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There are people alive today in the US who remember when women were not allowed to vote. It was only in 1920, with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, that all women were given the legal right to vote in this country. It is only within the lifetime of many alive today that marriage between an African American person and a white person has been legal in the United States. It was a Supreme Court decision in 1967 that ensured this right for all Americans. Twenty years ago, most people weren’t even thinking about marriage between two people of the same gender.

In the lifetimes of many people alive today, women seldom worked outside the home. And children were often employed as youngsters of 10 or 12 years old in factories and industry. It wasn’t until 1938 that there was a federal restriction on the use of child labor. There was very little nudity or graphic sex in movies beyond a passionate kiss and the people were routinely shown smoking cigarettes just within my lifetime. There have been many cultural shifts and changes within the lifetimes of people alive today, and with the advent of information technology, the pace of change is getting faster and faster.

Jesus was one who believed in the possibility of transformation: Transformation of people’s lives, attitudes, and social constructs, as well as organizations and institutions. His teaching shows his belief in change. He told stories about the way things could be with the conviction that it would come to pass. People could be just and fair and compassionate and forgiving. He was sure of it.

Our faith tradition is rooted in the conviction that change can happen. And, more particularly, that positive change is possible. No one is beyond hope. “With God, all things are possible.”

In recent days we have been challenged once again to reflect on the culture of violence in our country. Our Christian faith tells us that there can be change. Transformation can happen. The level of violence can be reduced in our country. We can work to create a culture that is less violent. We have made many other changes, massive changes, over the course of time. We can make this change, too. In fact, we must make this change and the church of Jesus Christ should be leading the way.

Prayer: The glad tidings of great joy to ALL people that we celebrate this season are tidings of peace for all people. May we work for peace – day in and day out – trusting that over the course of time, there will be change. God is always faithful. May we be steadfast in our commitment to convert our culture from its addiction to violence to the freedom of peace. Amen.

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.

The newspaper sat out on our driveway well into the day today. Most mornings, one of the first things that happens in our house is that someone brings in the newspaper. I got up and started doing a variety of other things. Then I realized that I had not gotten the newspaper. Once I noticed this, I became aware that I did not want to get the newspaper because I knew what was going to be on the front page and I did not want to see it. Finally late in the morning my husband, Jeff, brought in the paper. And later in the day, I glanced at the paper, but couldn’t bring myself to read the full account of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. There were plenty of other things I needed to be doing today.

So, we proceeded with baking Christmas cookies. Then we went shopping for the 17 year old student we are adopting for Christmas and got him a plaid shirt, a Guy Harvey t-shirt, a football, chocolates, socks, and underwear. Then it was on to the grocery store and preparing snacks to bring to the church Christmas caroling event later in the day. I spent about an hour putting some things on eBay – some china and glassware, that might make good Christmas gifts. Then, it was off to sing Christmas carols to the homebound members of our church family.

I realized that everything I was doing was holiday oriented. What about proceeding with holiday activities in the face of the horrendous shootings? Is it crass? Is it denial? Is it apathy? Is it numbness to violence? Is it self-interest. This doesn’t directly affect me, so why should I worry about it? It’s not my problem.

When I think about the deep themes of Christmas, like our focus for the season, Glad tidings of great joy to ALL people, I realize that we NEED to celebrate Christmas. In the face of this terrible tragedy, we need to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We need to celebrate our faith. We need to carry on with our celebration of the core values of Christianity that are at the heart of the Christmas story. We need this because this is the hope that drives away despair. Jesus was born precisely because the world is violent and out of control and people do heinous things to each other. That’s why he came. To show us another way. To offer healing from our desire for vengeance and retribution. If the world was all peace-love-dove, Jesus would not have been needed. He came precisely because he offers an alternative to the way we let things get out of hand. He came because the world is a mess. Jesus offers the antidote to power-seeking and the tyranny of self-interest. Jesus is precisely what we need to heal and to face the future with hope in the wake of the Newtown killings. Our faith that another world is possible gives us the strength to go on.

The shootings at Sandy Hook bring home just how much the way of Jesus is needed today. We need his message of anti violence, of pacifism, of acceptance, of justice, of healing, of self-giving, and of transformation. Nothing is beyond the scope of his redemption. We need to celebrate the way of Jesus through this holy season now more than ever. Our activities may take on a new tenor, a different cast, an altered mood, but nonetheless, celebrate we must. Christmas is about the birth of the one who is glad tidings of great joy to ALL people – even people reeling from the Newtown killings. Especially people devastated by the killings.

Prayer: This season, we need the Prince of Peace more than ever. We need the wonderful counselor. We need the vulnerability of the baby in the manger to help us rediscover our humanity and heal. We need Christmas. Amen.