On Saturday 3 June, terror struck at the heart of our capital city.
It was a brutal attack on people enjoying an evening out in London.
These events are always shocking, but for The Globe Church it felt very close. It was on our doorstep. This is our patch. This is our community. This is our home. London Bridge is an area of London that is buzzing with life. Borough Market is an incredible mix of colour, tastes and smells from all over the world. It is noisy with the sounds of people enjoying themselves. But then, in an instant, everything changed. The air was filled with the sounds of violence. A moment of horror shattered the evening. All night long, sirens blared and helicopters roared overhead.
Sunday morning
It was Sunday morning and we needed to decide quickly what to do. There was so much uncertainty, but we were determined to meet. Even if our normal building remained closed, we would find a park. We just knew we had to meet: after all, that is what God’s people do.
The police removed the cordon around the building at lunchtime, so we had access in time for our afternoon service.
We met as God’s family that day. We heard God’s Word that says: ‘Don’t be afraid.’ We spent time talking together about what we might be able to say when our friends and colleagues talk to us about the attacks. We worshipped God and sang about Jesus. We prayed for London.
Go out and talk
Then we encouraged the church to go out and talk to people – we had the world’s media on our doorstep! We spoke to a reporter from the Guardian, to Fox News, to the BBC, to the many police. We talked to the people standing in the street staring into space and trying to comprehend what had happened. We handed out chocolates. We asked: ‘How are you feeling?’. We talked about how vulnerable death makes us feel. We tried to share God’s Word.
A young man’s hands shook as he put his cigarette to his mouth, telling of the guilt he felt as an ex-police officer that he wasn’t there to help. Two university students spoke of how they had been in the market just hours before the attack, one of their favourite bars now a site of violence. A Polish chef from a local pub poured out his passionate anger.
On the Monday night about 15 of us from the church went to walk around London Bridge praying and talking to people who were there. We stood with many others at the ever-growing shrine of flowers. The smell of the flowers was poignantly beautiful. One young mum had tears rolling down her face as she spoke about what had happened. The woman next to her offered her a tissue. It was an extraordinary atmosphere.
It is always a sobering thing when death comes close. And it is unavoidable as we live in this world. We would love to keep things at arms’ length. We would love to be able to pretend that these things only happen to other people in other places. But they don’t. They happen to people like us in places like ours.
When death comes close
If I am honest, I am not sure that we were ready. We reacted to what was happening, but I wonder if we could have been better prepared. When death comes close, the church has something to say. When death comes close, the church has a message of hope.
At the heart of our gospel is this glorious truth: there was a day in history when death came close to God. For all eternity God sits enthroned in heaven. He is far about the turbulence and uncertainty of this world. He rules over the pounding waves. They cannot touch him.
Yet he stepped into this world. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became a man. He knows the grief and pain of death. He knows the frailty of humanity. He knows the betrayal of ruthless men, who use violence to pursue their goals. And, on a wooden cross outside Jerusalem, death came close to God. Jesus willingly gave himself over to the great enemy, death, for us. But we don’t stand at his grave and weep. There is no shrine.
Jesus has smashed the power of death. He broke the chains. He rose again. Death came close to God – but it did not win. It could not keep its hold on him.
What London needs
When death comes close to us we need to know this confidence. This is what London needs to know in the wake of terror attacks. This is what churches need to know when tragedy strikes.
Although death comes very close, for all those in Christ it cannot ultimately win.
One week after the attacks we had a special service. We wanted people in the church to be able to invite their friends to come and hear about this hope. When death comes close, the gospel shines more brightly. We cannot stay silent: ready or not, we have to respond.
