Glad Tidings Come in Times of Terror

The nativity story is the advent of God’s love to a fear-filled world.

It might seem like a strange thing to say, but my adult life has been consistently marked by the terrorist attacks of our era. I was out of college and in my second year at Princeton Theological Seminary when the World Trade Center was attacked just an hour’s train ride away.

As a St Andrews doctoral student living and working in Cambridge, England, I experienced the trauma and heartache from the environs of London during the 7/7 bombings of 2005. Ten years later, I was in Paris on a research trip when the 2015 terrorist attack took hold of the city.

Sadly, these devastating milestones of senseless violence have far from passed us by. Most recently, we have been watching the Taliban’s rapid takeover in Afghanistan, as it brings the country to the brink of economic collapse and certain widespread starvation.

Billions of funds have been frozen by the international community in order to force the Taliban to improve human rights and particularly women’s rights. The Taliban’s abusive treatment of Afghan women, as well as the violence against children, may leave us at a loss as we consider the magnitude of these problems.

What can we say and do in the face of terrorism as Christians? How do we find the words at such unspeakable moments?

As the sounds of Christmas carols ring in our ears, delicious smells waft through our kitchens, and the bright decor of Christmas fills our homes, it’s easy to forget that terror also punctuates the story of the nativity.

At the heart of that first Christmas story is God incarnate breaking into the terror-filled catastrophe of the human condition. The womb of a humble, young virgin girl was joyfully adopted as suitable for his coming. Rather than seeking refuge in the dignity ...