Christ is Still in the Rubble

 

Rev. Isaac Munter

Do you recall the attention given to the Nativity display at a Lutheran church in the West Bank last year. It was called Christ in the Rubble and it invited us to consider the Christ Child amidst the destruction of war in that region rather than a traditional manger. The Rev. Dr, Isaac Munter, a Palestinian Christian, led a Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament service on December 23, 2023 

If Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza...[Christmas] is not about Santa, trees, gifts, lights, etc. My goodness, how we twisted the meaning of Christmas. How we have commercialized Christmas...Let it be clear: Silence is complicity, and empty calls for peace without a ceasefire and end to occupation, and the shallow words of empathy without direct action—are all under the banner of complicity...this genocide must stop now.

This year some North American congregations created their own Christ in the Rubble displays and I had mixed feelings. Drawing attention to the ongoing horror in Gaza and the West Bank is important yet the United States has provided billions in financial and military support to the government of Israel to continue its destruction. Canada has made the right noises about ending the bloodshed and has called for a two-state solution but this rings hollow. 

                                               Our Bombs Put Christ Under the Rubble

On a personal level I've wondered what more I could be saying and doing. There are Palestinian Christians who feel abandoned by the global Christian community. Many evangelical Christians are unwavering supporters of Israel yet give little or no attention to these brothers and sisters in Christ. It's been nearly 40 years since I first visited a Christian school in Bethlehem where the Palestinian principal made an empassioned plea for those of us present to support them in their oppression by Israel. This was an awkward moment with our lovely Jewish Israeli guide standing at the back of the room but I appreciate his outspokenness far more now than then.  

Again this Christmas the town of Bethlehem cancelled Christmas celebrations because of what is happening there and in solidarity with Gaza. While Christians are a tiny minority amidst a Muslim majority, starving and dying children are children regardless of colour or ethnicity or religion, precious to the Creator.