Advent Devotion 2 - Andy Alo, Congo

 

As the first week of Advent ends, perhaps you find yourself entering full tilt into the swing of the holiday season.  The shopping, decorating, and parties are well underway.  With anxious eyes, we all watch the economy and wonder its impact on not just this year's Christmas presents, but the days to come.

Today's devotion reminds us that amidst our own chaos and turmoil, others face even more.   Read as Andy Alo ponders the meaning of Christmas in the war torn Kivu region of his native country of Congo.

We have also posted an update from David and Kaswera Kasali sent during the rebel violence last month.  It is a very helpful explanation of the current situation in that worn torn country.  Click here to read it.

 

Where is The Prince of Peace?

Andy A. Alo

 

Isaiah 9:1 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.

 6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

During a visit to the Holy Land, I looked out from Mount Arbel, towering over the Sea of Galilee. The breathtaking view of God's beautiful creation reminded me of the Mount Virunga towering Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), my beloved country. The beauty of these places calls for praise and worship.

 

The Province of Kivu in the Great Lakes Region of Africa is probably the paradise of DRC thanks to its cool climate, beautiful vegetation, fertile land, and mineral wealth.  However, like the Galileans in the Land of Zebulun and Naphtali who experienced atrocities perpetrated by oppressive occupying military powers, the people of Kivu have been experiencing a violent chaos which defies any description.

 

For more than a decade the inhabitants of Kivu have been caught in endless ethnic violence as unresolved fighting from the 1994 Rwandan genocide continue among  the rebels of Congo.  Last Christmas, one of the internally displaced Christians asked his pastor, "After this awful decade of darkness in ethnic armed conflicts, will the ‘Prince of Peace' finally start his reign?"

 

It is not the doubt in his question that intrigued me. My thought went to the relevance of the coming of Christ. What could it mean to those who are ‘celebrating' Christmas in the forest, having run away from their warm houses; who are living in fear of any imminent attack of hostile militias from other ethnic groups; who are starving even though their fertile land produced food which they had to flee because of the violence; whose women are gang raped? Did the Prince of Peace fail in His mission? Or was He to come only for some few selected groups?

 

For us living in a chaotic world it is time to find a meaning to our celebration. Christ, the Prince of Peace, has come.  He is indeed with us and in us. He came to teach us that love, and commanded us to practice it. If love is the driving forces that moves the universe, including God himself (John 3:16), then without love the world will be a chaos. Despite being an earthly paradise, the Province of Kivu seems unfortunately to be the region where the deepest hatred among ethnic groups and the inhuman greed of world powers has been profound.

 

If we do not know and have love, then we have not recognized, Christ, the Prince of Peace who has come. We are simply celebrating a Christian tradition, not the coming of the new born King. In order to make our Christmas meaningful amidst of chaos, let our Christmas cards, gifts, wishes, celebrations, and parties be an act of love for a more peaceful world!  

 

Dear Lord, Let every Christmas be an annual reminder of your incarnated love. Just as Christ came to teach us love, make us messengers and practitioners of love for the glory of your Kingdom in a world of peace, as you intended it to be in your creation.

 

 

Andy A. Alo was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He started his Professional career as Language teacher (French). He felt the call to serve in Bible Translation Ministry. This call led him to Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) where he completed in Master of Arts in Translation Studies in 2000. From 2000 to 2005 he served as Technical Advisor to Bible Translation Projects in eastern DRC. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD studies at NEGST. He married to Yvette. They have three children and have adopted two of his nephews who lost their father in the 2002 ethnic conflicts in Ituri (DRC).