The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:2, NIV).
Thirty-three Chilean miners know what it is like to walk in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death. On Aug. 5, a shaft collapsed in the 121-year-old San José mine trapping the miners with 700 tons of fallen rock. A half-mile beneath the surface, the men converged on a capsule designed to sustain them — for two days. As passing hours turned into days and weeks, they divided into three groups. According to reports, fist fights broke out as their hope for rescue diminished.
Jim White
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The scene above was equally frantic. Mining officials were quick to involve Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and other government members. In turn, they wasted no time in accepting specialized help from any credible source that offered. Mining experts, drill bits, drill operators and even NASA officials from the U.S. were summoned. Other nations contributed as well.
Unknown to the miners, trapped as they were in their land of the shadow of death, from Camp Esperanza (Camp Hope) a settlement that sprang into sudden existence, plans were being made for their rescue. The rescuers asked themselves what equipment, resources and people they needed. Two questions they never asked were, “How much will it cost,” and, “Are these men worth saving?”
According to the Bible, all humanity (and each individual) became trapped by our sinful rebelliousness in a condition it calls “darkness.” We cannot escape from our circumstance. Our only hope is for rescue. In our situation, many factions and fights develop.
Meanwhile, above, a plan was made.
The rescuers were not sure any of the men had survived the cave-in, nor where they would be for certain if they did. Undaunted, they aimed a narrow bore hole at likely places the miners may have assembled. Seven times they failed before reaching the men on Aug. 22 — 17 days after the first cave-in.
From inside the mine, using their helmet lamps only sparingly, the men lived most of the time in total darkness eating only a spoonful of tuna fish and a swallow of milk — every other day. Hope was nearly exhausted when, on the 17th day of their ordeal, they heard a drill bit chewing its way toward them through solid rock. A while later it broke through, providing proof that they had not been forgotten.
Through that hole the miners communicated with those above and likewise learned that they would be saved. Through the narrow shaft, “palomas” (doves) descended bringing them word from above, and food and water. Mostly, they brought hope.
To those living in spiritual darkness, God sent word through the prophets. “I have not forgotten you! I know your circumstance! Salvation is coming!” The prophets brought hope.
Overjoyed at the news that all 33 miners were still alive, their families gathered outside the mine offices in tents set up for them while the world watched on television as the drama unfolded. Drillers worked around the clock to sink a shaft large enough to rescue the men from the land of the shadow of death and bring them to the light.
Obstacles of every kind, including broken equipment, slowed but did not stop them as rescuers exhausted themselves in their efforts to deliver the captives from certain death.
Meanwhile, in the darkness, the miners waited in hope and in mounting anxiety for their deliverance; and on Oct. 9, the rescue drill bit finally broke through into their darkness. After three days of testing and lining with a steel sleeve the uppermost, unstable, portion of the shaft, on Oct. 13, everything was ready.
The Bible says, “But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law”(Gal. 4:4, The Message). When the time was right, an angel appeared to Mary revealing God’s long-awaited plan. He would deliver the world from the bondage of certain spiritual death through the birth, life and death of his Son, Jesus — whose name means “deliverer.” Some cynics ask, “Why would God have allowed his Son to die? Surely there was another way.” If there had been another way to affect the same rescue, surely God would have used it. But God as Father and Son, did not hesitate to pay the price. God did not ask, “Are they worth saving?”
So on that first Christmas morning God incarnate broke through into the limitations of human existence as the infant Jesus was welcomed into a stable by Mary and Joseph. The singular event was proclaimed by angels to shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest!”
Before the men were brought to the surface, a rescuer was sent to them. He briefed them on how the rescue would happen. He told them how to enter the specially-built capsule, how to harness themselves in, what to expect on the ride to the surface. It is noteworthy that not a single one of the 33 asked if there wasn’t some other way. Not even one said, “This seems too narrow, to me. Surely there are other ways to be saved!” Instead, with joy and eagerness they waited their turn to leave their land of the shadow of death to ascend to the light of the higher ground.
In less than 23 hours all 33 men had been pulled from their captivity to the welcome of President Piñara, the waiting arms of their loved ones and the well-wishes of the entire world.
Likewise, Jesus said there is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.
Eventually, every analogy breaks down, but the rescue of the Chilean miners fittingly illustrates God’s attempt to rescue us through the Christ of Christmas.
May this season bring us ever closer to our great God who doesn’t ask if we are worth rescuing, and may it make us ever more diligent to rescue the perishing!
Jim White is editor of the Religious Herald.