As a person of Christian faith, I was struck by "chaos" being on Friedman's word of the year. The Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament consistently point to God's work in bringing order and peace in the midst of chaos. Whether it's the 7 day creation story where God brings order to the abyss, the Israelites' liberation from enslavement through the raging Red Sea, Jesus calming the storm, or the entire book of Revelation about God's reign of peace over chaotic and destructive forces of the world, these stories tell about a God who is actively working and desiring to bring about peace (hence, the angel's announcement to the shepherd's on the night of Jesus' birth: Don't be afraid - we're bringing good news for everyone. Peace on earth). I am not naive enough not to know that these same scriptures have been used and manipulated by those in power to bring about chaos upon the marginalized. And yet, in my reading, the witness of these stories is God's desire to bring order, peace, and justice to the earth. That's all to say that the experience of "chaos" in the world and our lives seems to tap into a primal part of our being. So it is interesting that our communal experience of chaos in the world is being named so widely.