At the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, baby Jesus lies not in a manger but draped in a keffiyeh amid rubble. As the world celebrates the joyous festival, Bethlehem mourns. Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac stands at the pulpit and delivers a sermon, a lament, “If Jesus was born today”, he says, “he’d be born under the rubble.”
Situated six miles south of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, Bethlehem holds a central place in Christian history. This year, however, the city stands as a symbol of a different reality. Churches across Palestine, including Bethlehem's Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, have collectively decided to forego traditional Christmas celebrations. Instead, they express solidarity with Gaza and reject the ongoing aggression against Palestinians.
"We are angry, we are broken. This should have been a time of joy, instead we are mourning. We are fearful. More than 20,000 killed. Thousands are still under the rubble. Close to 9000 children killed in the most brutal way. Day after day 1.9 million displaced. Hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed. Gaza as we know it no longer exists. This is an annihilation, this is genocide. The world is watching, churches are watching. People of Gaza are sending live images of their own execution. Maybe the world cares but it goes on.
We are asking could this be our faith in Bethlehem, in Ramallah, in Jenin? Is this our destiny too? We are tormented by the silence of the world. Leaders of the so-called free lined up one after the other to give the green light for this genocide against a captive population. They gave the cover, not only did they make sure to pay the bill in advance, they veiled the truth and context providing the political cover and yet another layer has been added. The theological cover with the Western church stepping into the spotlight.
Our dear friends in South Africa taught us the concept of the state theology defined as theology, the theological justification of the status quo with its racism, capitalism and totalitarianism. It does so by misusing theological concepts and Biblical texts for its own political purposes. Here in Palestine the Bible is weaponised against us, our very own sacred text. In our terminology in Palestine we speak of the empire. Here we confront the theology of empire, a disguise of superiority, supremacy, chosenness and entitlement. It is sometimes given a nice cover using words like mission and evangelism, fulfilment of prophecy and spreading freedom and liberty. The theology of the empire becomes a powerful tool to mask oppression under the clock of divine sanction. It speaks of land without people. It divides people into us and them. It dehumanises and demonises the concept of land without people again even though they knew too well that the land had people and not just any people, a very special people.
Theology of empire calls for emptying Gaza just like it called for the ethnic cleansing in 1948, a miracle or a divine miracle as they called it. It calls for us Palestinians now to go Egypt, maybe Jordan. Why not just the sea? I think of the words of the disciples said to Jesus when he was about to enter Samaria, “Lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” they said of the Samaritans. This is the theology of the empire, this is what they’re saying about us today.
This world, this war has confirmed to us, that the world does not see us as equal. Maybe it’s the colour of our skin. Maybe it is because we are on the wrong side of a political equation. Even our kingship in Christ did not shield us. So they say if it takes killing 100 Palestinians to kill a single Hamas militant then so be it. We are not humans in their eyes but in God’s eyes no one can tell us that.
The hypocrisy and the racism of the western world is transparent and appalling. They always take the word of Palestinians with suspicion and qualification. No we’re not treated equally yet on the other side despite a clear track record of misinformation, lies, their words are almost always deemed infallible.
To our European friends, I never ever want to hear you lecture us on human rights or international law again and I mean this. We are not white I guess, it does not apply to us according to your own logic. In this war the many Christians in the western world made sure the empire has the theology needed. It is their self-defence we were told and I continue to ask how is the killing of 9,000 children self-defence? How is the displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians self defence?
In the shadow of the Empire they turned the coloniser into the victim and the colonised into the aggressor. Have we forgotten, have we forgotten that the state they talk to that that state was built on the ruins of the towns and villages of those very same cousins. Have they forgotten?
We are outraged by the complicity of the church. Let it be clear friends, silence is complicity and empty calls for peace without a ceasefire and an end to occupation and the shallow words of empathy without direct action all under the banner of complicity.
So here is my message, Gaza today has become the moral compass of the world. Gaza was hell before October 7th and the world was silent. Should we be surprised at their silence now?
If you are not appalled by what is happening in Gaza, if you are not shaken to your core, there is something wrong with your humanity. And if we as Christians are not outraged by the genocide, by the weaponisation of the Bible to justify it, there is something wrong with our Christian witness and we are compromising the credibility of Our Gospel message.
If you fail to call this a genocide, it is on you. It is a sin and darkness you willingly embrace. Some have not even called for a ceasefire. I’m talking about churches, I feel sorry for you.
We will be okay despite the immense blow we have endured, we the Palestinians will recover, we will rise, we will stand up again from the midst of destruction as we have always done as Palestinians. Although this is by far maybe the biggest blow we have received in a long time. But we will be okay
But for those who are complicit, I feel sorry for you. Will you ever recover from this? Your charity and your words of shock after the genocide wont make a difference. And i know these words of shock are coming and i know people will give generously for charity. But your words wont make a difference. Words of regret wont suffice for you and let me say it, we will not accept your apology after the genocide. What has been done has been done.
I want you to look at the mirror and ask yourself and ask where was I when Gaza was going through a genocide.
In Gaza today, God is under the rubble.
And in this Christmas season, as we search for Jesus, he is to be found not on the side of Rome, but our side of the wall. He’s in a cave, with a simple family, an occupied family, he’s vulnerable. Barely, and miraculously surviving a massacre. Among a refugee family. This is where Jesus is to be found today.
If Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza. When we glorify pride and richness, Jesus is under the rubble…
When we rely on power, might, and weapons, Jesus is under the rubble…
When we justify, rationalise, and theologize the bombing of children, Jesus is under the rubble…
Jesus is under the rubble. This is his manger. He is at home with the marginalised, the suffering, the oppressed, and displaced. This is his manger. I have been looking and contemplating on this iconic image…. God with us, precisely in this way. THIS is the incarnation. Messy. Bloody. Poverty. This is the incarnation.
And this child is our hope and inspiration. We look and see him in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble. While the world continues to reject the children of Gaza, Jesus says: “just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” “You did it to ME.” Jesus not only calls them his own, he is them! He is the children of Gaza.
We look at the holy family and see them in every family displaced and wandering, now homeless in despair. While the world discusses the fate of the people of Gaza as if they are unwanted boxes in a garage, God in the Christmas narrative shares their fate; He walks with them and calls them his own.
So this manger is about resilience and the resilience of Jesus is in his meekness; is in his weakness, is in his vulnerability. The majesty of the incarnation lies in its solidarity with the marginalised. Resilience because this very same child, who rose up from the midst of pain, destruction, darkness and death to challenge empires; to speak truth to power and deliver an everlasting victory over death and darkness. This very same child accomplished this.
This is Christmas today in Palestine and this is the Christmas message. Christmas is not about Santa, trees, gifts, lights…. My goodness how we twisted the meaning of Christmas. How we have commercialised Christmas. I was in the USA last month, the first Monday after Thanksgiving, and I was amazed by the amount of Christmas decorations and lights, all the and commercial goods. I couldn’t help but think: They send us bombs, while celebrating Christmas in their lands. They sing about the prince of peace in their land, while playing the drum of war in our land.
Christmas in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, is this manger. This is our message to the world today. It is a gospel message, it is a true and authentic Christmas message, about the God who did not stay silent, but said his word, and his Word was Jesus. Born among the occupied and marginalised. He is in solidarity with us in our pain and brokenness.
This message is our message to the world today – and it is simply this: this genocide must stop NOW. Why don’t we repeat it, STOP this Genocide NOW.
This is our call. This is our plea. This is our prayer. Hear oh God. Amen.”
- Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac
