I WEPT

I WEPT

            I first read the horrifying news when I caught my daughter’s comment on facebook.  I hurriedly scanned the news sites for info, all the while muttering with a sinking heart, “No… no... no... not again!” An elementary school? Kindergartners  Twenty children killed? Tears of grief and rage blurred my vision; grief for the twenty sets of parents who had their precious child senselessly ripped out of their arms—and at Christmastime, the most celebrated child-holiday of the year!

            And rage! Rage at the insane, demonic punk who would ruthlessly, callously grin at the terrified little faces pleading with him to let them live as he butchered the innocent, little angels and their guardians. “Burn in hell!” I raged at him.  

            I wept. Having raised four children of my own, now having thirteen grandchildren, having been an elementary school bus driver for thirty years, I wept. The dreams, hopes, anticipation of Christmas, letters to Santa, presents under the tree, colorful Christmas lights glittering all over town, songs about snow and mistletoe on the radio, people smiling and greeting each other on the street… twenty children who met a devil armed to the teeth instead.

 I wept.

And raged again. How could anyone, no matter how psychotic, do such a thing? Mothers and fathers who had whispered secrets about gifts to each other with a twinkle in their eye and a wink at their hopeful child, now deprived of not only their child but the joy of seeing the gleeful little eyes light up at the special gift chosen just for them.

            Christmas will forever be marred for those aggrieved families. The rest of us will eventually get over the pain and get on with our lives. But how can any family see the empty chair beside the Christmas tree and not be reminded, even re-live the pain and horror of Christmas 2012?

            The first Christmas had a similar scene of horror. Historians tell us that approximately twenty to thirty babes in Bethlehem were murdered when Herod sent his thugs to carry out his malignant will.

Matthew 2:16-18 (NASB)
¹⁶ Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
¹⁷ Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
¹⁸ "A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE."

            Although the early Church did not celebrate Christmas at all, much less, with all the hedonistic celebration and worldly materialism that Christ’s birth is associated with today, I have often pondered Christmas’ influence in the world. For many it is party time, a time to get drunk, be immoral, go into debt, get things they don’t need and give gifts that aren't appreciated. But there are also those who enjoy beneficial things like family reunions and serving at homeless shelters, et al. Clearly, the world of men has hijacked this celebration of a Divine miracle to its own ends, even coming dangerously close to eliminating the true cause of the celebration in favor of greed and Bacchanalian pursuits. I often questioned, “Should Christians even participate in Christmas at all, since it has become so far removed from Christ’s birth?”

            But then, I reasoned, it is a reminder of God’s love and mercy in a dark world, that He became a man and dwelt among us, being the Light and providing the way of salvation. Faithful believers hold forth the witness of Christ’s mission when they celebrate the miraculous Baby of Bethlehem. And the world sees, and has no excuse for not knowing, at least in vestigial form, the rudiments of this faith called Christianity. How many have found the Messiah “accidentally” by wondering about the roots of Christmas? The Spirit (of God), the water (teaching and writings of Scripture) and the blood (lifestyles of true born again believers) still bear witness and make the truth of the Gospel available to seekers.

            This is why Satan tries so hard to remove and/or harm the spiritual aspect of the holiday. He almost succeeded in making Christmas a totally secular event, by focusing on greedy materialism, “Black Friday” sales days, as well as ACLU attacks trying to ban nativity scenes and Christmas Carols from the public square. But he has failed. So, now he has reverted to his original attempt to make what should be an occasion for great rejoicing into one of grief and blaming God for not doing anything to prevent such tragedies. The coming of Messiah was eagerly anticipated in Israel, but His birth is associated with a horrendous bloodbath of innocents. Then, as now, Satan’s goal is to besmirch not only this season of “joy and peace on earth, good will to men,” but God’s very character. How could a loving God allow this horrible fate to befall a small Connecticut hamlet?

            Longfellow’s carol, I heard the Bells on Christmas Day speaks to this pain. I have included the verses that most hymnals leave out, finding them quite apropos to the anguish our nation is feeling at this time. He wrote this, while still grieving the loss of his beloved wife due to a fire and after receiving news that his son was gravely injured in a Civil War campaign.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

            The message of Christmas, “Peace between God and man, forgiveness through Jesus Christ,” is mocked by such savage events; but this mockery is a lie. The truth is that God reigns supreme. And we, as believers, can fight this evil that rampages in the world by unabashedly worshiping Him and trusting Him through the pain and grief. When Satan’s foulest ploys are brushed aside like so much dust on a step, and God’s glory is revealed through it all, the world will still have the eternal light of the Gospel shining on the path to salvation.

            Celebration of Christmas is validated by the increasingly dastardly attacks upon it. As a pastor once said: “Thieves do not hang around empty storehouses.” So, in spite of all the superficiality and commercialism, Christmas is still having an effect on the hearts and minds of people, otherwise Satan would not be fighting so hard against it.

            I still weep. But I also pray: pray that grieving families will be comforted by the Holy Spirit’s presence and by Christians who will weep with them; pray that pastors will know what things to say; pray that God will send warrior angels to guard the nation’s schools—for it is a spiritual battle.