I’ve asked a friend of mine, Dr. Scott E. Kaufman, to write this week’s blog posts. Scott serves as our Director of Healthcare Ministries at the Church at Pinnacle Hills. This cutting-edge ministry reaches people in the medical field and trains them to incorporate their faith with work. Scott holds a Masters of Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Nursing Degree from the University of Arkansas, and a Doctorate of Pharmacy from UAMS. This will be a unique opportunity to hear from a great minister and medical professional.
- Ronnie Floyd

Enemies Reconciled: The Christmas Truce of World War I
Scott Eric Kaufman

Christmas Eve, 24 December, 1914, saw the unfolding of one of history’s strangest, most powerful, and yet largely forgotten stories. World War I had been raging only four months when, on Christmas Eve, all along the battle lines of the Western Front, soldiers on both sides laid down their weapons, climbed out of their cold, rain-filled, mud-slimed trenches, and briefly came together as friends. When senior officers angrily ordered the soldiers to return to their trenches and resume shooting at enemy troops, most just fired harmlessly high over the heads of the opposing side.

Eventually, the unofficial “Christmas Truce” spread for miles down the front lines. Soldiers on both sides placed candlelit Christmas trees outside their trenches, sang Christmas carols, or emerged from the trenches to retrieve and bury their dead comrades. In time, soldiers on opposing sides even began to disarm themselves, cautiously approaching each other to meet in “No-Man’s Land”—a soldier’s term for the area of ground between opposing trenches on the battlefield. Mortal enemies now exchanged gifts, shared food, drinks, cigarettes, and showed each other pictures of their girlfriends, wives and families. Christmas parcels, sent from families back home, were shared.

The entire scene was surreal, even for its participants. There were even several documented games of soccer, though these were actually more like ‘kick-abouts’ than structured matches. Kurt Zehmisch, a German lieutenant of the 134th Saxons, recorded one instance in his diary:

Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from the trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time…(1)

In this powerful but true story we find some strong biblical contrasts:

• The German soldiers were the enemies of the British—We were the enemies of God.
• The soldiers laid aside their weapons and walked behind enemy lines—Christ laid aside His glory in heaven and walked among us.
• The story of the Christmas Truce is surreal and difficult to understand—But the mystery of Christ’s humanity, that God clothed Himself with human flesh, defies all comprehension.
• For the soldiers, Christmas, the celebration of Love, brought mortal enemies (British and German) together as friends for a time—For the Christian, Christmas, the celebration of Love, brings mortal enemies (man and God) together as friends for eternity.

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.

(1) Stanley Weintraub, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. Plume: New York, 2001, p. 105.