Christmas tragedy and gospel hope

They were newlyweds returning from their honeymoon. As the 21-year-old Granger Kent and his new bride traveled toward home, surely their thoughts were on their future and the excitement of establishing a home and building a family. Seated not far from the newlyweds were two men, both engaged, and traveling to meet their brides and celebrate their weddings. 154 years ago, these and many more were gathered on a train traveling from Cleveland to Buffalo, New York. 

The New York Express departed Cleveland in the early hours of December 18, 1867. As it made its way toward its destination it struggled to keep up with the appointed schedule, and by the time it reached Angola, NY, it was running nearly three hours late. The train engineers had no hope of arriving on time, but they were doing all they could to minimize the severity of their tardiness.

Other than the frustration of anticipated schedules being missed the trip was mundane. These were the days when passenger trains were the primary way of travel. It is likely that every passenger on the train that day had taken many similar trips and gave little thought to the significance of this trip. As they passed through Angola, they knew they were getting close to their destination and likely began to turn their thoughts to what they would do when they arrived. Angola was not a planned stop, so the train passed by the little wooden depot at a steady speed. The telegraph operator in the station noted her passing and surely waved at the engineers as they passed. 

Harper’s Weekly, January 11, 1869, Volume 12

Just north of Angola is Big Sister Creek. Spanning over the deep ravine and creek was a plain wooden truss that just 2 years before had supported the somber funeral train of President Abraham Lincoln as it carried the body of the assassinated president to the place of his burial in Illinois. On this December afternoon of 1867, it continued to support the travels of a nation attempting to rebuild and restart in the years following the civil war. As the train pressed on toward its destination and made its way toward the bridge, it began to tremble violently, then as if the train had been set free from a great burden, the train was relieved. Immediately the whistle blew, and the engineers engaged the brakes. Something terrible had happened.

Harper’s Weekly, January 11, 1869, Volume 12

Just before reaching the bridge, the train passed over a rail crossing point called a frog. The front axle of the rear passenger car was slightly bent. When this defective wheel hit the frog, it caused it to derail. The rear car began to wag back and forth, causing the whole train to shake violently before the coupling broke, thus releasing the car from the rest of the train. The engineers applied the brakes, but the speed of the train continued to push it across the bridge. The rear car, now untethered from the rest of the train, exited the railbed and plunged down the embankment. The second-to-last car was derailed by the violent movements of the last but remained attached to the train until it reached the far side of the bridge. It then decoupled from the train and plunged down the 30-foot embankment towards the icy waters of the creek.

Harper’s Weekly, January 11, 1869, Volume 12

What followed next was a scene so horrid that the memory of it haunted the survivors and would-be rescuers for the rest of their lives. When the train came to a stop the passengers immediately jumped off and ran to the derailed cars to offer aid and rescue. Residents from Angola ran toward the scene with equal determination to render aid but there would be little they could do. The passenger cars were equipped with potbelly stoves at each end for heat. Along each sidewall were kerosene lamps for light. As the cars tumbled down the embankment the passengers, kerosene, and hot coals from the stoves were violently blended. When the cars came to rest at the bottom of the steep ravine, they were at the same sharp angle as the ravine. This position and the force of the fall concentrated all the people, furniture, fire, and fuel together in a convoluted heap. Some were pulled from the mass of wreckage, but most would be consumed by fire. The Erie Observer wrote of the event: “The hideous, remorseless flames crackled on; the shrieks died into moans, and moans into silence more terrible, as the pall of death drew over the scene.” Those who were at the scene said that the screams of the dying lingered for close to five minutes before silence fell over the snow.

Nearly 50 people died that night. The wedding band, that Granger Kent had given his new bride on the day of their wedding, survived the flames. Her initials, which were inscribed on the gold, were still visible. But the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, who were returning from their honeymoon, were lost to the flames. The images and witness testimonies filled the pages of newspapers across the nation for weeks to come. The horror of the event and the tragic repercussions for so many families captured the heart of the nation. That it happened just seven days before Christmas only added to the sense of heartbreak.

Every day there is news of tragedy and loss. In recent weeks, there has been news of horrible and tragic events. A man drove his SUV through a crowd enjoying a Christmas parade killing many and wounding many more. A student used a gun to shoot and kill many of his classmates at school. Such events would be horrible no matter what time of year they happen, but they seem to take on extra weight during the Christmas season.

In the secular celebration of Christmas, the focus is on personal enjoyment and happiness. Holiday movies and songs celebrate a season where the goal and focus are holiday cheer. However, holiday cheer is a fragile foundation and is easily broken by grief and loss. The biblical hope of Christmas does not ignore the brokenness of this world. The biblical hope of Christmas is not diminished when heartache, grief, and loss threaten to overwhelm. The biblical hope of Christmas is a confrontation of this world’s brokenness and God’s response of redemption of sin and defeat of death.

Several years ago, in a church, I previously pastored, a family in the church owned a sculpture titled “The flight to Egypt.” It depicted Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fleeing to Egypt to escape the murderous attempt of Harrod to kill Jesus. The depiction captured worry and stress on the faces of Joseph and Mary and a sense of speed as they hurriedly fled their homeland. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that after Jesus and His family fled that Herod ordered the murder of all the male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. These were not easy days. These were days of much suffering and grief.

The family who owned the sculpture asked if I would like to use it in the church as part of our Christmas decorations, and we placed it in the front lobby of the church worship building. On the following Sunday, as people were leaving the service and I was greeting them in the lobby by the front door, one of the church members asked me why the statue was in the church. They thought it was out of place among the other Christmas decorations. I told them what it was a depiction of, and they responded with some shock and said: “That’s not part of the Christmas story!”

Oh, but it is! Jesus came not for “holiday cheer” but to confront sin and death. Jesus came not that we might have one day a year of happiness but that sinners might be reconciled to God and have an eternity of joy. This world is broken and corrupted by sin. Because of this, there have been and will be tragic events and moments of tremendous grief. So it was when Herod slaughtered the little boys of Bethlehem. So it was when the passenger cars leapt off the tracks on December 18, 1867, consigning their passengers to a horrific death and their loved ones to great grief. These events and the uncountable others that do not make the newsfeeds or history books are why God sent His son Jesus to be born of a virgin in the humility of a manger. Jesus came that death might be defeated, and sinners might be reconciled to God.

Good Christian men, rejoice,

With heart and soul and voice!

Give ye heed to what we say:

Jesus Christ is born today;

Ox and ass before Him bow,

And He is in the manger now.

Christ is born today.

Christ is born today. 

Good Christian men, rejoice,

With heart and soul and voice!

Now ye hear of endless bliss:

Jesus Christ was born for this;

He has opened heaven's door,

And man is blest for evermore.

Christ was born for this.

Christ was born for this. 

Good Christian men, rejoice,

With heart and soul and voice!

Now ye need not fear the grave:

Jesus Christ was born to save;

Calls you one and calls you all,

To win His everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save.

Christ was born to save.