The horrific and gruesome news about the terrorist attacks in Norway appear to have been done not by Islamic fundamentalists, but by a lone whack-job for reasons yet to be determined. Regardless of who did it and why, it serves as a poignant reminder that, no matter how safe and secure we feel in our own lives and situations, that safety is an illusion; every day should be lived to its fullest and embraced for whatever it might bring, be it good or bad.

The unfortunate truth is that in free and open societies there is very little that can be done to prevent something like what happened in Norway to happen here. Especially in a country as vast and open as the US is, where people are as as mobile as they are, the fact is that the only safety we really share is that very same vastness and openess: the chances of any one person being in the wrong place at the wrong time for any particular individual is really pretty remote.

But there’s no doubt it can happen to any one of us: there’s little anyone can do to stop someone intent on blowing themselves and others up, or taking their anger out on dozens of innocent people and creating general mayhem if they’re truly committed to it. My guess is that in the days and weeks to come, the person responsible for the death and destruction in Norway will have have no small paper trail of activity behind that could have at least hinted at their intentions and prompted some investigation. These things don’t just occur out of thin, globally warmed air, you know.

My candle this week burns for those killed and injured, and the families whose lives have been changed forever. May they come to know God’s comfort, strength, and healing presence in this world and the next.