By Kelley & Rhonda Philips
In this time of uncertainty with the global financial crisis, war, social unrest, terrorism, and natural disasters, we need reminders that our celebration of the incarnation transcends the temporal. Two German pastors from the past and one bubbly blonde-haired German woman have served as reminders this Christmas.
December 1935: Georg Banasch, a Catholic priest imprisoned in Berlin, wrote the following about Christmas Eve while in SS detention: “Nineteen prisoners assembled around the simple fir tree in silence, since they were not allowed to speak to each other. We held hands tight, wordlessly. I read from the Christmas Gospel and spoke a few words on the mystery of Christmas. None of us had ever been so deeply moved by the Christmas Gospel as on that Christmas Eve.”
Georg reminds us of whose hands we tightly grip…
December 1942: Kurt Reuber was a Lutheran pastor and physician stationed in Stalingrad. In the midst of the daily carnage during Christmas that year, Kurt drew a simple charcoal sketch measuring three feet by four feet on the backside of a Russian map. In his picture, Mary is depicted wrapped in a large shawl holding the infant Jesus close to her cheek. On the right border are the German words Licht, Leben, Liebe (Light, Life, Love). On the left, Reuber wrote, “Weihnachten im Kessel 1942,” (Christmas in the Cauldron 1942) and at the bottom, “Festung Stalingrad” (Fortress Stalingrad).
Kurt Reuber never made it back to his German homeland, but his Stalingrad Madonna did and is now on display in the famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church here in Berlin.
Kurt reminds us of peace that can be found in times of great distress and uncertainty…
November 2008: We share a landing in our apartment building with Simone and her family. We celebrated the first Sunday of Advent together, during which Simone shared a testimony in response to our Advent reading and the lighting of the “Candle of Recognition.” Some of us shared ways in which we have seen Jesus, reminders of his care for us. Simone said that shortly after moving in, while she was busy ironing, she began to pray, “Oh Jesus, let our neighbors be Christians!”
She and her husband, Peter, had only been Christians for some months and desired connections to others who follow Jesus. Simone shared how God answered her prayer: “My son came running into the apartment after meeting Kelley and Rhonda’s son Christian, shouting ‘Mom, mom, they’re Christians!’” Through tears, she thanked God for showing her a glimpse of the Father through the answering of her heartfelt prayer to Jesus and for the blessing of connecting our families together.
Simone reminds us of who we are and to whom we belong…
Kelley & Rhonda Philips are your regional coordinators of Europe and the Middle East for Global Missions. To learn more about their ministry, click here.