A New Beginning:
And a Glimmer of Hope
"A Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it..."
(John 1:5)
"But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish...He shall make it glorious...and the people who walk in darkness will see a great light;
those who live in a land of deep darkness, on them the light has come..."
(Isaiah 9:1-2)
Intro:
I LOVE this time of year- it's not just the newness of the beautiful snow, it's not the Christmas music, it's not just the excitement about the presents or the anticipation of the time off for the holiday- there's something MORE in the air that gives an overwhelming sense of love, goodwill, peace and HOPE for all of us. Not just in our own neighborhoods, or towns, not even just in our own country, but across the entire world.
And the reason is the Christmas season brings with it the message of God's gift of hope for all of mankind- regardless of race or age or nationality. It brings with it the truth that we are NOT alone and that there IS hope. Hope for peace, hope for unity, hope that there CAN be hope even in the most depressing or horrifying situations. I want to read a short story to you that I found today that brought tears to my eyes. A story of what the Christmas Spirit- GOD's Spirit provided for a family in the most destitute and hopeless of situations- A WWII Nazi Concentration Camp:
New shoes – and a New Lease on Life:
A Jewish Christmas Story in a Concentration Camp.
(By Ruth Ebenstein)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2015/12/23/voices-unforgettable-christmas-act-kindness/77771262/
(viewed 11/30/6)
On Christmas Eve 1944, my grandmother urged my uncle, then 12 years old, to sneak out of the concentration camp where they were imprisoned at Strasshof, nearly 15 miles east of Vienna, to go begging.
People are charitable around Christmastime, Grandma Lili said to her son, Gyuri (George in Hungarian). Ask for scraps. Anything they can spare. Tell them that we're on the verge of starvation.
Tell them that your 3-year-old sister cannot get off the bed because she's outgrown her shoes.
I don't want to beg, retorted the boy. I'd rather steal.
That's wrong, scolded his mother. We are not thieves!
They argued back and forth. After a time, her son acquiesced.
In the dark of night, Gyuri snuck out of the camp between two wooden slats and walked the nearly four miles to Deutsch-Wagram, the closest town, shivering in his tattered clothing. On the outskirts he happened upon a house, secluded from the others. He walked up the path and knocked on the front door.
A woman opened that door. She was probably alone, her man far away, fighting in the war, her children asleep in their beds. And it is likely that she suspected that the young boy was Jewish.
The 12-year-old pieced together in German exactly what his mother had told him to say.
Did he hide his ambivalence about begging? Did he charm her even then with his gift of gab?
Come back tomorrow, whispered the woman.
The next day, my uncle returned. The woman opened the door with a smile. She piled his hands with bread, clothing, a pair of shoes that her child had outgrown.
And... a pair of socks.
The woman had knitted warm woolen socks for my mother.
Nestled in socks and shoes that fit, my mother scooted off the bed in delight. Her ragged shoes were passed on to a younger child who was also living in the camp. My mother joined her mother and older brother in feasting on the provisions they were given. They shared their unexpected bounty with the entire barracks. It was a quiet celebration of human kindness around Christmastime.
In April 1945, my mother, uncle and grandmother were liberated by the Russians. And it was those very socks and shoes that my mother wore as she trekked some 28 miles over two days to Bratislava on her walk to a new life.
She was three months shy of 4 years old.
Grandma Lili had a gorgeous laugh and a mischievous sense of humor. Even during the Holocaust. She used to tease my mom, you can tell folks that you spent your childhood in the Vienna Woods.
To the anonymous Righteous Gentile, I thank you.
Thank you for knitting with your hands the pair of socks that warmed my mom's little feet and skinny legs. Thank you for finding those shoes and clothing and giving them to a stranger. Thank you for sharing your bread during wartime. In the despair of a battered land, cold and snowy, when many hearts were closed and evil reigned and death was more likely than life, especially for Jews, you gave them light. You gave them kindheartedness.
You gave them a measure of sustenance that I can only imagine.
If you had not looked past the years of poisonous hatred and anti-Semitism that had enveloped your country in order to rally to help my family, who knows if they would have survived to tell this story...
Friends THIS is what Advent is all about. It's not about special Church Services, it's not about just having nice nostalgic joyful music on the radio- it's about HOPE. True and REAL hope. Hope that leads to life, and life more abundantly.
This Christmas season, I challenge ALL of us to be a part of SPREADING that hope. Go out of your way to be more kind- every day try and do at least ONE small act of kindness to someone- whether you know them or you don't.
2000 years ago Jesus came to be the light in the darkness: a light of hope and goodwill, truth and peace. And when He left, He gave that responsibility over to us, to forever SPREAD that light and push back the darkness of fear, of hopelessness, of helplessness and sadness until He returns to finally vanquish ALL of it once and for all.
Until that day, let's let our lights shine in the darkness of this world. Who knows, maybe by buying ONE meal for a perfect stranger or donating a beautiful toy for a child who will have none, or giving up ONE night to help in a homeless shelter, or even buying or knitting ONE pair of socks for a small child- who knows if those tiny acts of goodness could make a difference to change a life for the good FOREVER.
So let's not only celebrate the beginning of this Advent Season- but let's join together to BE the Advent season as Son's and Daughters of the Living God- to continue to bring His real and lasting message of hope, to ALL who have such great need of it.
