Celebrating Christmas in a Time of Tragedy, Dec.,2012

Celebrating Christmas in a Time of Tragedy, December 21, 2012

The weekend following the horrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, the Scripture readings for the Sunday Masses focused on the theme of rejoicing. Because Christmas was drawing near, as we entered the third week of Advent preparation, we were called to rejoice. Normally those are appropriate readings with an appropriate theme. However, I wondered what the preachers in churches in Newtown were going to do with those Scriptures in the midst of their horrible tragedy. What was there to rejoice about as people mourned the deaths of twenty young children and several adults?

Since I was scheduled to preach that same weekend in a church in the New Orleans area, I wondered what I would do with those readings. We were not facing such a tragedy at this time in our area. I thought of focusing on the theme of rejoicing and passing over the tragedy. That would have been an easy way out. However, my conscience would not let me ignore the tragedy of Newtown. We in the New Orleans archdiocese are part of the same Church as the people in Newtown and part of the same nation. I concluded that I needed to bring together the theme of rejoicing and the tragedy of Newtown and somehow apply the message to the people in our area. How was I going to bring together such a tragic event and the joyful preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ?

As I reflected on those issues, I realized that the very celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and what it signifies contained the solution to me dilemma. As Christians we believe that Christmas celebrates the birth of God among us as a human being, the “Word become flesh” as the author of the prologue of John's Gospel writes or “Emmanuel”, God with us, as other Gospels declare. We fill the celebration of Christmas and the birth of Jesus with beautiful carols and songs, artistic presentations of the scene in Bethlehem, stories and poetry that idealize the event. However, when we look more closely at what Luke's nativity account describes, we see something quite different. We see a couple giving birth to a child in very poor surroundings, away from family and home, doctors, midwife or any medical support and the birth takes places in a stable, probably behind someone's house.

The significance of this description for Christians is our belief that Jesus, that Word become flesh, truly chose to involve himself in our humanity in its ordinariness or as I like to describe it, in the messiness of humanity. Certainly the description of the scene of his birth was humble, even poor, nothing rich in any material sense. And when we look ahead to the end of Jesus' earthly life, we experience a scene even more shocking—Jesus dead on a cross, crucified between two common criminals. As Christians we certainly believe that God was with Jesus at the time of his humble birth through the time of his crucifixion and death on the cross. God never abandoned Jesus nor his family nor his followers at any time.

This is the pathway for connecting the theme of rejoicing in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus with the horrible tragedy of Newtown Connecticut and even with similar or lesser painful experiences for other communities, families or individuals. Just as God did not abandon Jesus and his followers from the moment of his birth through his horrible crucifixion and death, so that same God did not abandon the people of Newtown nor those children and adults in that Sandy Hook school that fateful day. Nor does our God abandon any of us whatever we face.

It is important to affirm the presence of God in this tragedy because, unfortunately, some have presented a different picture. Some dare to say that God abandoned that school and those children and adults because our nation has become too secularized, because we have taken prayer out of public schools and other gatherings. Regardless of how secular we are as a nation, God does not abandon us. God does not behave like a petulant adult or child who say that if you don't include me I won't include you. The God we believe in is always present in our lives whether or not we choose to acknowledge God.

It is also important to affirm God's presence in the lives of those children and adults at Sandy Hook school and in the surrounding towns. The life of Jesus and our faith tells us that God was with those children and adults even as some of them were being killed by that deranged young man. Our God continues to be with the children and adults who mourn the deaths of their family members and friends. A powerful example of the faith of the people and the presence of God in their midst was the prayer service mourning the passing of the deceased. Thousands packed the auditorium as minister after minister of so many different religious beliefs came forward and led the people in prayerful reflection, calling upon God's assistance, including the President of the United States.

This connection between such a horrible tragedy and the birth of Jesus Christ does not lead to the kind of rejoicing that would include shouts of joy. However, there is reason to rejoice in the awareness that God was and is with those who have suffered through this tragedy. Our faith reminds us that those who have died are now rejoicing in a better life, beyond our human existence. We who continue on in this life can count on the presence of God to support and grace us as we face whatever lies ahead.

What can all of us throughout our nation do as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus and as we seek ways to support the people of Newtown, Connecticut? Surely we can keep all the mourners in prayer and offer whatever other comfort, including material gifts we wish to share, as many from across the nation are already doing. At the same time, I think there is something more challenging for the long haul that is worth doing, something that may help us to conclude that these children and adults did not die in vain. We can do something that is rooted in our understanding of the meaning of Christmas, of the coming of God to share our humanity. I am referring to is a commitment all of us can make to work to make our nation a safer and more peaceful place in which to live. One of the titles of Jesus and one of the things he came to bring was peace. We refer to him as the Prince of Pleace.

 

We as a nation ought to get into serious discussion and action regarding the causes and possible solutions of all the violence, killings and tragedies that take place far too often in our cities, on our streets and in our homes. There is no one single cause and there is no one single solution. However, there are things we can do to diminish if not eliminate the killings that are taking place.

Instead of responding to a call for armed guards in every school in our nation, as some are proposing, we need to consider action on the following and other topics:

1. An end to the sale of semiautomatic riffles;

2. An end the sale of high capacity magazines, with 30 or more bullets;

3.Close the loop hole of gun sales at gun shows without background checks;

4.Improve national tracking systems to make sure that people with criminal records or serious mental conditions are not allowed to purchase weapons.

5.Find ways to provide medical assistance for all with mental issues, instead of doing the opposite by shutting down mental hospitals and clinics in our cities.

6.Continue to work with communities that teach people how to deal with conflict in non-violent ways instead of resorting to violence and killing.

7.As a nation, pursue ways to settle differences with other nations or groups through mediation rather than through military action, including drone warfare.

Can we imagine what rejoicing there would be in our land if we achieved some or all of the above pursuits because there would undoubtedly be far less killing in our nation? Maybe there would even be some comfort, if not rejoicing, for the people of Newtown if action after their tragedy would lead to a reduction of violence and such tragedies. Christmas is truly the celebration of the coming of God, Emmanuel, in our midst, of the Word becoming flesh, of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. This is a time to rejoice. May the New Year bring us closer to a nation and a world that is more peaceful. Maybe, then, we will have something for which we all want to rejoice.