I taught a class this year at my son’s homeschool co-op. One of the topics was rainbows and as we dug into how they were formed we discovered that rainbows aren’t arches, they are instead full circles of magnificent colour in the sky. We can’t see them on the ground because of the horizon.
This weekend in Florida tragedy struck as members of the LGBTQ community were gunned down at a nightclub because they were gay. Hearing the news stunned me. I do not possess the words necessary to express the grief and sadness I feel over the loss of innocent life. In truth there are no words. There aren’t good enough words to make things better. There’s only feeling and emotion and action at this point.
This brings me back to rainbows. As I’ve been thinking of these people, of their families, of the loss and terror felt in Florida I remembered the rainbows. I thought about how the rainbow is a symbol of Gay Pride and how rainbows have been used time and again to demonstrate diversity and difference in this world. What I love about this is how I now know that rainbows are circles, they have no beginning or end and the connection cannot be broken. We are all part of this rainbow of people, all part of the people of God regardless of sex or sexuality, ethnicity or background. In the end were were created in God’s image and we are his people. As his people we are connected and these connections matter.
Let us not forget these connections. Let us not forget the ties that bind us across divisions and differences for in as many ways as we are different, there are more ways in which we are the same and when we meet each other, when we learn from each other we can truly see ways to connect, engage and move forward in this world together fostering peace and understanding.
Let us pray for the victims and their families. Let us unite against hate and work towards peace in this world. Let us be people who see each other not just as labels but instead as who we truly are, people who live and love, who are loved and of God.
