In the summer of 1914, the countries of Europe were drawn into war by a complex set of alliances. Though few of them relished the conflict, they consoled themselves with the rosy idea that it would all be over by Christmas. Once the monster of war is set loose, however, it is rarely satisfied with such a meager meal of blood and lives. Christmas time drew near, but the resolution was still far distant—the armistice would not be signed until November of 1918. By the time the smoke cleared, the total number of military and civilian deaths numbered around 22 million. Two-thirds of these were caused by battle, and another third by the Spanish Flu epidemic, which spread rapidly because of the close conditions of prisoner of war camps, and the economic devastation brought on, across the continent, by the war. The monster was well-sated by the end; everyone stood agape at the demonic evil they’d unleashed upon one another, and so horrified by the scope of it that they called it “The Great War,” or “The War to End All Wars.” One hundred and nine years later, we all know how well that worked out. By the end of each war, we’re left with a sobering lesson about the folly of unleashing it. We tell ourselves that we’ve learned our lesson…and then with the passage of a few years, we go right back at it. If ever we wanted convincing proof of fallen human nature, we need look no farther.
During Advent of 1914, the military forces of both sides had no idea of the atrocities to come. They didn’t have any concept of mustard gas (that horror would be loosed in about four months, at the Second Battle of Ypres), nor did they realize how cheaply their top leaders valued their lives (that was demonstrated the summer and fall of 1917, at Passchendaele, with combined casualties numbering about 495,000). In 1914, they only knew that they’d been hoping to head home by Christmas, and they realized their hopes were likely to be crushed. It is certain that their discouragement grew by the day as they came to accept that they wouldn’t be reunited with their families. The Pope had pled for the leaders of Europe to at least let “the guns fall silent upon the night the angels sang.” But the leaders, in their safe war rooms, weren’t particularly interested. The fighting men huddled, miserable, in their trenches as weeks of rain turned them into muddy sloughs.
Although Kaiser Wilhelm had no intention for his men to call a truce, he did want to encourage them; he had Christmas trees sent directly to the front. On December 23, the German soldiers posted the trees outside their trenches for all to see. And then, it would seem, the Spirit of God intervened, as the Germans began to sing hymns. The words of “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night) drifted across No Man’s Land, and the Allied Soldiers began to join in the singing. On Christmas Eve, many of the British officers started ordering their men not to fire unless fired upon.
On December 25, 1914, German soldiers climbed out of their trenches, waving their arms to show they didn’t want to fight. British soldiers poured out and joined them, right there in No Man’s Land. They shook hands, had friendly conversations, and sang carols. They even exchanged gifts. Pick-up games of soccer were organized, and they all shared what food they had. Christian services were held to decently bury the bodies of the fallen. As the spirit of peace and brotherhood spread, the Christmas Truce spread to include about 20 miles of a 30-mile front. Letters home were full of amazement that such a thing could happen between bitter enemies, and my heart swells every time I read the account. I don’t know how any men, raised Christian, could have shrugged off the effects of “Silent Night” in the midst of all that madness. We know that the bulk of the war, and its terrors, lay ahead for them. The sick need humanity has for destruction never seems to fade entirely. But just for this once, men who were killing each other were reminded of the coming of the Prince of Peace to rescue us from our bondage to sin. They just couldn’t keep on shooting each other, at least for that brief space of time. Senior leaders and officers were angered by this little act of mutiny, and they made sure it never happened again. But, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened that once!
Advent of 2023 begins, and the prospect of peace in this world seems quite dim at the moment. The slaughter in Ukraine has ground on for months, and we have no idea how many more innocents have yet to be killed between Gaza and Israel. Those are the two which capitalize our attention at present, but there are an additional dozen wars going on around the world, as of the most recent report I could find, published in May. The overall picture is just too overwhelming and bleak for the human mind to handle. And honestly, I don’t think it’s good for us to dwell on that reality too much. The truth is, it’s the same reality that has plagued humanity throughout its history. So long as pride and greed exist in this world, there will be senseless wars, futile loss of life, multitudes slain for the agendas of a few. Jesus told us not to even be surprised at “wars and rumors of wars” right up to the time of His return.
It's impossible to be glib about it, however. The sheer bulk of evils and wars in this world tears at our hearts. We all know this isn’t the way it should be, even as a race we seem unable to break our addiction to destruction. It has amounted to a great obstacle for those who are inquiring about the Christian faith, and it sorely tests the faith of many who profess Christ. How deeply we feel the sentiment expressed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, when those famous lyrics welled up from heart to pen during the American Civil War! We feel and share his anguish every time we sing, “And in despair I bowed my head:/‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said,/‘For hate is strong, and mocks the song/Of peace on earth, good will to men.’”
We have every reason to despair…that is, if we factor in only the chances that we will finally and permanently learn our lessons as a human race. Jesus told us that the wars and rumors of wars will keep coming. We’ll never break our addiction to destruction on our own. But, Jesus knew that when He came. It’s why He came—to break our addiction by allowing us to try and destroy Him. The crowds bayed for His crucifixion, and when they got their wish, they jeered and cheered. Crucifying an innocent man, the Holy Son of God, had an effect they did not anticipate, however. That innocent blood came forth with the power to destroy sin, to dig out our hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh full of love for Him and each other. His atoning death broke forth with the power to tear temple curtains, and to obliterate walls. I mean, by this, the walls between us and Him, and the walls we build between one another. Jesus came to put an end to it…all of it.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:14-16, NKJV)
We love to celebrate the image of a tiny, vulnerable baby, sleeping a heavenly sleep on a peaceful, quiet night. That image has power to make armies stop slaughtering each other and embrace each other as brothers. We shouldn’t be mistaken, though: when that little baby was laid in a manger, it was the beginning of an invasion. The Son of God launched a devastating attack on our pride, hate and destruction. In a real way, the war was already won with the Cross. What makes our hearts weaken is that we’ve yet to see the full outworking of His victory. It is coming, my friends, as inevitably as His return is near at hand. When He comes, He will put a full and final death to our enmity. We will study war no more. Don’t let your hearts fail! Let’s join, with Longfellow, as he planted his flag of faith. He noticed that all the wars still couldn’t keep the church bells from ringing. He wrote, “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:/’God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;/The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,/With peace on earth, good will to men."
I can’t stop all the senseless wars in this world, nor can you. We must pray for peace and justice, and if given the chance we should speak up for it. But we can’t stop it—that’s for the Lord to do, and He will do it. However, the Lord commanded His Church to occupy, until He comes. We are a beachhead of His reign of peace in this world. We can’t transform the world, but He fully intends to use us to transform our little corner of it. When those around us collapse in despair at the darkness in the world, our job is to shine Christ’s beacon of hope. Everywhere we see people choosing hostility, rudeness, incivility, and disrespect. By simply being Christ’s people in the midst, He can invade our surroundings with grace, humility, kindness and respect. We often find ourselves in situations where people are primed to choose conflict; we are called to be peacemakers. When we do, we will be named the children of God. That makes sense, because His Son came into the world to be our peace. We, His redeemed children, are called to spread His peace.
As you celebrate Christmas this year, I pray that your hearts aren’t weighed down with despair over the darkness and senseless destruction in our world. If the tableau of the Nativity is nothing but a sentimental picture to us, it has no power—we’ll run up against the contradiction between that picture and all the destruction that continues to rage. But when we realize that the manger was the start of a war that we’re guaranteed to win, that changes things. So fill your hearts with hope at the coming of the Lord to End All Wars, and join Him in tearing down the walls separating us from God and each other.