David Brown
For all too many people, Christmas doesn’t have the same wonderful feel it did once upon a time. In all too many homes, the spirit of the season seems to have withered and browned like the leaves that change every fall.
Instead of enjoying special sales, some people quite literally fight over what to buy on Black Friday. Instead of enjoying giving and receiving gifts from people we love, we complain about commercialism. Instead of celebrating with family, we argue over whose table is going to host the holiday dinner. And instead of rejoicing in the birth of Jesus the Christian Savior, we condemn and discriminate against other faiths.
It’s almost enough to make Ebeneezer Scrooge seem like a sympathetic figure. Maybe he was just a misunderstood capitalist instead of an example of all that’s wrong with greed and the holiday. Or maybe what we really need this year is a good, old-fashioned Christmas miracle.
God must have been listening, because He gave us a good one.
The BBC reported that a group of Kenyan Muslims traveling on a bus ambushed by Islamist gunmen protected Christian passengers by refusing to be split into groups, according to eyewitnesses. They told the militants “to kill them together or leave them alone,” a local governor told Kenyan media.
Sadly, at least two people were killed in the attack, which was near the village of El Wak on the Somali border. However, it could have been much worse, as the Somali based al-Shabab group, which often carries out attacks in Kenya’s northeast, says it was responsible.
(You can read the 2015 article at bbc.com/news/world-africa-35151967.)
When al-Shabab killed 148 people in an attack on Garissa University College, the militants reportedly singled out Christians and shot them, while freeing many Muslims. Earlier, a bus was attacked near Mandera by al-Shabab militants, who killed 28 non-Muslims traveling to Nairobi for the Christmas holidays, according to the BBC.
“The locals showed a sense of patriotism and belonging to each other,” Mandera Gov. Ali Roba told Kenya’s private Daily Nation newspaper. He added that the militants decided to leave after the passengers’ show of unity.
Did you get that? Muslims, perhaps the most despised group in America in the aftermath of attacks by radical Islamic terrorists, were willing to die in an effort to protect their Christian neighbors. The Guardian reported that Muslims donated headscarves and helped dress non-Muslims in Islamic garb to prevent the extremists from identifying them.
This kind of bravery is rarely seen in the civilian world. It’s both heartening and moving to hear that people who say they worship the same God were able to set aside opposing views and let their humanity shine to the rest of the world.
We can’t help but think that the Jesus whose birth we honor Thursday was smiling big at the actions of His people in Kenya. May we learn from this experience and not let silly things like political differences divide us during this beautiful season. Merry Christmas, and may your new year be the happiest one ever.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. Call him with comments and questions at 828-837-5122 or email dbrown@cherokeescout.com. This column was originally published in the Dec. 24, 2015, edition of the Andrews Journal.