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| Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb |
As Advent begins in Bethlehem...
By Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
It is Sunday morning, the first Advent. The streets of Bethlehem are deserted, very unusual
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| Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb |
for such a day and such an occasion. A strange silence overshadows the area. It is a silence crying loud towards heaven. The silence is disrupted every now and then with the sound of two Israel Military tanks roaming the streets and announcing curfew: Mamnou’ attajawul.. “Moving is forbidden…leaving homes is forbidden…” In other words, “You are prisoners. Stay where you are otherwise you are violating the holy military rules…you will be put in prison.”
I sneaked out to ring the bells of Christmas Lutheran Church at 10.00 a.m. For me this was an act of nonviolent resistant. We will not let them steel from us even the sounds of the bells calling for worship. At 10:30 Rev. Sandra Olewine and myself gathered at the church entrance for worship. We put our advent purple stoles on, although we are not sure if any one will be able to make it to church on this Sunday. At 10:30 we rang the bells, while the first 7 people were already gathered in the sanctuary. One of the young people asked if today is the first Advent, since he could not see the Advent wreath. He is right. We could not get pine branches to weave the wreath, since Bethlehem has been under curfew for the last ten days. But even under curfew and in spite of the lack of a wreath, we still wanted to celebrate the Advent of the Lord. We had to miss the Organ sound too. Our organist could not make it. He lives too far away from the church. But still at 10:40 there were 27 people gathered in the sanctuary. I could not believe my eyes. I knew how dangerous it is to be on the streets. But the 27 members, Children, youth and adults came to celebrate the first Advent because they wanted “to obey God more than men”.
As we were gathering, we read the words of St. Paul assigned for the first Advent: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” How challenging and comforting were these words. Challenging because the “night” of the 35-years old occupation is very long and seems endless. It feels as if we are still at mid night, in the middle of a long and dark tunnel with no light at its end. The day of freedom and life in dignity seems far and not at hand. How else can we explain the arrogance of the Israeli occupation, which reoccupied Bethlehem shortly before Advent and the Christmas Season, demonstrating that they do not care for the whole Christian World? If they wish they can smash the “little town of Bethlehem”. It is too “little”, compared with the might of their tanks. Yet there is comforting good news in St. Paul’s words: The night lost its power. The Gospel calls us and empowers us to cast off the works of darkness and of occupation. The light of right is stronger than the power of might. The presence of the Church members, in spite of the curfew, was the best expression of this.
The first candle lit at Christmas Lutheran Church on this first Advent is an expression of the light of right. It starts small, one candle at first and then the second will follow and so on. What comforts us is that there are so many friends world wide lighting candles on our behalf, enabling us to continue to spread the light in a context of darkness, despair and hopelessness. So, when you light the Second Advent candle, please think of the power of light spreading all over the world; a light that will finally cast off the works of darkness and occupation, preparing for the coming of the Prince of Peace and the Source of Hope.