|
FOR WHAT IT’S WERF
This past week, I learned about the latest innovations in drone warfare. Recently, FPV (First-Person View) drones have become easily "jammable," which severs the signal between the operator and the drone. To bypass this, operators are now affixing drones with spools of fiber-optic cable—sometimes as long as 20 kilometers. Imagine fishing line being rapidly unspooled from a reel as a drone flies toward its target.
When the drone carries out its mission, it is destroyed, but it leaves miles of cable draped across the landscape. Reports suggest the fields now look as if they are covered in massive spider webs, which has become a physical hazard for those traveling through the area. While this innovation has increased the lethality of these weapons by ensuring they reach their targets, the environmental toll is, at this point, incalculable. (Francis Farrell of the Kyiv Independent recently reported on this technology in detail.)
I am writing this on the eve of Christmas Eve, reflecting on how innovative the world can be when it comes to destruction. That thought stands in stark contrast to the divine rescue of God—the "inbreaking" reality of the Christ-child.
One of my favorite Ukrainian Christmas carols begins: “A new joy has come, which has never been before!” (“Нова радість стала, яка не бувала!”). It is true that fiber-optic drones have "never been before," but their power is nothing compared to the unprecedented joy introduced by the incarnation of God at that first Christmas.
The carol’s final line is a prayer: “Give summer happiness to our glorious Ukraine.” May it be so.
For What It’s Werf,
Fred
Lord Jesus, we pray for peace. Not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.
| 
