“Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people.” were among the words of Seung-Hui Cho that he left as a “manifesto” of a sort before murdering thirty-two individuals at Virginia Tech on April 16. At the same time, his diatribe against Christianity stood in stark contrast to this statement. But it really wasn’t surprising. Don’t most people love Jesus, but have some sort of beef against Christianity?

The tragedy at Virginia Tech immediately reminded me of four other April tragedies: Lincoln’s death, Waco, Oklahoma and Columbine. An unsettling combination of a delusional worldview, the Messiah complex, and social dis-ease were causes of each.

The horrific killings were committed in cold blood; yet I can’t help but think that Cho himself was a sick, wounded, and lonely son of God.

I think of another April tragedy—one we celebrated on a day we call Good Friday. Delusion, claim of Messiah, dis-ease were all part of this tragedy as well. There on the cross hung the wounded and lonely Son of God—dying to comfort and empower humanity delusional, diseased, disoriented.

Thanks to Christ, who died for the weak and defenseless, you had a way out, Seung-Hui. Christ had already fought for you. Christ had already reconciled you.