by Carol Ekdahl-Garwood

In Matthew 18:6 (NIV), Jesus warned “if anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

As we enter this season of Advent, and our minds turn to celebrating the birth of Jesus, the image of “Christ in the Rubble” in Manger Square in Bethlehem last year looms foremost in my mind.  Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, lamented last year over the deaths in Gaza and preached “If Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza. If we, as Christians, are not outraged by the genocide, by the weaponization of the Bible to justify it, there is something wrong with our Christian witness, and we are compromising the credibility of our gospel message.”

I have been fortunate to be a part of two separate delegations to Palestine/Israel during 2024, the last trip taking place at the end of August and ending during the first week of September.  This trip was as part of a Sabeel delegation whose objective was to provide solidarity and a protective presence in different areas of Palestine.  We visited refugee camps, villages and farms that are under constant threat from illegal Israeli settlers, and a house that had been demolished in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. We also met with the mother and aunt of Layan Nasser (age 23) in Birzeit who was arrested and placed in administrative detention with no charges, and others.  

One of the promises that the delegation members made to each other at the end of the trip was to return to our countries and commit to sharing what we had learned and witnessed. This was the seventh time that I have traveled to Palestine/Israel since 2011, so I have seen and witnessed a great deal over the years.  I have made dear friends in the region and look forward to making contact with them while I am there.  I have been blessed to watch as their children grow, but I can not help but wonder what kind of a future that land holds for them.

As I return home and share with others what I have seen each time I visit, I weep for the children most of all.  Today, I see images of children being killed in Gaza, thousands of them, and I wonder “Where is God in all this madness? How many children must die before the world will stop this insanity?”

Jesus was very protective of the children, as we can see in the passage from the book of Matthew.  As Christians, Jesus calls us to also be protective of children. I asked one of my Palestinian friends a few years ago “Where does your hope come from?” His reply was “I don’t hold any hope for myself, but my hope is for my children.”

During this most recent trip, when we went into Palestinian villages, the children would run up to the members of the delegation and wanted them to play soccer (football) with them. Members of our group obliged and the joy in the faces of the children just having people pay attention to them and play with them was magical.  

A professional photojournalist was part of the group and he had two of his cameras (expensive ones, I’m sure) with him. The children were fascinated and he let them put the strap around their neck and take pictures with his cameras.  They would snap some pictures, and then all of the children would gather around and look at the images on the camera screen. There was arm wrestling, kids helping us get on the donkeys for a ride, and excitement as they told us about themselves. However, we knew that their joy would be short lived when we were gone, as they would again be frightened not knowing when the Israeli military or the illegal settlers would again come to harass and possibly beat them. It is especially heartbreaking to see these children having to live under constant threat and continual fright.

As we approach Christmas and celebrate the birth of Christ in the United States, the Palestinians will not be celebrating again this year as the war and occupation continue. They will not celebrate until the killing and injustice stop.

Let us all pray for God’s children during this season of Advent…. ALL of God’s children, as we reflect on the blessings that we have received, and those children of God who have nothing. 

Carol Ekdahl-Garwood
Co-Chair UMKR Steering Committee