A couple weeks ago America witnessed one of the most tragic massacres this country has ever seen. As I watched news reports and tweets flood in throughout the day I, as well as many others around the country, wrestled with emotions as the events of the day unfolded. Watching the coverage while playing with my 18 month old daughter at home provided a new perspective on the horrendous tragedy. My heart filled with anger toward the acts of pure evil and my heart truly broke for the parents, families, and children whose lives will never be the same. In the days that followed the country mourned for the innocent young lives lost and people were forced to focus on the brokenness of our world. We were all confronted with death and evil in a way we have never experienced. Inevitably the question of "why" is raised. For some reason we believe an answer to this question will help us make sense of it all. But this kind of evil can never make sense. The only thing that does seem to make sense is, the world is broken and in desperate need of restoration.
Nevertheless we are still asking why, we are still looking for someone or something to blame. While no one has true answers, many have attempted to provide answers. We blame access to weapons, parenting styles, political stances, public school systems etc. But the truth is that non of these provide answers. Unfortunately many in the church have used this tragedy not as a time to mourn with those who mourn, but as an opportunity to push political or religious agendas. More than any other institution in the world, the church is called to love. And my frustration is that we are getting so caught up in pointing fingers or trying to answer why and forgetting to love and mourn. I have watched many in the church (including many prominent church leaders) point toward the legalization of gay marriage or abortion and say because we have allowed this, God is allowing that. Or their primary point is saying that we have pushed God out of public schools so God allowed this tragedy to happen. They argue that we have systematically removed God from schools and so God is casting judgment on us, saying God is a gentleman and therefore he "is not going to go where he is not wanted." But hold on a second, doesn't this conclusion assume that we have the power and ability to remove God from our schools and other public places? Is God really constrained to where we allow him? Maybe the reality is we live in a broken world where horrendous evil exists and our Christian hope is that God will one day restore all things and bring about ultimate shalom.
Isn't this what the story of Christmas reminds us of. The very essence of the Christmas season is that God himself entered into the messiness and evil of our world. From what I see, God has a tendency of entering into places that seem to reject him. Let's not forget the story Jesus was born into.
At the time of Jesus' birth, Israel (God's chosen people) were living in an occupied land ruled by a vicious world power, the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was ruled by a series of Caesars and Caesar Augustus was on the throne when Jesus was born. To say Augustus was a bit delusional and power drunk may be an understatement. Augustus believed himself to be a sort of "divine mediator" between heaven and earth. He likened himself to a god and anyone who challenged his authority or the Roman Empire would be put to death. And put to death in a gruesome manner in order to instill a controlling fear over those occupied by Rome. Brute force was displayed by this evil in a way the world has never seen. Tacitus a Roman historian says this in his account of the way the Romans ruled,
“To extend the scope of the raid, the Caesar divided his eager legions into four bodies, and, for fifty miles around, wasted the country with sword and flame. Neither age nor sex inspired pity: places sacred and profane were razed indifferently to the ground...The troops escaped without a wound: they had been cutting down men half-asleep, unarmed or dispersed.” - The Annals of Tacitus, Book 1, Chapter 51
The Roman way was to instill overwhelming fear in the people by carrying out unthinkably violent acts and massacres. It was clear that God was removed and evil was reigning.
Yet, into this world God became Immanuel, God with us. It was into this evil that a baby came to overthrow an empire. Into this world Jesus declared "blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." God is in the business of confronting evil, and comforting those in pain. He is in the business of renewing all things.
In the wake of the Newtown tragedy God mourned. He mourned alongside the families who lost their beautiful children. He wept as he saw the corruption of His good creation.
I believe in a God who steps into a world of evil and hate and death. A God who will ultimately put an end to the chaos. My hope is for the Church to be an active extension of this hope. To mourn with those who are mourning. To not point fingers or take political stands but grieve a world gone awry. May we in this time look toward our ultimate hope, that God, Immanuel, would come and set the world to rights.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - Revelation 21:1-4
Come Lord Jesus.