While I believe in Divine Providence, I don’t believe God staged this event. It was staged by the murderers.
Um... I ascribe more power to God than you seem to be.
God forced their hand a la hard cold Calvinism... no.
God knew how they had chosen a bent and put them in the appropriate time and place to play this out... yes.
Basically if you believe in divine providence do you believe God also provides warnings?
This is such a warning. It is a canary in our spiritual mine. The fact that it actually occurred rather than, say, playing out with the would be participants muttering their irritability harmlessly in a corner, wasn’t driven solely by the participants.
Sure those police ought to be rebuked, but something larger than us needs rebuking which has been invited way too intimately into our modern society. Satan, that is.
... and not kidding about Satan.
Satan is at the root of cowardice. What happened here was cowardly. Self preservation rather than sacrificial risk for the sake of striving for a larger good has become the touchstone of public actions.
Blessedly we get a choice even vis a vis Satan. We might not be able to shake off his fog in one fell swoop, but we CAN call on the same providential God who can work around that demon very deftly. From Satan’s point of view, though he keeps it a secret because of his pride, he can’t win for losing, but damn it, he’s a proud demon, and won’t quit wreaking havoc on earth till he’s banished to hell. He’s trying to stop a waterfall of grace with a twig of sin. Victorious walks come for us when we recognize that fact and act on it in faith.
Let’s ask God for far more than rebuking or otherwise punishing the bad actors. Let’s ask God to come back into our hearts and rebuke Satan’s naysaying to God’s grace. It’s us who are refusing the grace, with a foot willingly stuck into hell.