Sandy Hook

The unspeakable happened last Friday in quiet Newtown, Connecticut. Violence also erupted in a village school in Henan, China, when a man attacked school children with a knife.

In the midst of unthinkable tragedies, emotions abound, political discussions heat up, and philosophical and theological questions become a norm. As some question why this happened, some wonder what could be done.

While we outsiders want to help and to address the overarching issues, perhaps we can also pray for the families who are suffering a sorrow few of us can ever understand. In the Chinese culture, there is this phrase of "white-headed people sending off black-headed ones." It is a metaphor to express the grief of parents burying their children. Unless we walk in their shoes, we will never understand what it is like for the parents to be planning the funerals of their young children instead of buying them Christmas presents and anticipating the glow in their eyes and the smiles on their faces when they open them.  Perhaps we can also pray for the teachers, staff and students who were at the school that day and lived. Their survivor's guilt and emotional scar will linger for a long time to come.

We don't always get the answers as to why evil things happen, but it is comforting to see the outpouring of compassion and love within Newtown as well as throughout the country after the tragedy. Think of the heroic acts of the principal and teachers who laid down their lives for their students, the kind act of the neighbor who took in and comforted several children who managed to escape the shooting, the wonderful deed of JetBlue Airways to overnight and deliver a 6-year-old boy's letter cross-country from Washington state in time for his 6-year-old cousin's funeral, or the touching tribute of a football player to his fan.

In the midst of unspeakable evil, there is hope, there is light. As we celebrate Christmas, may we also see the light and hope in the world of darkness in the form of a baby who was born in a lowly manger to bring hope and goodwill to mankind.