This has not been a summer of fun for many around the world. Even though most entered this summer’s break as a time of vacation, the citizens of the world were constantly reminded of the suffering of others by a seemingly constant barrage of bad news on the internet.

This past month, on the evening of June 12th, three Israeli teenagers, Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Shaer (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19), were kidnapped by Palestinians with links to Hamas, while hitchhiking home from the West Bank area near Bethlehem. Over the next three weeks, Israel was gripped with nerve-racking emotion, while authorities began a massive hunt for the boys around the West Bank.

Pope Francis recently traveled to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories (May 24-26th). Jerusalem, in particular, came to a standstill during his pilgrimage. The papal visit was intensely watched around the world, especially by the media, for any sign of his political leanings regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel is never a boring place. This time of year, especially, is filled with events, memorials, and occasions to stir the slumbering soul. During the past 30 days we have witnessed the festival of Passover, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers, and Israel’s Independence Day

This week the observance of Lent began, where for the next forty days many Christians will fast or abstain from some type of food or practice in order to focus on Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. On the other hand, the Jewish people will soon celebrate the exuberant holiday of Purim (Mar 16) which is typically known for its fun.

There are those who shy away from pronouncing its presence, who semantically rename it “moral failure,” or redirect its blame from the individual to amorphous causes—family, society, economics, or ideology.

As disciples of Jesus and children of God, we have a hope that is immeasurable. This hope is not based on our possessions, politics, position, or principles. While human suffering continues unabated, from the international wars that crowd the daily news or even the unreported chronic physical and psychological ailments that many of us quietly endure, our existence is not pointless, nor hopeless.

Yesterday, April 8th, was Holocaust Memorial Day here in Israel, which commemorates the murder of approximately six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis and their sympathizers. It has been nearly 70 years since the end of World War II and the Nazi’s programmatic destruction of European Jewry, yet the shock and horror of the Holocaust still stains the world’s conscience and how we think about evil.

In the past century of Western Christianity, it has been quite common to use the labels, “saved,” “believer,” or “born again.” While salvation, belief, and spiritual rebirth are significant in the New Testament, they were not necessarily how Jesus would most typically preach his message.

For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the darkest time of the year. The sun has slowly been losing altitude since its summer zenith. The days are growing shorter and the nights longer.