Germany, Christmas 2020
This Christmas is unlike any in recent memory. With the Covid-19 pandemic raging in a second wave throughout Europe and America, public life has been stifled. There were no Christmas markets in Germany this year. Churches, while still open, remain empty. Families and friends, who in years past celebrated the holidays together, are separated. With borders closed or entry restricted, holiday travel is at a minimum. Airlines are hemorrhaging cash; bars and restaurants are closed; millions have lost their jobs; some families are going hungry or have lost their homes. Worst of all, the virus has killed thousands of people in Germany, hundreds of thousands in the U.S., and close to two million people worldwide.
When times are bad, we ask why. And with our limited, time-bound perspective, we often can’t find a sastisfying answer. For atheists, this is their strongest argument: If God is omnipotent and good, why is there suffering in the world? With no easy answer, countless people have abandoned their faith.
But as dark as the winter has been, there is light on the horizon. Scientists have developed and tested a vaccine against the Corona virus in record time. Vaccinations have already started in many countries. If all goes well, our lives could return to normal in a few months. That is a reason for joy.
But there is a deeper and more permanent reason for joy: Two millenia ago, in an act of great love, God took on human flesh and became one of us. Jesus was born in a stall, lived a modest life as the son of a carpenter, and then as a wandering teacher. He shared our sufferings. Finally, he was put to death on a cross by the religious and political authorities of his day. The creator and ruler of the universe died at the hands of his rebellious creatures.
Jesus’s death had a cosmic impact that his opponents could not foresee. His sacrifice allowed God to forgive us completely and still maintain justice. It dethroned the evil powers that had held the earth in their sway. Through his teaching and example, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, he began a revolution that is still going on today. The world is slowly being set right, incompletely, in fits and starts, but the “moral arc of the universe bends toward justice,” as Martin Luther King said.
So, even in the face of injustice, disease, and suffering, we Christians have reason to be joyful. In Jesus Christ, God has redeemed us and the entire world. Let’s spread the message of joy to the world.