Crisis of Christmas Faith

 

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem Nativity Scene

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 5:1-10 NRSV

It is hard to celebrate the birth of Jesus, when the birthplace of Jesus is experiencing the ravages of war.  I wrote elsewhere about the Israel-Hamas conflict and Jesus' command to Christians about radical peacemaking in the midst of ongoing violence and death.  It is not only the Christian call to "make" peace, but to renounce any complicity that we may have in the ongoing violence.  As I shared before, this is not picking a side, as suggested in partisan political solutions, but advocating for all involved so that the eventual solution reflects shalom: the just flourishing and dignity of all inhabitants of Palestine.

Jesus' teaching in what we describe as the "Sermon on the Mount" are often seen as ethical standards for those who would seek to follow Jesus.  While I believe that Jesus did have ethical standards in mind, I do not believe that it was his highest priority.  A contextual analysis of the people of Palestine in the first century, reveals a very hard life among Palestinian people who were oppressed and faced daily injustices. There was no middle class as we think of it today and are often tempted to use our geo-political/economic perspectives as our hermeneutical (interpretive) lens. Most people in first century Palestine ate day to day, and taxes were not on the excess but often imperiled a family's ability to provide the basics of life.  Conditions were so violent and people so impoverished that their lives can best be described as "Post-Traumatic" (David Peters, Post-traumatic Jesus, 2023) 

To the original audience, Jesus speaks to their situation, not to their aspirations.  People were not being encouraged to be poor or humiliated, because they already were.  In Verse 5 above, Jesus speaks to a broken and humbled people, quoting Psalm 37:11 which reads:

"But the weak will inherit the land: they will enjoy a surplus of peace." (CEB)

What is interesting is that Jesus understands the context of Psalm 37 which was written to encourage God's people to remain committed to God despite adversity.  As Theologian Dennis Edwards describes (Humility Illustrated, 2023):

"Practically every verse leading up to the promise of Psalm 37:11 contains an admonition to maintain faithfulness toward God: Do not fret because of the wicked (Ps 37:1); trust in the Lord (Ps 37:3); take delight in the Lord (Ps 37:4); commit your way to the Lord (Ps 37:5); be still before the Lord (Ps 37:7)."

The psalmist assumes the injustice of its listeners as verse 8 exhorts "Stay away from anger and revenge.  Keep envy from you, for it only leads you into lies."(Ps 37:8 TPT).  Due to the injustice, the people of God are tempted toward revenge and anger and accepting the empire promoted paradigm that "might is right".  Jesus, in first century Palestine, understands that there are temptations to take revenge when people are continually oppressed and violated.  Jesus understands what modern therapists are beginning to articulate professionally, that systemic violence and oppression is always spiritual and emotionally formative. The church, particularly after the creation of historically nationalistic churches, is often tempted to promote hope as the alternative to peacemaking.  Political hope (things will eventually get better for us as things will naturally improve) nearly aways provides an obstacle towards the expression of justice-informed acts of faith (Miguel De La Torre, Resisting Occupation, 2022).  Therefore, Jesus promoted acts of faith that collaborated with God's activity in the world.  Committing your way to Lord is another way of committing to God life-giving, liberational ethic of love in advocacy.

Back to contemporary Bethlehem, where the majority of Christians are indigenous Arabic people who are without voice or political rights in their homeland.  The crisis is not only a catastrophic humanitarian situation, but also a crisis of faith for the global family known as the Church.  Further in Psalm 37, verses 27-29 read:

"Turn away from evil. Do good!  Then you will live in the land forever.  The Lord loves justice.  He will never leave his faithful all alone.  They are guarded forever, but the children of the wicked are eliminated. The righteous will possess the land; they will live on it forever." (CEB)

For generations, those who follow Jesus have understood that Jesus reflected the exact representation of God, the creator, based upon Scripture (Hebrews 1:1-3).  God, who loves justice, joins, guards, and advocates for the faithful and promises them shalom.  

But here is the crisis, entire generations of Palestinians have lived in countless wars with the systematic destruction and confiscation of their homes and land.  Numerous groups, in response have formed in order the liberate Palestine, some violently, others diplomatically.  Prior to the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza were already incredibly impoverished, without reliable access to clean water, employment opportunities, or basic healthcare.  With the onset of the war, which was provoked by a violent terrorist organization that does not represent a majority of people in the West Bank or Gaza, there has been a displacement of nearly a million people who are experiencing starvation, disease, and death on a genocidal scale.  

In the midst of this, is the church, welcoming Jesus who stated that he will never leave or forsake his followers.  Daily gruesome stories of children killed, churches and hospitals destroyed, while a watching world documents the starvation and sickness as it sets in.  

Jesus, like the Church of the Nativity suggests, is among the rubble. Jesus is among the wounded and those who have lost everything, despite not being participants in the war.  Jesus knows what that feels like as he was crucified despite doing nothing wrong. 

I find that the Church, particularly in the US, finds that the things of God and the ways of God are "foolishness" when it comes to issues of injustice.  Jesus' strictly non-violent solidarity with the poor and anti-empire message is often characterized as impractical and not appropriate for modernity.  This was our post-traumatic response to the great world wars of the twentieth century.  

Jesus insists that the way to life is through him and his approach to life (Jn 14:6).  Is this a suggestion, inspiration or do we believe God?  If you do believe that Jesus is who he said he is and has made promises to his followers, that include flourishing in the land as the fruit of faithfulness, then its time enter into peacemaking faith expressions.  No more peace-wishing, peace-keeping, or peace-proclamations but leverage what ever means is at our disposal to assist those who suffer, end the hostilities, and promote dwelling together in a just society.

"The movement toward shalom must be motivated by our love for others.  We don't seek peace for peace's sake but because the world of shalom is a better world for the people around us.  And how do we tell which side to take on thorny questions in our culture?  Well, we won't go wrong by choosing the most loving side of the question." (Kathy Khang and Matt Mikalotos, Loving Disagreement, 2023)

This is the crisis where the faithful of Jesus ask "Is the Lord among us or not?".  Is the Jesus-presence backed promised to bring peace just a ploy of political hope that keeps us distracted from doing the hard work of peacemaking, or is about to go from revealed to realized?

On this Christmas day, I ask that you imagine Jesus in the rubble, and ask God what is to be your faithful response.  I end with this challenge from South African and Yale theologian Allan Boesak:

"Such resistance [peacemaking] requires understanding, courage, the willingness to suffer, and pathos [emotive empathy].  The pathos of the revolution is most naturally the cause of the revolution.  The pathos of the Christian is for the spirituality of the struggle, for the realization of the dreams, hopes and aspirations of the people, for the dignity of their sacrifices, for the redemption of their future and for their unhindered participation in the shaping of history. It is for the subversion of the prevailing order until it conforms to the norms of the kingdom of God: justice, peace, wholeness, humanity, inclusion, and dignity." (Pharaohs on Both Sides of the Blood-Red Waters, 2017)