On
Friday, November 15, air raid sirens sliced through the skies above Jerusalem
and sent residents scrambling for cover. At least two rockets thumped home in
the sacred soil. Palestinian forces in Gaza claimed credit. Even Saddam Hussein
avoided training missiles on ground held holy by Muslims as well as Jews. Abu
Obeida of Hamas declared, “We are
sending a short and simple message: There is no security for any Zionist or any
single inch of Palestine.”
Sometimes
when we encounter the unthinkable, our only choice is to hope the unhopeable.
Jeremiah
lived to see Jerusalem’s homes razed so the repurposed stones could plug gaps
in her ramparts (v.4), and the city’s streets strewn with unburied battlefield
casualties (v.5). The temple that could not fall fell and the royal line that
would rule forever ruled no longer. In the face of the unthinkable he hoped the
unhopeable: The stump-sawn tree of David would put forth a branch strong enough
to shade all the earth with justice. All the earth – because only when justice
reigns everywhere can there be peace anywhere.
Sometimes
when we encounter the unthinkable, our only choice is to hope the unhopeable.
As
we enter the season of Advent, the newsreels remind us that our world yet
yearns for the full coming of Christ’s rule. In the face of unthinkable
devastation, intractable hostilities, and unforgiveable atrocities, Christians
face again the challenge to hope the unhopeable: that the actual obedience to
Christ which calls us to our crosses will result in the actual Kingdom of
Heaven coming to reign among us.
“In
those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety.” Once again
our world is unthinkable; once again our hope seems unhopeable; once again, we
hope.
Shalom,
Doug
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