Seeking God in a Time of Genocide
by Jonathan Brenneman
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:16-18
This is how the “Christmas story” ends (in Matthew), with the death of every male child in Bethlehem. Amidst the exaltations of “Peace on Earth” and “Hosanna;” the gifts of the magi, and the elation of the shepherds, it is easy to miss the devastating political situation that surrounds the birth of Jesus.
The story (in Luke) begins with a pregnant teenager forced to give birth far from home due to the whims of an Emperor. It ends with the holy family fleeing as refugees to Egypt and a massacre against the children of Bethlehem.
As a Palestinian, looking at this story amidst the ongoing genocide of our people in Gaza, these aspects of the story resonate too well. As of my writing, nearly 5,500 children have been killed by the Israeli bombing. We don’t know how many will die of hunger and thirst, because Israel has not allowed food or water to the million people they have made homeless. (Written prior to the four day truce that was just negotiated on Friday, November 24 and the current 2 day extension.) There are 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza. half of them have lost their homes to Israeli bombs. They have had to flee. In the damaged and under-resourced hospitals, there are no beds left among the tens of thousands of injured people. Many of these women will be giving birth with no clean water, no food, no shelter, and no safe hospital. They are in a situation like Mary, having to birth in an unfamiliar and unsafe place.
The horrors of Israel’s atrocities against all the people of Gaza is hard to witness. I take some solace in the Christmas story in these times, because in the midst of the forced displacement and massacre in the story, God shows up. God is there in a more tangible way than ever! God took the form of the most vulnerable, a child of an oppressed and targeted population.
Instead of looking away, or becoming numb, let us join with God’s work of seeking peace by being with the most vulnerable in Palestine, in our own communities, and anywhere in the world.
When we see the devastating images coming out of Gaza, let us remember that in the midst of a political tragedy. God is with us: “Immanuel.” And as we seek God in these times, let us see God is in the face of the oppressed. Let us uplift the cries of Palestinians and people of peace around the world calling for a ceasefire now. We dare not do this alone. As the Holy family was surrounded and supported by shepherds and wise men, let us rely on one another. You can invite your church to join Apartheid-Free communities, a network of religious communities dedicated to ending Israeli Apartheid. What is one thing you can do this week, in your community to practice peace?
Jonathan Brenneman is a Palestinian-American Christian who grew up in the Great Lakes watershed, St. Marys, Ohio (traditional Shawnee land). Jonathan was a frontline activist of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Palestine project in Hebron/Al-Khalil from 2012 to 2014. After his time with CPT he completed a Masters at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. That program included a six-month internship in Cape Town, South Africa fighting for more just land policies. Jonathan was the Israel/Palestine Partners in Peacemaking Coordinator for Mennonite Church USA, where he facilitated the writing, passing, and implementation of the Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine Resolution. Jonathan continues to work for Palestinian liberation through connecting the Palestinian decolonial struggle with those of other indigenous peoples, and challenging theologies of domination.