Dear Church Family –
Does it matter that God became a man at Christmas? Ask the parents of students at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.
This past Monday, a 15-year-old student at the school shot and killed a teacher and another student, injured six others, and then killed herself. I was moved by the comments of parent Jim Smith. His daughter is a junior at Abundant Life Christian and was not harmed physically, but they still feel the fear and vulnerability and emotional grief and loss.
Christmas is all about the “incarnation of Christ.” That’s a rich theological term for God becoming a man, one of us, entering into our world and experiencing our life. The power of incarnation came out in some of Jim Smith’s comments to World magazine reporter, Christina Grube. Here’s part of what she reported yesterday.
“He described parents responding with sorrow, grief, frustration, and disbelief—but distinctly void of fear. ‘People were banding around,’ he said. ‘People were praying together … saying, God, this is injustice, this was not right, and shut the mouth of our enemy, the devil, in how he wants to bring despair or discord.’”
“As the community recovers, Smith said that spending time together seemed to be an important means of healing...." "Fellowship and community are also important for healing, he believes. ‘In this world, you will have trouble, but there is peace that’s left and can be taken up by us if we choose to take, and I think that flows over into the school, to the other families,’ he said.”
“’The only thing I need to know is, how are we going to not live in fear?’ Smith said. He wasn’t inclined to think about security systems, metal detectors, and guards. Doing so would be the response of a fearful heart, not a heart seeking God,’ he said.”
“Dealing with tragedy a week before celebrating Christmas was a complex challenge. ‘It's going to be a hard one,’ he said. ‘There are so many intertwined relationships that people have had teachers, students that have either been injured or are no longer with us.’”
“’We trust that there is a caring, personal Lord in heaven that wants to reach out to us and draw us close, especially when tragedy happens,’ he said. ‘There will still be joy. Regardless of how happy we may or may not feel, there will be joy.’”
That’s incarnation. “Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested.” (Heb 2:18 NLT)
God really became a human being. He really suffered as we do. It really makes a difference.
Merry Christmas and see you Sunday! – Pastor Tim
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