On Tragedy and Christmas

It seems the world is filled with tragedy recently. From Newtown, CT, to tragedies much closer to home, to events in our own lives that maybe don't seem tragic to most but are tragic to us, the world is a crazy, sad and confusing place sometimes.

As I was reading an article about Newtown, a man there said that he had bought a Christmas tree before the shooting, but hasn't put it up because it doesn't feel like Christmas. As I read that, I felt so sad, because events like Newtown, and the tragedies that we all experience in life, are exactly why we need Christmas. The sin that caused this is the reason God sent us a Savior. It is the tragedies such as Newtown and others that we are experiencing right now that make us realize how much this world needs Jesus and should cause us to celebrate Christmas all the more.

Jesus came in a time of hopelessness in Jewish history. The people had not heard from God in 400 years and were under Roman rule. They likely thought that God had either forgotten about them or didn't have the power to do anything about their situation. And it was in that moment of hopelessness, that the chasm between Heaven and Earth was bridged, and a Savior was born to make a way for God's people to return to Him.

And so, in this time of tragedy, this is exactly why we can celebrate Christmas. Because God did not leave us or forsake us, but came into this world to save us. So that these tragedies are not the end. So that we can still have hope even in the midst of the worst that life has to offer. God made a way. We are not forsaken.

One of my favorite lines from I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day:

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.

In the wake of the recent tragic events, let us celebrate the birth of our Savior with more joy and love than ever before, as it has been made explicitly clear the evil that He came to save us from.