Advent Devotion Day 15

Twenty-two children and one adult were injured outside a grade school in Chengping China last Friday. A man with a knife attacked the students as they were arriving for class. Apparently this is the latest in a spate of school attacks in recent years in China.

While no one was killed in China and the man had a knife not a gun, it is quite remarkable, given the vastly different settings and cultures, that this took place on the same day as the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Associated Press gives this explanation for the recent attacks in China:

“Most of the attackers have been mentally disturbed men involved in personal disputes or unable to adjust to the rapid pace of social change in China, underscoring grave weaknesses in the antiquated Chinese medical system’s ability to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness.” [The Associated Press Posted: Dec 14, 2012 4:38 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 14, 2012 1:25 PM ET]

I find this account very interesting. If we were to give a similar explanation of the school attacks in the US, what might we say? We can’t blame our “antiquated Chinese medical system’s ability to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness.” So what can we say? Personal disputes? Rapid social change?

Whatever we may or may not be able to say to explain this horrific trend, surely our image of God would have God weeping just as fiercely at the suffering of the children in China as over the suffering of the children and adults in Newtown. We worship a God that is heartbroken at attacks upon any children, regardless of where they are born or what race or creed they are.

The glad tidings of great joy to ALL people that we celebrate this season tells us that God loves each and every one of us. We are all precious and beloved by God, regardless of where we live, what language we speak, or what spiritual path we follow. The glad tidings are an affirmation of our common humanity. And I am sure that the parents and loved ones of the children in China are just as horrified and devastated about the attack on their children as the families of Newtown are about what happened there.

Prayer: In God, all humanity is one. God grieves for all senseless acts of violence, especially when perpetrated against children and the most vulnerable of the world. May our grief bring us together in solidarity and may we affirm our common love for our children and families and our common abhorrence of these horrendous attacks. Amen.