When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love
When aimless violence takes those we love
When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love is a hymn text by Jaroslav J. Vajda (2006) in L.M. (8.8.8.8) meter. Found in CW21 852, elw 766, gtg 787, hs98 890.
The hymn grounds Christian comfort in Paul's teaching that God comforts us in all afflictions, enabling us to comfort others. It affirms Lutheran doctrine that God's compassion encompasses even the deepest human suffering and violence.
History & Background
Written by Jaroslav Vajda in 2006 as a contemporary pastoral hymn addressing the specific grief of losing loved ones to violence. First published in Lutheran Service Book (2006) as hymn 764.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 852
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 766
- Glory to God — 787
- Hymnal Supplement 98 — 890
- Lutheran Service Book — 764
- Voices Together — 870
Bulletin Note
Jaroslav Vajda composed this text in 2006, drawing on 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. It names what many hymns avoid: aimless violence. Vajda's Lutheran theology insists God's comfort is real, even amid tragedy.
Preaching Connection
This hymn locates the Gospel's comfort not in the absence of suffering, but in God's promise to be present within it—transforming our experience of violence and loss into a ministry of consolation that witnesses to the resurrection.
Background Research
LSB 764 (Hymn of the Day for the Holy Innocents, Dec 28, all years). Joy F. Patterson (b. 1931) wrote it out of real loss: her father's decline and death with Alzheimer's disease and her own failing sight from macular degeneration, while two fellow hymn writers had written to her about shootings and violence in their communities (one, Carl Daw, sent her a commentary on 'a hymn when God says, No'). A version was adapted for a memorial service after the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995. In LSB's 'Hope and Comfort' section, it names 'aimless violence', 'random death' and the robbing of 'sight and strength and mind' (st. 2), and answers with Christ's presence (Heb 13:5; John 11:35).
Sources: LCMS Worship, The Word in Song: Hymn of the Day Studies (Paul J. Cain).
In the Church Year
Hymn of the Day (Lutheran Service Book) for: Holy Innocents
Suggested in the three-year series
- Holy Innocents (1×)
- Lent 3 (1×)
From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.
Themes
Divine comfort in suffering Consolation in grief Trust amid tragedy God's compassion