A Christmas-Christian meditation ... on an Israeli "Truck Cemetery"
The Truck Cemetery
Still reeling and oppressed from our visits to the pure evil of Sderot, Kfar Aza and the Nova massacre sites, our last stop of the day was at a place Israelis have come to call the “Truck Cemetery.” As we drew closer, it initially resembled a parking lot for a large Canadian shopping mall, with row upon row of orderly white vehicles – around 1800 we were told. (I’ve never really got the thing about white vehicles, but maybe some other day.) But at the site itself, what dominates are hundreds of burned-out trucks stacked vertically, like some obscene security wall or a perverse piece of public art.
Which it was, actually. Welcome, Canadians, to the “Truck Cemetery.” Originally a temporary storage spot for vehicles that were involved that day. Victim and terrorist vehicles are all promiscuously jumbled together, their mute, riddled and often charred presence evidence of the terrific violence of that day.
This spot has since become a place of remembrance for the Israeli people. When we were there busloads of young Israeli IDF recruits, many just beginning their compulsory three-year military service, were learning who their enemy was, and the hatred towards the Israeli people they may be called upon to counter. They were there by the busload: pimply teenage boys trying desperately to look nonchalant in their new brush cuts, itchy uniforms and stiff boots; teenage girls still exploring the boundaries of military hairdos and makeup; assault rifle packing-veterans and reservists who have experienced what the recruits will soon experience for themselves. As a civilian-foreigner-gentile, I felt vaguely out-of-place, and discomfited by the silence that ruled there
No one knows how many Hamas vehicles might ultimately have been assigned to this murderous task. When IDF helicopters, tanks and troops eventually engaged Hamas convoys, scores of vehicles were destroyed, but many more turned around and headed back into Gaza City, to fight another day. Perhaps.
(Burned-out) Trucks and Christmas??
By chance — procrastination and insecurity, more like — the timing of this post has fallen during the Christmas season here in Canada. Which got me thinking: what possible relevance can this haunted place have for me, a pampered, certainly naïve western Christian, at Christmas time? Here goes.
First, the Truck Cemetery reminds me that the world is a fallen place where unspeakable evil exists – and sometimes even rules. Yet, even in such a stark setting, can also be found the “Rumours of Glory” Bruce Cockburn sang about so many years ago. For the twisted and charred vehicles remind me that this place is not the way things should be. And ultimately will not be. There will come the days prophesied by the prophet Isaiah where
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain." (Isa. 11:6-9)
Second, in this Christmas season, we are reminded of Emmanuel—God with us. Among the most basic shared Judeo-Christian beliefs is that of a God who is “immanent.” God is not “out there,” forever above the turmoils we see about us. Rather, God is actively present and engaged in the lives of His people and the workings of the universe. While Christians and Jews differ on how, when and for whom this immanent God returns, we can all be reassured by the fact that Truck Cemeteries are not our ultimate end. Rather, (Isaiah again):
“Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isa. 9:7)
To my dear Jewish co-travelers: Happy Hanukkah!
To my Christian friends: Merry Christmas!
To all: Shalom!