An Advent 2021 Sermon Stuffer
An Advent Resource by Friends of Sabeel North America
All Christians observe Easter and Christmas as the major events of the life and birth of Jesus Christ. And most Christians worldwide observe a liturgical calendar year round where a 3 year cycle of Biblical readings is observed, including all mainline denominations and Roman Catholics. Advent is the first of the liturgical seasons that comprise the 4 Sundays prior to Christmas Day, December 25. Thus it is appropriate on the 1st Sunday in Advent (November 28 this year) to say Happy New Year! But it is not celebrated with the same festive spirit as New Year’s Eve. Advent is a time of expectation, waiting, and longing for the promise found in remembering the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace, to be ritualized once again.
Jesus’ earthly ministry of about 33 years found him in many parts of Israel, which was under Roman occupation. Jesus lived his life as a good practicing Jew. The places Jesus appeared as noted in the 4 Gospels include Nazareth, the Galilee, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. And it is in Bethlehem that the Christian world of over one billion people turns its attention beginning in Advent and leading up to the telling, again, of Jesus birth at Christmas.
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” will be sung worldwide, bringing comfort and hope once again to the deep longing for peace that fills so many hearts. But Bethlehem is a different place today than it was when Jesus was born there. It is no longer a part of Israel, yet is under Israeli occupation. Israel, once a country occupied by the Roman empire, is now an occupier itself.
In 2016 an eventually failed candidate for President of the United States incorrectly referred to Bethlehem as part of Israel while speaking to a Jewish audience. No one corrected him. A practicing Christian, he spoke about visiting Bethlehem with Israel as his host. He was pleased to be taken to the birth site of Jesus at the Church of the Nativity. He utterly failed to address the occupation of the Christians now living in Bethlehem, who have seen their economy shattered and their rights to free speech and movement disabled by Israeli policies over several decades. This Christmas Israel is shutting down all overnight stays in Bethlehem under the guise of Covid security while allowing hotels in Israel itself to operate as usual. The consequences of this shutdown will be devastating.
In order for a pilgrim to enter Bethlehem from Israel today, he/she/they must pass through a massive military Israeli controlled checkpoint. Israel has also built an illegal wall that snakes around the city which rises to a height of 26’ in many places, which impedes free movement of the city’s inhabitants. Laborers trying to get to work, students from elementary school to university trying to get to classes, expectant mothers trying to get to a medical appointment, and countless others must endure humiliating checkpoints which cause outrage, frustration, fear, stress disorders, rejection and often detention, depending on the mood of an assault armed Israeli soldier. The “good Christian” candidate for president failed to mention even a hint of this reality.
Had Joseph and Mary attempted today to seek shelter in Bethlehem, they likely would not have made safe passage there. They might have been detained, interrogated, imprisoned. The three magi would have been confronted by a 26’ high barrier, and might have had to turn back from their intended destination, with the joyful expectation of meeting the Christ child replaced with fear and trepidation. That is life for Bethlehemites today.
Thus it is that a call has gone out to Christian congregations across the United States to Preach Palestine, to tell the story, not of Israel and Palestine during the time of the birth of Jesus, but of life for Palestinian Christians living under occupation today. That is the context for understanding the meaning of Jesus birth for these days. Jesus birth has always been about hope, and hope requires confronting injustice in present day Bethlehem.
A sentimental rendering of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” without addressing the injustice of the present day occupation surely thwarts the meaning of Jesus birth. Let the good news of Jesus birth be told again this year, but in the context of the world we live in today. This is not to overlook the dangers that Mary and Joseph faced in protecting their newborn, but rather to acknowledge that danger in a new context today.
Of course, there is much more to the occupation than its effects on Bethlehem. But as a starting point, it can lead to works for justice, and embody the hope for a just world that Jesus ultimately gave his earthly life for.
So, Preach Palestine.