The year was circa 6AD when a detachment of Roman soldiers entered the City of Bethlehem, population approximately 1,500. Not unlike the result of Adam Lanza's killing spree last Friday in Newtown these soldiers came with one purpose: kill all the male children two years of age or under. Biblical historian Paul Maier estimates that there were probably 12-15 male children murdered that day, killed unexpectantly and leaving several families to wrestle with the evil thrusted upon them and the aftermath of getting on with life bearing a wound that can never fully heal this side of heaven. How do we begin to come to grips with the events from last Friday and those atrocities committed in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago?
We need to remember that the historical events that we celebrate and reflect on during Advent can never be separated from the Easter story. Jesus was born to die. Jesus sole purpose in coming to earth was wrapped up in the meaning of his atoning death for sinful man. So, the birth of the Son of God inaugurated a series of events in a life that led to death. Christmas is inextricably linked to the Passion of the Christ. Christmas is messy. Christmas is about brokenness. Christmas is about the process and eventual mending of "all things" broken. Therefore, Christmas is also about hope.
There are no cliches or pat answers that can assuage the acts of terror inflicted upon Newtown, Bethlehem, Columbine, Auschwitz...and the list goes on. Evil is real. And, until the Son of God completes his work of the restoration of all things we will continue to contend with this horrific reality. So we confess, "God is good, evil is real and one day God will vanquish all evil."
This world is broken. Alongside the existence of evil in the world is the reality of an historical fall from perfection that thrust humanity into a state of brokenness and death. And while God is mending this world his work is not complete. So, our lives are characterized by the intermingling of emotions that are polarized in nature, like sadness and joy. These emotions cause a deep angst in our soul. And by angst I mean the following taken from the Urban Dictionary,
Angst, often confused with anxiety, is a transcendent emotion in that it combines the
unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible
situation. Without the important element of hope, then the emotion is anxiety, not angst.
Angst denotes the constant struggle one has with the burdens of life that weighs on the
dispossessed and not knowing when the salvation will appear.
The "good news" is that we know salvation will one day ultimately appear. This is the message of Advent: we wait. We wait for a certain salvation!
Pray for those in Newtown who are left to wait. Pray that their waiting might be infused with the hope of a Savior born in Bethlehem. Pray for their comfort. And pray that they may know that the God who will one day make all things right lost a child in a senseless act of murder and through that evil brought about the world's greatest good-the salvation of mankind!
