I first received the news of the Sri Lanka bombings after I had gone home from Easter service.

The news gripped my heart. It was too many deaths, too many terrorist attacks in too short a time – the world had barely recovered from the killing spree in Christchurch and this had to happen.

I’m still trembling in anger and sadness as I’m writing this article. I simply can’t imagine how the families of the victims are feeling. Some of us might have lost people we loved, but not many of us would have experienced the pain of losing our loved ones to murderers.

When injustice like this spits at you in the face, what can you say?

I don’t have the words for the victims’ loss nor do I claim to fully understand what they are going through. But as I’m wrestling with the idea of how bad things can happen to good people, the story of Mordecai in the book of Esther offers me hope.

Mordecai was a Jew who lived during the time when Babylon had fallen into the hands of the Persians. Previously, the Jews had been carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Taken as captives, the Jews were a minority group. 

Esther was a queen whose Jewish identity was still concealed when her adoptive parent, Mordecai, uncovered an assassination plot against the king. She reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. You’d think the king would reward Mordecai for saving his life, but flip to the next chapter and what do we read?

After these events, King Xerxes honoured Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honour higher than that of all the other nobles (Esther 3:1).

Someone else got promoted while Mordecai was duly forgotten! But it gets worse.

Elevated to a position of power, Haman demanded that everyone should kneel before him. And when Mordecai refused because the Jews would only bow down before God, Haman decided to make him pay through the blood of an entire race.

I was bewildered when I read this account. Why was this happening to Mordecai who faithfully served the king? And what about the many other innocent people who were about to face extermination through genocide?

We have these reactions because we expect goodness to be rewarded with good, and evil to be repaid with evil.

And when the expected consequence – be it a reward or retribution – doesn’t come immediately, we question if God knows what’s going on. And if He does, does He even care?

Because at the heart of injustice is the question: Where is God?

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there.

Mordecai pleaded with Esther to do something about the situation and she requested for all the Jews to fast and pray for 3 days. Thereafter, King Xerxes miraculously remembered that Mordecai once saved his life and honoured him.

Esther gained enough favour to obtain immunity for the rest of her people. Haman ultimately got his retribution – he died on the stake which he had ironically set up for Mordecai.

Do you know why the story of Mordecai gives me hope? Because the incredulous turn of events cannot just be explained away by coincidence.

It tells me that there’s a God who sees, hears and remembers. 

God is present. He sees what’s happening, He hears the cries of His people and He doesn’t forget them – He just doesn’t follow our timeline. We may think His deliverance is delayed – perhaps even late –  but that doesn’t change the fact that He is sovereign.

The story of Mordecai along with many other accounts from the Bible remind me that there is hope. There can be hope even in the face of gruesome injustice. There can be hope, even when all seems lost – hope, even in the face of death.

And we wouldn’t have this living hope had Jesus not died and resurrected; that’s the reason why we celebrate Easter in the first place.

Because as long as there’s a God who sees, hears and remembers, the story won’t end with injustice.

Our instinctive reaction whenever we suffer injustice is to hurt the people who have hurt us.

But the Bible offers an alternative response: To pray and bless our enemies (Romans 12:14).

I know it’s a tall order – God knows too. In Psalm 109, King David was so overwhelmed by his enemies that he rained down a series of curses on his adversaries, pleading with God to avenge him.

And how did God respond? God didn’t condemn David for his unfiltered thoughts and feelings. He understood that the pain was real. Instead, He assured David to “sit at His right hand” because He will make David’s enemies a footstool for him, and nations will be judged on the day of His wrath (Psalm 110). 

In the same way, God tells us not to take matters into our own hands and assures us that vengeance is His (Romans 12:19). Our role is not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). And it’s easy to see why when we understand the reasons behind Sri Lanka and Christchurch attacks. Revenge is a never-ending, vicious cycle.

So where do we go from here? What can we do now?

We may not be Esther who had direct connections to the ruling authority, but we can be like the rest of the Jews.

We can appeal to the highest authority through the form of fasting and praying. 

So while we might be tempted to pray against the assailants, pray for them instead. And if that’s too much to ask for right now, then channel your attention to the victims instead.

Let’s pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka, and that any bomb and/or threats will be completely eradicated. Pray that this massacre will only strengthen and not demoralise their faith, and for hope to shine through like light in darkness in this time of turmoil. But above all, pray that love – not hatred – will win.

To my fellow comrades in the other part of the world, I stand in solidarity with you.

Original photo sources: KCUR, Al Jazeera