A Christmas reeling from the shock of terrorist attacks in Bali and Moscow, seared by the conflict in the Middle East, and lived in the fear of new natural disasters. This, combined with an appeal not to “follow blindly those who promise and propose security” to the detriment of solidarity, but to “break the vicious circle” of fear that “holds us to ransom”. That is the essence of the Christmas message sent out by Pastor Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches. “Particularly this year says the message many people, throughout the world, feel a sense of fear and anguish: fear for a possible war in the Middle East and its consequences spreading far beyond the region; fear for homicidal terrorist attacks like those committed in Bali and Moscow; fear of losing one’s job and falling into poverty, as in Argentina… The list writes Raiser could be continued, testifying to a widespread feeling of insecurity and impotence”. For this reason, may the angel’s message to the shepherds: “Be not afraid” ( Lk 2:10) ring out stronger than ever this year. The World Lutheran Federation wants to send “a message of hope” this Christmas, so that it may reach “all those situations writes WLF president Christian Krause in which “human dignity is continuously and repeatedly violated and where poverty and disease threaten life itself”.
