our cornerstone, is stronger than any evil force anywhere. More from NewsHour:
Twenty-year-old Quinton Robbins was loved by everyone, his uncle said. When the shooting started, the Nevada native got on his knees, looking for a place to hide with his girlfriend. He was hit in the chest. (Subsequently), she posted: “You got hurt trying to protect me, and I have no words. I tried so hard to help you, and I’m so, so sorry I couldn’t do more.”
Jack Beaton was a 54-year-old construction worker. He was at the festival with his wife, celebrating their 23rd anniversary. He shielded her with his body. “I knew every day that he would protect me and take care of me and love me unconditionally,” she said. “What he did is no surprise to me.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Sonny Melton was a nurse. The White House said he shielded his wife from the bullets, saving her life.
Another survivor wants to focus on the good that people have done this week rather than on the evil perpetrated by one person. He told about women who dragged him to a safer place and tied a belt around his leg to keep him from bleeding to death. He spoke about hospital staff and others who stopped to talk to him while he waited for hours in a hallway for help, telling him again and again that they were there for him. A third survivor said the world’s messed up right now, but he expressed his deepest gratitude to those who had saved his life at the scene and made it possible to go to the hospital.
Our challenge resurfaces, shadows us again: What is our part in these tragedies? What does God want us to do about them? And Pete Seeger asks:
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Comfort can be sparse these days. But we can find it in our cornerstone. The cornerstone that destroyed evil and will help us to continue to stamp it out now and forever. With our cornerstone’s help, we will learn and we will act.