By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Over 2,000 years ago, our Savior was born in Bethlehem, and the intent of the angels and heaven itself was to herald the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to humans. “Fear not!!” “Glad tidings of great joy!” “Peace on earth, toward men of goodwill!” And indeed, every year since then has been filled with what we have affectionately come to call “Christmas Miracles.” These are tales of wonder and beauty that make the celebration even more personal. While it is historically true that the event was not on December 25, and that the Wise Men did not arrive the same night as the shepherds to celebrate the birth of Yeshua, in the West we lovingly lump it together and endeavor to make Him “the Reason for the Season” even while Black Friday starts its siren song in September.
Sadly, a very important part of that miraculous Nativity was a stark and dark contrast to the sound of singing angels. It was the demonic and maniacal raving of a mad man, and the insistence that innocent male children from the age of two on down be put to the sword. Why? For no other reason than they were drawing breath, and therefore a threat to King Herod who was terrified that he was about to be deposed. No one wants to wrestle with such evil in a time of great blessing, and for sure, no one wants to try and get their head around the fact that for the second time in the history of the Jewish people, a king decreed a slaughter of the innocents.
Yet, it happened then, and it has just happened again. Fifteen Jews were slaughtered on Bondi Beach of Sydney, Australia, by a father and son team who believe that it was their divine duty to do so. One of the innocents was a ten-year-old girl. Forty-two others were sent to the hospital. It was the first day of Hanukkah, an 8-day feast of love and light, of cleansing and provision. The footage of the bravery of the man who stopped one of the shooters is compelling, and leaders of every faith are calling Ahmed-al Ahmed a hero. Israel is calling for him to be honored as one who is considered “Righteous among the nations,” the highest honor for someone who is not Jewish, and most often given in the past to people who risked and, at times, gave their lives to protect Jews during WWII.
Here in our own Alabama the Beautiful, we are grieving the temporary “snuffing out” of light. A stunning 19-year-old by the name of Ella Cook who hailed from the Birmingham area was shot in the face at Brown University while in a study group. She was the vice-president of a college conservative club at Brown, a vibrant Christian, kind-hearted, and according to witnesses, targeted. The other young person who was murdered was named Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, just 18 years old. His family came here from Uzbekistan when he was young, and he too was known for his kindness. Nine others were wounded.
What do we make of this? What do we do, and who do we become? We may not have answers now, but we will, and those answers will be worth waiting for. We “choose to refuse” to give in to hate or fear. We choose to shine more brightly in the darkness, and we sing the songs of angels, irrespective of the cost. We remember that Herod was an incomprehensible part of that first, pure holiday, but he did not succeed in snuffing out the Light. And that hope, that the Light cannot be snuffed out, is indeed the good news that brings great joy this season, even while we weep.
