Merry Christmas!

I thought you might enjoy reading the Christmas letter I sent to our families and friends at Christian Heritage Academy. May you all have a blessed Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Dear CHA Family and Friends,

It wasn't my fault. Not really. Not when you consider all of the various factors that led up to that moment when the car in front of me stopped and I didn't. That's what I was thinking as those special slow motion moments played out on Highway I-290, west of Chicago. It was stop-and-go traffic, which of course means that you stop and then you go: but the driver in front of me stopped, then go'ed, then stopped again before he had actually go'ed! That was certainly not my fault.

Then there was the coughing fit. You see, the bronchitis that made me cough was the real culprit. How was I supposed to know that the moment I started coughing (properly into my sleeve as decreed by the Department of Health and 3 out of the 4 major networks) I would need to slam on my brakes? Coughing, slamming on the brakes and keeping the steering wheel straight constitute three separate simultaneous actions, which is one more than walking and chewing gum, and therefore one action beyond my brain's prewired limit.

So, of course, hitting the brakes took a split-second too long and my car's front bumper ended up occupying space-time simultaneously with the rear bumper of the large automobile in front of me. Although in quantum physics it is allegedly possible to share such space, on I-290 it is not and I quickly became the person who is the subject of the live copter reports on the evening traffic news. What was even more disconcerting was the fact that none of the drivers who were being inconvenienced appeared to empathize with my plight. I may be wrong, but I do not recall any of them calling out words of encouragement or sympathy.

The gentleman whose car I hit, or rather, whose car came into contact with mine, was also less than enthused by the events. I quickly discerned that he did not wish to engage in small talk or share photos of our children. It also seemed to make little difference to him that I was a nice person, that I did not make a habit of hitting cars on I-290, or that I worked with children. The only things he wanted to know, after listening to me cough, were whether I had H1N1 and why I had chosen this time and place to hit him. By the way, Einstein was right, the entire space-time continuum of the Universe can slow down; especially when you have to wait two hours for a police officer and you have to decide how to engage in small talk with the driver whose evening you have just ruined.

Allow me to point out once again, that this was not my fault; everything was clearly conspiring against me and there were malevolent forces at work, including the Chicago road system, the job I have that required me to be in Chicago that night, the driver three cars up who first slammed on their brakes, the person who infected me with bronchitis, the Department of Health that is forcing us to cough into our sleeves and not watch the road ahead, the other drivers who could have left earlier, and, of course, former Governor Blagojevich, just because I still want to hold him responsible for something.

As I fumbled in the dark for the papers I would need, I realized I did not need the 2006 Portillo's receipt which I found, nor the 2007 car wash coupon. I did need the insurance card, however, which I couldn't find right away. I wanted to hold up a sign to all of the drivers in line behind me who were phoning their homes and telling their families they would be late because of the idiot who couldn't stop in time. I wanted to tell them I had never done this before and therefore I was sort of entitled to one mistake, that I was different from the other people who had accidents and created traffic jams, that I would never do it again, and oh by the way: it wasn't my fault.

In the end I learned just how useless and inane it is to be concerned with "fault" and attempting to avoid it. The assigning of blame does very little to alter the situation at hand. In fact, focusing on it usually worsens the prospect of solving the problem. In a society where everyone is looking to place blame and no one is accepting responsibility, we are teaching our children to look for scapegoats before solutions. That is the exact opposite of what Christmas teaches us about God.

You see, Christmas is about a loving God who willingly took responsibility for our failures and agreed to pay the price for something He did not do. And please understand there was a price. Tim Keller, in his wonderful book The Reason for God, writes one of the best chapters I have ever read on the subject. He argues that forgiveness always comes at a cost to the forgiver. When we are wronged there is damage and pain. Forgiveness requires that we absorb that pain without inflicting it on others or gaining the satisfaction of retribution.

This forgiveness is done at a personal cost that is very real and tangible to each of us. We have to answer our internal cries of "It's not fair!" or "Why me?" with every act of forgiveness. In my car accident someone had to pay the damages to the cars, which was me, through my insurance company. God's offer to us through the birth of Jesus at Christmas is an offer to pay all of the damages, even though He was the car that was hit. In fact, He has purchased an insurance policy in His name, paid all the premiums and given us the insurance card to use as our own.

God did not worry about assigning blame. Instead, He concentrated on finding and acting upon a solution to sin. He willingly stepped into our shoes and took responsibility for every one of us. He didn't do this to gain notoriety, or to be named a person of the week on the nightly news. There were no prizes, accolades, magazine articles or reality shows focused on his sacrificial act. There was only a manger, some animals, a poor young engaged couple and a few shepherds on that first night. Thirty-three years later there was only his mother, his brother and a few frightened colleagues to witness a cross and the greatest selfless act in history. It was the greatest selfless act because it required our God to give up more than anyone has ever been asked to give (his privileges as God) in order to substitute for the wrong done by others.

Perhaps this Christmas we can lay aside some of our fears, anxieties and defensiveness so we can revel in the peace, serenity and joy that comes with knowing God's love is sufficient for us all, without blame or fault. Perhaps we can stop worrying, even for a few minutes, about who did what to whom or how no one knows the trouble we've seen. Perhaps we can focus on an unmerited gift from our Heavenly Father and how our gratitude for the gift can be expressed "as we forgive those who trespass against us." Perhaps it's not about the car I lost, but the perspective I gained. Perhaps I can learn from a cold, windy night on I-290 that it's not about me, but about what He has done for me and how I respond to it.

I wish you all a blessed and wonderful Christmas. I believe my insurance company has some great stocking stuffers if you want to buy some 2001 Saab parts, slightly used.

Forgiven and grateful,

Rick Lukianuk
Head of School