A LETTER TO THE CHILDREN OF DAR-AL-KALIMA LUTHERAN SCHOOL IN BETHLEHEM

From Pastor Mark Dankof
April 4, 2002

Dear young ones in Christ,

Pastor Raheb keeps me informed about the trials and tribulations which challenge him in keeping your church and school open in the midst of war and military occupation. The prince of this age, Satan, is obviously active in bringing great evil and suffering into the lives of many in the world at this hour, especially in Bethlehem and in the Middle East. Greater evil and suffering may yet come, yet I rejoice with you that Jesus Christ has already won the final victory and that the blessed Kingdom of God in our hearts has a wonderful and eternal character that cannot be overcome by those in this world who are not of God in their thoughts and actions. Be sure of this.

I was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Wahiawa, Hawaii many years ago, and attended its school between the 4th and 6th grades. Most of us in the class were the sons and daughters of American aviators and infantrymen connected to the American Air Force and Army. In those days, President Lyndon Johnson ordered the entire 25th Infantry Division of Schofield Barracks, Wahiawa, Hawaii into combat in Vietnam, along with many Air Force pilots. This action involved many of the fathers and older brothers of the Lutheran schoolchildren. Each day came written notes and updates on the events taking place in Vietnam. Sometimes the notes and updates informed us of the death of a Trinity Lutheran father or brother. The pain of those days is still with me. I am reminded of these matters with what now transpires in the world. These painful memories cause me to return in prayer daily before the throne of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, for each and every one of you.

But, in contrast to my childhood at Trinity Lutheran School, you children are actually in the war. In your neighborhood and at your beloved Lutheran school are troops, guns, and actual shots being fired. There is physical damage, fear, and sometimes death. This is a crime and an affront to God and His Church, the true Israel of God. I have been sending your Pastor Raheb's messages to important people and journalists around the world, and to people who have the resources and influence I do not possess in possibly making your church and school safe again. May the right persons come forward to assist you, and your great and beloved Pastor and his wife.

But St. Paul assures us in his missal to Timothy that there is ultimately only one Mediator between God and humanity, His Son Jesus Christ. Our faith in the mystery of the Triune God, the Incarnation of our Lord, His sacrificial death on the Cross, and the miracle of the Resurrection is our ultimate help and redemption. He will intervene at times of His choosing to rescue His people from all evil and all suffering. And He shall do so for the blessed little ones of Dar al Kalima Lutheran School, in the place of His birth to the blessed Virgin at a previously difficult time in human history. Do not deny these Truths, but hold them in your hearts and minds, which are captive not to violence and evil but to Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pastor Mark Dankof