“As I have loved you, so you must love one another." ~ John
13:34
Today, even after centuries of
war, only a few understand the burdens of fighting, being on guard constantly,
and leaving family behind. Go back in
time and add muddy trenches, frigid temperatures, and soldiers already sick and
tired of senseless killing.
Such was the backdrop on Christmas Day 1914, only four
months into one of the bloodiest wars in history. The zone between enemy forces was a sliver of
space between opposing trenches. No
soldier would venture there; machine guns had brought new meaning to the term ‘slaughter.’
It had been pouring rain; mud lay deep in the trenches on
both sides. Like his comrades, Johannes
lay restless, stiff and cold. If there
would be a surprise enemy raid on their trench, they’d have a tough time
defending themselves. None of their
rifles worked anyway.
Johannes heard it first.
German voices interrupted the war’s darkness by singing “Silent Night.” The gesture received loud applause and calls
for an encore.
As he peered over the piled dirt, careful to avoid sniper
fire, he saw tiny Christmas trees lining the tops of the German trenches with signs
that read “Merry Christmas. You no shoot
– we no shoot.”
This could be a trap, he thought at first. But it was Christmas; not even the enemy
would mock such a holy occasion. They
can’t possibly be less miserable, he reasoned.
So he crawled out of the trench, stood upright, and nervously
walked the short distance toward the enemy’s position. To his amazement – he wasn’t alone. Hundreds of Allied troops (British, French
and Belgian) had also disobeyed their superiors to fraternize with the (German)
enemy in a fleeting sign of peace.
They joined together, setting hostilities aside, declaring
their brotherhood with each other and refusing to fight. Conversations in broken languages
ensued. They sang Christmas carols;
compared family photos, shared rations and exchanged souvenirs. Soldiers embraced men they’d been trying to
kill just moments before. They even
agreed to warn each other if the top brass ordered them to fire their weapons,
and to aim high.
Unfortunately, the truce was only temporary. Soon the ‘killing machines’ were back in full
operation. By the end of World War I in
1918, casualties reached nearly 40 million – 19 million civilian and military
deaths and 21 million wounded.
While The Christmas Truce is a true story of peace, it
brings hope and challenge. The hope is
that even in the muddy trenches of raging aggression, peace can blossom. The challenge is how to sustain those moments
into longer stretches of time. How can
we turn thoughtful gestures into lasting momentum and achieve God’s example of
loving each other unconditionally?
Peaceful Lord, the spirit of Christmas loses
luster at times. Family pressures
overtake us. Economics burden us. Unfathomable events sink us. Help us rise up, embracing peace as a daily
standard, not just something to be practiced during the Christmas season, even in
face of turbulent times. Amen
