Violence and Advent

 Friends,  

This past weekend we heard the news of several horrible acts of violence. One was a hate crime during a Hannukah celebration, driven by antisemitism. One was a school shooting at Brown University and, as it turns out, the shooter is suspected of having killed a professor in an earlier school shooting. And then we heard the gruesome news of Rob and Michelle Reiner’s murder and the arrest of their son as the prime suspect. While we rightly attend parties, wrap gifts, and tune our hearts to embrace the story of Jesus’ birth, the ugly reality of human brokenness rears its head over and over. 

 

These tragedies have familiar dynamics – religious violence, gun violence, and domestic violence among them – and each one carries its own trajectory of trauma. When there was a school shooting at the University of Iowa, I waited in line to use a pay phone and call Chris to let her know that I was safe. The memory of that dingy little area, surrounded by paneled walls, with caller after caller assuring their families but unable to answer any of their questions has been on my mind this week. Some of you are remembering challenges of drug addiction or the fear of being safe within your own home. If the events of this past week have raked up memories or feelings that are difficult for you to process, please know that you have pastors, elders, deacons, a parish nurse, a parish counselor, and many friends who are ready to lend an ear or hold you in prayer. 

 

It seems that the story of Christ’s birth is ever contextualized in a world of harsh realities. You may remember that five years ago we could not gather for Christmas Eve. Instead, our Worship Commission put together an “Angel Walk” where you could get a photo with some Angel Wings that Carrie Schneider had created for us, then walk through the Fellowship Hall where many of us had shared our Nativity Scenes in a beautiful display. We also had a Prayer Wall for sharing our concerns, a Giving Tree for sharing our blessings, and an Illumination Walk around the labyrinth. Then, we produced a video of readings and music for families to watch together at home. It was a time of intense grief – many of us lost loved ones during the pandemic and were unable to sit with the dying or comfort the living as we wanted. And it was a time of genuine care, with some extraordinary acts of kindness despite the real health dangers.

 

During that time, I shared these words that Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his fiancée while he was a prisoner in Tegal, which I think are as appropriate this week: “I think we're going to have an exceptionally good Christmas. The very fact that every outward circumstance precludes our making provision for it will show whether we can be content with what is truly essential. I used to be very fond of thinking up and buying presents, but now that we have nothing to give, the gift God gave us in the birth of Christ will seem all the more glorious; the emptier our hands, the better we understand what Luther meant by his dying words: ‘We're beggars; it's true.’ The poorer our quarters, the more clearly we perceive that our hearts should be Christ's home on earth.”

 

The story of Jesus’ birth is embedded in tyranny, forced migration, and violence. And yet it is glorious. As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, may our hearts be Christ’s home on earth.

 

Mark of St. Mark