Matthew 2.13-18
Tuesday on the church year calendar was the commemoration for the Holy Innocents, Martyrs, December 28. The day reminds us that throughout history, children have been the victims of the struggle for power. God’s command to Joseph is clear, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” (Matt 2.13)
As Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to Egypt, they would most likely have traveled the road through what is now Gaza. Today in Gaza, children are routinely wounded and even killed by Israeli soldiers when they gather gravel to sell. During Christmas week, four people were injured, including a fourteen-year-old boy was shot in the head, as they gathered gravel in the northern part of Gaza, near the border with Israel. (Read the story: http://www.france24.com/en/20101223-israeli-gunfire-wounds-four-gaza )
In May, in Beit Ummar, just south of Bethlehem, I met the parents of a 14-year-old boy, Ibrahim, who had been arrested the week before for “throwing stones” (which he denied). His uncle and aunt had invited our Compassionate Listening group to their home. They were all part of a group called Wounded Crossing Borders, which brings together people on both sides of the conflict (Jew and Arab) who have been wounded or suffered the loss of loved ones. At the time, Ibrahim was still in detention and his parents had great difficulty being able to see him. (Read more about his story in a previous blog entry – Ibrahim was released and charges dismissed in mid-December, with the help of the Israelis in Wounded Crossing Borders.)
The statistics are alarming: According to Israeli police, 1200 Palestinian children have been arrested, interrogated and imprisoned in the occupied city of Jerusalem alone this year. The youngest of these children was seven years old. Children and teen-agers were often dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, taken in handcuffs for questioning, threatened, humiliated and many were subjected to physical violence while under arrest as part of an ongoing campaign against the children of Palestine. Since the year 2000, more than 8000 have been arrested by Israel, and reports of mistreatment are commonplace. Further, based on sworn affidavits collected in 2009 from 100 of these children, lawyers working in the occupied West Bank with Defense Children International, a Geneva-based non governmental organization, found that 69% were beaten and kicked, 49% were threatened, 14% were held in solitary confinement, 12% were threatened with sexual assault, including rape, and 32% were forced to sign confessions written in Hebrew, a language they do not understand. Minors were often asked to give names and incriminate friends and relatives as a condition of their release. Such institutionalized and systematic mistreatment of Palestinian children by the state of Israel is a violation international law and specifically contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Israel is supposedly a signatory. (source: http://www.al-awda.org/alert-children3.html )
Gracious God, you protected your son from the brutality of empire. Help us continue your work by protecting the children who are endangered in our world today, including the children who live today in the land where your son Jesus walked. Help us bring Jesus’ healing touch to those who suffer. Amen.
Use the action alert below to protest the treatment of children by the Israeli military:
Petition - Free The Children of Palestine!
December 17, 2010
ACT NOW!
Please take a moment to read and sign the online petition at: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41467.html
This petition demands that President Barak Obama direct Israel to release all Palestinian children detained in its prisons and detention centers immediately, and to end all forms of systematic and institutionalized abuse that it practices against the children of Palestine.
Please ask your friends and contacts to do the same.
Until Return,
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-918-9441
Fax: 760-918-9442
E-mail: info@al-awda.org
WWW: http://al-awda.org
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To donate, please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the instructions. To become a member, go to http://al-awda.org/membership.html
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tonight in Bethlehem
Last-minute note: On Thursday, Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh was arrested in Al-Walaja, where he is involved with the demonstrations against Israel’s building of the separation wall (see map—Al-Walaja is in upper left, dotted red line is where the wall is now being constructed). Watch a video where he describes his arrest and subsequent release: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaa_6I-PMoM . More demonstrations are planned for Friday, Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve, Luke
Luke 2.1-20
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. (photo: Bethlehem checkpoint, 2008)
All went to their own towns to be registered. (photo: Bethlehem checkpoint, 2009)
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. (photo: Bethlehem's main street, divided by the wall)
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. (photo: family being evicted, Al-Aruqib, July, 2010)
While they were there the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (photo: Bedouin village of Al-Araqib, demolished by Israeli soldiers July, 2010)
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel sais to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (photo is Beit Sahour, "Shepherds' Fields," where Israeli military is building a guard tower)
Christmas Eve, LukeLuke 2.1-20
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. (photo: Bethlehem checkpoint, 2008)
All went to their own towns to be registered. (photo: Bethlehem checkpoint, 2009)Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. (photo: Bethlehem's main street, divided by the wall)
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. (photo: family being evicted, Al-Aruqib, July, 2010)
While they were there the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (photo: Bedouin village of Al-Araqib, demolished by Israeli soldiers July, 2010)
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel sais to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (photo is Beit Sahour, "Shepherds' Fields," where Israeli military is building a guard tower)
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the hightest heaven,
And on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (photo: Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem)
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” (photo: the Wall in Bethlehem)
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
God of all miracles, you sent your son into a suffering world. He healed the sick, cast out demons and fed the hungry. Be with us tonight as we ponder all that we have seen and heard. Guide our hearts in your way of reconciliation, and stir us to action in the name of our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Waiting in Hope
Christmas Eve, Titus
Titus 2.11-14
“While we wait for the blessed hope….”
While we sit in our pews and sing, “Silent Night,” Christians in Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank and Gaza, struggle under the occupation. In their daily lives there is no silent night, no calm and brightness, little sleep. While we sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” its people do not experience stillness or quiet; their dreams are interrupted by nightmares of families separated, sons arrested, children who must move away to find work. Take a look at Bethlehem behind the wall and view some of the realities of their daily lives:
“Christmas Canceled in Bethlehem”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5is-SAPSrQ&NR=1
You might expect them to be feeling hopeless this Christmas Eve, but that is not the case. You see, they really believe the grace of God HAS appeared; and they like to remind visitors that it happened right there, in their town. So they live their lives “zealous for good deeds” –living AS IF the wall did not exist, doing whatever it takes to create a full life for them and for their children behind the wall. They have been “zealous for good deeds,” building a school for all the children of their community—Christians and Muslims alike, believing that miracles are possible because they have seen it in their town.
God of all hope, your words call us to remember your Son and your promises of salvation, signs of your faithfulness. Help us to trust your promises and to be zealous in good deeds for the freeing of all people living under oppression, in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and all over the world where there is suffering and injustice. Amen.
Titus 2.11-14
“While we wait for the blessed hope….”
While we sit in our pews and sing, “Silent Night,” Christians in Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank and Gaza, struggle under the occupation. In their daily lives there is no silent night, no calm and brightness, little sleep. While we sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” its people do not experience stillness or quiet; their dreams are interrupted by nightmares of families separated, sons arrested, children who must move away to find work. Take a look at Bethlehem behind the wall and view some of the realities of their daily lives:
“Christmas Canceled in Bethlehem”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5is-SAPSrQ&NR=1
You might expect them to be feeling hopeless this Christmas Eve, but that is not the case. You see, they really believe the grace of God HAS appeared; and they like to remind visitors that it happened right there, in their town. So they live their lives “zealous for good deeds” –living AS IF the wall did not exist, doing whatever it takes to create a full life for them and for their children behind the wall. They have been “zealous for good deeds,” building a school for all the children of their community—Christians and Muslims alike, believing that miracles are possible because they have seen it in their town.
God of all hope, your words call us to remember your Son and your promises of salvation, signs of your faithfulness. Help us to trust your promises and to be zealous in good deeds for the freeing of all people living under oppression, in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and all over the world where there is suffering and injustice. Amen.
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Un-Stable in Bethlehem
Christmas Eve
Isaiah 9.2-7
"For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders,
The rod of the oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian." (Is 9.4)
Isaiah’s message addresses a particular historical situation. The words of the prophets, in fact are messages from God addressed to a particular people in a particular time. When Isaiah spoke, the people of Israel were living under military oppression and his words address specific suffering human beings. They were threatened from the north by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III, who had already conquered the northern kingdom (732 BCE).
On Christmas Eve we will each hear these words in our own context. If you live in Bethlehem and are sitting in the pews at the Christmas Lutheran Church Bethlehem, you will hear these words and quickly identify with your long-ago ancestors, fearful of an attack by the Assyrian armies. Because the people of Bethlehem know how it feels to be threatened by foreign armies. On Christmas Eve, Israeli soldiers are patrolling the roads of Bethlehem near the settlements of Har Homa and Gilo, which have been built on Bethlehem’s land. On Christmas Eve, Israel’s army stands at the entrances to their town and decides who will enter and leave.
Christians in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been accustomed to traveling to Bethlehem to worship at the Church of the Nativity or Christmas Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve. Both churches were built to commemorate Christ’s birth—the Church of the Nativity was first dedicated on May 31, 339. Both churches, along with many of the buildings in the old part of Bethlehem, were built over caves, where people had once lived. Jerome writes from Bethlehem in AD 395, about “the cave where the infant Messiah once cried…” He lived and wrote in Bethlehem for many years; this is where he made a new translation of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament—the Vulgate, which was the authoritative translation for Catholics until the 20th century. Thus we know that Bethlehem was an important center for Christian pilgrims, at least from the fourth century.
Christians today still come to Bethlehem. So, if you were coming from Ramallah to Bethlehem, even though both are cities within the West Bank nominally under Palestinian governance, you would have to go through several Israeli checkpoints. If you are a Palestinian living five miles away in Jerusalem, you would have to enter Bethlehem through the checkpoint, where the soldiers have the authority to permit or deny you entry. If you live in Bethlehem and want to visit your family in Jerusalem, you would need a permit; most permit applications are refused.
The people of Bethlehem also live in daily fear that Israel’s armies will enter their town with their tanks and machine guns and grenades, as they did in 2002. Palestinians have no army; they have only the police who are ineffective to protect them from tanks and mortars.
So Christmas Eve’s lesson from Isaiah is very good news for the people of Bethlehem and for all of us:
“For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.” The end of the bloodshed and fighting. This is what the Lutherans living in Bethlehem long for—an end to Israel’s occupation, an end to the bloodshed, peace in their land.
Take a look at the Bethlehem checkpoint: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5is-SAPSrQ&NR=1
Lord of light in the darkness, Prince of Peace, fill us with your presence this Christmas. Like the babe born in the stable, we are your body in the world. Give us strength and courage to be your coworkers for peace and justice, bringing good news to those who suffer under the burden of oppression and fear. Amen.
Isaiah 9.2-7
"For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders,
The rod of the oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian." (Is 9.4)
Isaiah’s message addresses a particular historical situation. The words of the prophets, in fact are messages from God addressed to a particular people in a particular time. When Isaiah spoke, the people of Israel were living under military oppression and his words address specific suffering human beings. They were threatened from the north by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III, who had already conquered the northern kingdom (732 BCE).
On Christmas Eve we will each hear these words in our own context. If you live in Bethlehem and are sitting in the pews at the Christmas Lutheran Church Bethlehem, you will hear these words and quickly identify with your long-ago ancestors, fearful of an attack by the Assyrian armies. Because the people of Bethlehem know how it feels to be threatened by foreign armies. On Christmas Eve, Israeli soldiers are patrolling the roads of Bethlehem near the settlements of Har Homa and Gilo, which have been built on Bethlehem’s land. On Christmas Eve, Israel’s army stands at the entrances to their town and decides who will enter and leave.
Christians in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been accustomed to traveling to Bethlehem to worship at the Church of the Nativity or Christmas Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve. Both churches were built to commemorate Christ’s birth—the Church of the Nativity was first dedicated on May 31, 339. Both churches, along with many of the buildings in the old part of Bethlehem, were built over caves, where people had once lived. Jerome writes from Bethlehem in AD 395, about “the cave where the infant Messiah once cried…” He lived and wrote in Bethlehem for many years; this is where he made a new translation of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament—the Vulgate, which was the authoritative translation for Catholics until the 20th century. Thus we know that Bethlehem was an important center for Christian pilgrims, at least from the fourth century.
Christians today still come to Bethlehem. So, if you were coming from Ramallah to Bethlehem, even though both are cities within the West Bank nominally under Palestinian governance, you would have to go through several Israeli checkpoints. If you are a Palestinian living five miles away in Jerusalem, you would have to enter Bethlehem through the checkpoint, where the soldiers have the authority to permit or deny you entry. If you live in Bethlehem and want to visit your family in Jerusalem, you would need a permit; most permit applications are refused.
The people of Bethlehem also live in daily fear that Israel’s armies will enter their town with their tanks and machine guns and grenades, as they did in 2002. Palestinians have no army; they have only the police who are ineffective to protect them from tanks and mortars.
So Christmas Eve’s lesson from Isaiah is very good news for the people of Bethlehem and for all of us:
“For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.” The end of the bloodshed and fighting. This is what the Lutherans living in Bethlehem long for—an end to Israel’s occupation, an end to the bloodshed, peace in their land.
Take a look at the Bethlehem checkpoint: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5is-SAPSrQ&NR=1
Lord of light in the darkness, Prince of Peace, fill us with your presence this Christmas. Like the babe born in the stable, we are your body in the world. Give us strength and courage to be your coworkers for peace and justice, bringing good news to those who suffer under the burden of oppression and fear. Amen.
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