Christmas, Peace and the Wall
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
Bethlehem, December 23, 2003
Dear Friends,
Our Christmas message this year might sound a little unusual. For many it
might not be too “Christmassy”. Christmas has become the feast of “a sort of
peace” that no one really can fully describe. In fact, it is kind of a “cheap
peace”, which is something to preach about when one is not well prepared, or a
bit of wishful thinking, when one is not ready to do much. Personally, I am
bored with all of this talk about peace around Christmas time. Christmas has
become a season for “joyful peace talkers,” rather than “blessed peacemakers”.
In our Palestinian context, “peace talk” is often a good recipe for managing the
conflict rather than resolving it. As the world continues to talk peace, Israel
continues to build the wall and while Christians continue singing “O little town
of Bethlehem”, Israel makes sure that this town stays as little as possible. As
little as 2 square miles, surrounded with walls, fences and trenches with no
future expansion possibilities whatsoever.
No one understood what peace really is like St. Paul. He himself, a former
Jewish leader, a zealot, a persecutor, and a hard liner; he committed himself to
making sure that a wall of separation is built and kept between his community
and its enemies. He was ready to attack and even terrorize whoever dared to
question the importance of this wall for the security of his community. However,
this same radical person was radically transformed. He had a unique encounter
that made him discover what peace really means, and he described it as “breaking
down dividing walls of hostility.” (Ephesians 2, 14) From that moment, the
zealot Saul became the passionate apostle Paul. His great discovery was that if
God himself in Christ has broken the walls of hostility between the human and
the divine, then there is no place for walls between peoples, tribes, cultures
and nations. For his conviction, he was ready to pay a heavy price.
At a time when a wall of hostility is being built around our little town, we at
the ICB commit ourselves anew to breaking down all walls of hatred and
hostilities, be it concrete walls or ideological, racial, political, social, and
economical ones. From the hometown of Christ we have no other message this year
but this of St. Paul: “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups
into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between
us”. We wish you nothing less than to experience this transforming power of
Christmas to strengthen you in 2004 in your commitment to breaking down walls,
to peacemaking and to bridge building.
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
Pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church
General Director of the International Center of Bethlehem
Bethlehem, December 23, 2003
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