Reflections on a Tragedy

I recognize it is difficult, and dangerous, to try to diagnose a situation from hours away, with people of whom I have no first-hand knowledge.  So what I say is necessarily hampered, and limited in its usefulness, by all that.  Still, a few thoughts struck me as I read more about the shootings at the elementary school in CT.
While most of the talk is about increasing school safety and gun laws (I'm for both--on the second point see Nicholas Kristof's column yesterday.  Not having grown up with guns--Germany, where I grew up, has  strict gun laws, and so does China, where I lived for many years, and I can't say I minded either--I am somewhat baffled by the second-amendment crowd in this country.  Which I realize stigmatizes everything else I say for some of my dearest friends.)  But there are some other things that the media are mentioning, but not making much of--that could be made much of.
For example, both the murderer and his mother, in one Washington Post article, were not said to have any good friends.  No one has asked for either of their bodies, according to the coroner, as of yesterday.  While the mother was not a recluse (like the son apparently was), it does not appear that she had many friends.  something tells me that this is a fruit of our present culture--especially middle-class culture--that does not bode well for us.  I could elaborate, but you probably know what I mean.  Today's middle-class culture--with its need to keep up with the Joneses, and the challenge of maintaining a standard of living, leaves little room for true friendship; you have to sacrifice numerous middle-class trappings to find and make room for friendship. 
Or, take the divorce of this young man's parents.  Now I have no desire to point a finger at people who are divorced. Life is complicated, and we live in a fallen world, and partake of the world's fallenness, which makes marriage exceedingly difficult (again, middle-class trappings, and the need to keep up middle-class appearances, add to the difficulty).  So, there but for the grace of God alone, go I.  Still, that divorce--reporters have said it was exceedingly difficult for the couple's two sons--should not be overlooked.  Children--and teenagers--are more likely to "succeed" in life (however people define that, even without the gospel) with two parents--and even more with two parents who are present and engaged.
Which leads me to the question: how should we view this in light of the gospel?  Two thoughts:
(1) Give thanks for God's common grace.  Without common grace such events would become so common as to go unnoticed. I know that is a daring statement, but consider what our life would be like if each of us always acted on our worst temptations.  By God's common grace we, and others, do not.
(2) When people ask how Jesus teaches us to think about such tragedies, point them to Luke 13:1-5.  Read that, and memorize it, and meditate on it for the next tragedy.  Note that Jesus gives no deep explanation--he does not reveal to us the mind of God on these things. And he gives us no grounds for pointing the finger at anyone, or standing in judgment on anyone in an absolute sense.  We are no better than the victims of senseless violence or catastrophe--whether man-made (vv. 1-3) or random (vv. 4-5).  Instead, these events are reason to reflect, and repent.  Hard words (as so often Jesus' words are!), but absolutely true.

How to Speak about a Tough Topic

How do you talk about homosexuality?  Here is Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterrian Church in New York City, speaking at a Columbia University forum (not exactly a sympathetic audience, by the way). I think he does an excellent job of delivering a gospel-focused response (which is not about our good works, or our not sinning, but about our trusting in Christ's righteousness, though we are sinners!).  What do you think?