Today marks four years since the shooting that killed 49 people at the
Pulse nightclub in Orlando. As I read this morning’s Psalm I got stuck on
the last verse and read it over and over again...
“O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry
them forever.” Psalm 28:9
I had just read an article before the Psalm, which featured photos of the 49
people killed on that day. The images of our siblings gone from this earth,
but not gone forever. God is their shepherd and God will carry them forever.
Four years ago, Erica and I headed to one of Nashville’s gay bars to be
with our people and mourn. I posted a photo with the caption,
“May we work for a world where queer dancing never ends.”
So, this morning I am sinking into the image that our siblings lost on the
dance floor of Pulse continue that dance beyond time and space, in the
embrace of our shepherd, who loves all of their children.
1 To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.[a]
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
while mischief is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their work,
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due
reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his
hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 O save your people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
**Photo from August 2016 when Erica and I paid our respects at Pulse.