Christmas Eve, Luke - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Luke 2.1-14

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem…. (Lk 2.4)

O Little Town of Bethlehem, 2011

Church of the Nativity, shrine marking the place whereJesus was born….

Bethlehem, main street, with the wall and guard tower

English students at Dar Al-Kalima School, speaking to us

Bethlehem - Dar Al-Kalima College, cafe

Bethlehem, Detour around the Wall

Graffiti on the Wall

O God, as we remember your advent on this holy night, we celebrate your gift of light and life. As we sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem, help us remember your people who are still suffering in the place of your birth, and in all the conflicted places around the world. Help us be agents of your peace, bringing your light and life to the world. Amen.

Jan Miller, MDiv
janlmiller@q.com
Read my blogs about peacemaking in Israel and Palestine: www.apilgrimstales.blogspot.com

Christmas Eve - Titus, Waiting for the Blessed Hope

Christmas Eve - Titus

Titus 2.11-14

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God…. (Titus 2.11)

God of grace, grant us lives lived in hope while we wait for the manifestation of your glory. Amen.

Read this commentary and news from Sam Bahour, a Palestinian/American businessman who lives in Ramallah:

Some Palestinians refuse to just sit still and accept their fate as a permanently, militarily occupied people. One would think by now that Palestinians would have received the message loud and clear - the world couldn't care less about their fate. But no, these Palestinians just refuse to sit still. They continue to defy their reality and can be seen across the Holy Land - jumping, climbing, swinging, falling, tripping, singing, twirling, juggling, cycling, tight roping, and the like. Their nerve! To think they can attempt to live a normal life when the powers that be are spending billions, literally, to cause a collapse of Palestinian society.

And who is it exactly I speak of? Palestinian clowns. No, I'm not taking a swing at the political leadership, at least not here. I'm talking about the real thing: circus clowns, like in clowns that make you laugh and make you forget that the boot of occupation is pressing on your neck.

I can understand your confusion. Clowns and circus do not usually appear in the same sentence with Palestine. You are probably much more attuned to how Palestinians have been labeled over the years by some Israelis and their marionettes - everything from terrorists, crocodiles, 'beasts walking on two legs,' grasshoppers, cockroaches, slaves, 'a community of woodcutters and waiters,' the 'penniless population,' 'not worth a Jewish fingernail,' all the way to the most recent classification of being an 'invented people.'

As many are bent on dehumanizing Palestinians, systematically and with contempt, others are mending the wounds of a

people who have been purposely stripped of their well-being in one of the world's most unjust chapters of history. One group tending to that process of mending the deep wounds that 44 years of military occupation continue to inflict is the Palestinian Circus School (PCS), based in Birzeit, Palestine…..

The Palestinian Circus School is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 2006 and registered with the Palestinian Authority since February 2007. You can read more and view some videos of their work at: www.palcircus.ps…..

Contemporary circus (or nouveau cirque as it was originally known in French-speaking countries) is a genre of performing art developed in the late 20th century, in which a story or theme is conveyed through traditional circus skills. It may all look like a game to the untrained eye, but this is serious business. At its heart, this style of circus is a societal change agent. The Circus School teaches young Palestinians the circus pedagogy to stimulate and develop their physical, mental, artistic, emotional, social and cognitive abilities. The circus then employs these skills in bringing smiles to the faces of children throughout Palestine, especially in marginalized areas.

If you spend any time in any part of Palestine, or even in Palestinian refugee communities outside of Palestine, you will quickly notice that the ultimate weight of this conflict is falling on the shoulders of our youngsters-shoulders that should never have to carry the weight of a military occupation! These young minds continue to be systematically damaged, but society is not standing still.

The Palestinian Circus School puts smiles on children's faces as well as using the platform of circus to link to a global circus arts community. Circus schools and troupes worldwide are acting in solidarity with Palestinians by exchanging trainers, performances and experiences. It's serious business with serious results. Maybe that's why, last year, Israeli authorities denied entry to Mr. Ivan Prado, the most famous clown in Spain, who was coming to perform to Palestinian audiences.

Robert Sugarman, author of The Many Worlds of Circus, described the impact of circus best when he wrote, "By turning you upside down, we teach you to stand on your own two feet. By dropping objects we teach you to catch them. By having you walk all over someone, we teach you to take care of them. By having you clown around, we teach you to take yourself seriously." The children of Palestine have had their lives turned upside down. Help us bring a smile to their faces and build confidence in their futures to make their lives worth living.

So, as you prepare to bring in a new year, I appeal for your generous support to the Palestinian Circus School in any way you can. You will not be disappointed. There are three places donations can be made:

- IndieGoGo Campaign to raise $25,000 to kick off fundraising for erecting a movable training hanger, which will be located adjacent to the newly donated headquarters. This new addition will house the high circus equipment, which are now placed outside in the cold under the open sky. This campaign just started and will run through February 20, 2012 at: http://igg.me/p/52303. Read more about this project...

Christmas Eve - Isaiah, Here we stand; Stand with us

Christmas Eve - Isaiah, Here we stand; Stand with us

Isaiah 9.2-7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…. (Is 9.2)

On Christmas Eve we will celebrate the incarnation—the god who comes to us as a baby in the manger is flesh and blood and tears and dirty diapers. A god who suffers at the hands of an occupying army—beginning with his family’s flight from a ruler who wants to kill their baby. A god who shows us that our bodies and our actions matter.

Palestinians know this God intimately; they know in their bodies what Jesus suffered.,,,,,arrested and beaten. Palestinian parents know homelessness—with no place to rest for the night, forced to find shelter in a barn.

A couple of weeks ago, more than 60 participants from 15 countries met with Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem for a Kairos Palestine Global Justice Encounter/Conference. They met to “share a Kairos consciousness, strengthen and build ties among Kairos groups to form a global network for justice, and learn from the Palestinian experience the urgency of Kairos solidarity and to end injustice.”

The participants in this conference issued a statement, “The Bethlehem Call: Here we stand - Stand with us”. It begins, “How long, O God, will they steal our livelihood? Oppress, imprison and humiliate our people? Deprive our children of their childhood? Indeed how long, God, will the multitudes of Christians of the world ignore the anguish of our Palestinian sisters and brothers and all of the oppressed?”……”We now say: ‘Injustice no more. Here we stand. Stand with us.’”

It continues: (or read the whole statement)

"Today, the illegal regime and illegal forms of the Israeli occupation of Palestine assumes dimensions of systemic injustice whereby the unthinkable and unimaginable becomes globally accepted, supported and normalized. This is an example of Empire (global domination) at work. It happens in Palestine as it happens in many other contexts around the world. At the same time, Palestine is clearly a global issue. The government of Israel claims to have and indeed enjoys an exceptional status within the international community. Israel regards itself to be above the law and is treated as exempt from international law. This status provides the Israeli government the freedom to occupy Palestine with impunity. (photo is Bethlehem)

As witnessed with our own eyes, the treacherous conditions imposed by the Israeli occupation on Palestinians and their land have reached a level of almost unimaginable and sophisticated criminality. This includes

the slow yet deliberate and systematic ethnic cleansing and the geo­cide of Palestinians and Palestine as well as the strangling of the Palestinian economy. The brutality in the “violence of silence” internationally provides an almost impenetrable shield for the Israeli government to implement its evil designs in blatant disregard for human rights and international law. Silence is an opinion. Inaction is an action….”

These are people who have been walking in darkness. Palestinians have been in the shadows, invisible to most of the world. Christians around the world have been walking in the darkness of their ignorance of the Palestinians’ suffering. But the participants in this conference “have seen a great light” and this statement declares their vision.

God made flesh, dwelling among us…...as we approach the manger on this holy day, make us mindful of all your people who still suffer as you did. Use us as prophets to proclaim your “great light” to the world, wherever we work and play. In your holy name. Amen.

Advent 4 - Luke, Pondering

Advent 4 - Luke

Luke 1.26-38

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. (Lk 1.29)

I find myself drawn to Mary’s perplexed reaction to what she cannot understand. I too, ponder…..what are God’s intentions? How can this be? My ponderings, however, are not prompted by an angel, but by what I hear from Palestine.

Yesterday I read a report from Adameer, (Arabic for “conscience”) Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, “a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution that works to support Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli and Palestinian prisons, offering free legal aid to political prisoners, advocating their rights at the national and international level, and working to end torture and other violations of prisoners' rights through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns."

Adameer reports that since October 18, when 477 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, nearly 470 other Palestinians have been arrested. Some of the released prisoners have been harassed, and one has been rearrested. 70 of those arrested are children; 11 are women.

Most disturbing to me is that many of those arrested are human rights workers, political activists, journalists and people participating in the popular resistance movement, arrested for peacefully protesting Israel’s theft of Palestinian land. The list of those arrested includes 17 people from a village I visited last year—Beit Ummar, just south of Bethlehem...and I wonder if these are people I met on our visit. Eleven were also arrested at the Deheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, where I have visited several times. Two elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (the “Palestinian Parliament”) were also arrested. Read Adameer’s report.

Fuad Al-Khuffash is one of these prisoners (see his picture). He is a human rights defender, director of Ahrar Center for Prisoners’ studies and Human Rights, the Palestinian representative for Al Karama Association, which works to ensure the protection of human rights, and a field

researcher for Friends of Humanity International, a human rights organization based in Vienna. He has also worked as a journalist, writing extensively on human rights issues, and specifically on political prisoners and administrative detention. At 3:00 in the morning on June 28, soldiers used explosives to break down the door to his apartment. He awoke with 20 soldiers in his bedroom (read an account of his arrest and trial). He received a ten year sentence. Fuad’s wife Rana is forbidden to visit him.

On Sunday, as you are sitting in the pew listening to Mary’s story, an additional 500 Palestinian prisoners will be released—to complete the deal struck for Gilad Shalit’s release. Adameer calls on us to protest the arrests of human rights activists like Fuad. Send an email to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il (There are more contacts for the campaign to release Fuad al-Kuffash at the bottom of the story about his case.)

God of those who ponder….people like Fuad al-Kuffash and people like us. Keep us mindful of those who risk their lives to speak out when the powerful trample on the rights of ordinary people. Strengthen us in faithfulness to your promises, so that we, too, speak out when we witness injustice. Amen.

Advent 4 - Romans

Advent 4 - Romans

Romans 16.25-27

Every Friday, in several villages in the West Bank, residents protest Israel’s theft of their lands—some protest the wall being built on village farmland; others protest theft of land for settlements. In Nabi Saleh in the Ramallah district, villagers are protesting the takeover of a spring owned by the head of the village council. These are peaceful protests; demonstrators march, sing, chant. Palestinians from nearby villages and international supporters join the demonstrations. Until this week, no one had been killed in these demonstrations.

For decades, Nabi Saleh residents have endured the gradual takeover of their lands for the nearby Israeli settlement of Halamish. Then, in late 2009, settlers gradually began taking over Ein al-Qaws, the Bow Spring, which is on lands owned by Bashir Tamimi. With the help of the army, the settlers built a shed over the spring. They threw rocks and pointed guns at Palestinians who approached.

The Israeli army has responded to the demonstrations by declaring the entire village a “closed military zone,” which means that the army occupies the village and prevents everyone from leaving or entering. They conduct nighttime raids, forcing families out of their homes, arresting and intimidating the villagers, even minor children.

Last Friday, during the protest, Israeli soldiers fired a tear-gas canister and hit 28-year-old Mustafa Tamimi in the face. He was only meters from the soldier who shot him from the back of an armored vehicle. Tamimi died of his injuries. He was killed INSIDE his village, in the West Bank, where he was protesting the theft of his family’s lands. He had no weapons—only stones he picked up from the ground to throw at the tanks invading his village. [The photo shows Tamimi and his friend chasing the tank; the back door is open and a soldier is aiming the tear gas canister directly at Tamimi. The second photo is Tamimi.]

Read his companion’s eyewitness account . Protesters now carry cameras and video recorders and the Isra

eli human rights organization B’Tselem has posted a report with photos of the shooting. B’Tselem has long been protesting the army’s unlawful use of tear gas canisters as weapons, and is pursuing this case in court.

The joy of Advent is not a result of making the world a better place. If we depend on our work as our source of hope, we have only despair. In spite of UN resolutions and talk of peace, the world is not safer—not in Palestine, not in Yemen…..not in Denver.

In Advent, we anticipate God’s gracious self-giving, the source of our hope. We dare to hope, even as we read of Mustafa’s needless death, because we know God’s plans for us. We know Mustafa’s death is not the end of the story.

Gracious God, you chose to enter into our suffering and pain, in a manger in Bethlehem. Today the people of the Holy Land still suffer under an unjust occupation. Grant us grace to trust in your promises. In the name of your son, whose birth we await. Amen.