“In Bethlehem, in Jewry, the blessed babe was born.” So goes the seasonal carol. And this year, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem — now mostly an Arab enclave — celebrations of that Child’s birth have been cancelled due to war. One church in Bethlehem has created a “nativity scene” featuring baby Jesus among the rubble of destruction.
I get the message: would baby Jesus want this war in Gaza? The answer, of course, is no.
The unfortunate truth is that war has always been with us. Jesus himself said it would continue until His return. Take for example the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, which during its long history was often an important city. Its first recorded battle was between the Egyptians and the Canaanites in 1457 BC. A second major battle occurred there in 609 BC between the Kingdom of Judea and the Egyptians. The most recent major action occurred there in World War I, between the British and the Ottoman Empire. Humans have been fighting over this area of the world since time immemorial. The Greek name for the area is, fittingly, Armageddon. War was endemic to our species before Jesus arrived. It remains a plague.
The Christmas story is not diminished by the tragic fact that, in this year, the holiday is occurring in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war. In history, is there any year in which December 25 fell on a day in which the world was completely at peace? No, the day of Christmas represents not the arrival of a final peace but rather a promise that, in this broken world, there is the possibility of peace. As the angels are said to have declared at the Child’s birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).
The angels delivered this message at a time when a colonizing empire, Rome, had taken over the region with force of arms and had demanded all the locals show up in their hometowns to be registered so the empire could suck more taxes out of them. Jews revolted. Resistance to Roman rule flared on a regular basis. Around the time of Jesus’ birth, the Jewish ruler Herod Archelaus, a Roman puppet, had 3000 of his own fellow Jews slaughtered in the Temple in Jerusalem. The angels proclaimed goodwill and peace to all not because it was accomplished but as a promise that help was coming. There will be peace: eventually, mind you.
I’d suggest the story of this child born in a manger is less about where he was born and under what circumstances than about how he taught us to live. As he began his ministry, so Matthew tells us, he was tempted in the desert by the Devil, who offered him land, and riches, and prestige. He turned them all down, preferring to humble himself in the service of others. And He taught us that, no matter how cynical and hardened and jaded life makes us, we can find His kingdom — a realm of peace and loving-kindness — only if we reject the world’s hardness and see the possibilities afresh and anew, as a child might do.
The story is also about having the courage to speak up and do what is right despite the consequences, before it’s too late. I was reminded of this in reading reports from Gaza about Hamas tunnels and weapons caches being found under and in schools being run by the UN’s Palestinian Refugee Agency, UNRWA. UNRWA has noted these “violations of its neutrality” numerous times over the past decade (here, here, here, and here), but other than issuing press releases, it took no action. Focused on their humanitarian mission, they chose to ignore Hamas’ corruption. The tragic result? Mosques and UNRWA schools, as well as hospitals, have been deemed legitimate military targets, there are no safe places for civilians to take refuge, and the war has cost unnecessary lives of innocent Gazans. Jesus told some parables about this that are recorded in Matthew 25, if you’re curious.
The world’s gone to hell in a handbasket, for sure. But in the midst of the chaos came a little baby who, if the prophets are to be believed, came to “bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” From his teachings came the radical ideas that slavery is evil; that all humans are of equal dignity and worth; and that service to others, not domination, is the good we should seek.
Yep, the world has in fact gone to the dogs. But we can continue to hope and to persevere: for justice, for peace, for understanding, and for goodwill among all of us no matter our differences. In the coming year, may you have the courage to do so.
Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays.