#elcapastor

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to tour the Holy Land with a group of friends and pastors. During this trip, we had the most amazing opportunity to experience Orthodox Christmas Eve and Epiphany on January 6, 2023, in Manger Square, Bethlehem, Palestine.

As we walked down Star Street - aptly named because it's the road Mary and Joseph would have traveled and it is lined with stars - I could feel the excitement growing. I could hear music and laughter, local delicacies being shared among our group, and people celebrating at every twist and turn of the road.

(Looking back down Star Street as we approached Manger Square)

I remember making the final turn that brought Manger Square into view. It was filled with lights, music, and so much joy. There was a humongous Christmas tree and so many people celebrating. It felt almost like a carnival with all the food and music.

(To read more about this incredible night click here)

All this magic, for Orthodox Christmas Eve on January 6th. I can only imagine what it would be like to stand in Manger Square on Christmas Eve, December 24th. I can only imagine it would probably be even busier but even more joyful.

I've never seen such festivities for Christmas. Growing up, we celebrated by going to church which was always filled with poinsettias. My favorite part was singing Silent Night by candlelight. After church, we would sometimes go "Christmas light hunting" as we drove around town looking at everyone's displays.

Our Christmases were always magical, but they were nothing like what I experienced at Manger Square in Palestine. That was a whole lot of Christmas magic fueled by people devoted to a God who loves us so much, that God decided to come to walk the earth. A God born as a helpless baby to an unconventional family living under occupation in distressing and difficult times. A God who went on to inspire others to live a life of love for all people: the poor, the outcast, the overlooked, the foreigner.

This God, who, on the final night before his death, washed the feet of his friends and his betrayer, and taught them one final lesson to "Love one another, just as I [God] have loved you" as recorded in John 13:34. This is the God we celebrate at Christmas.

But this year, the holidays feel a little different. The world is heavy. There is war in the Holy Land. There's political turmoil, it feels like everywhere. Natural disasters, human-made disasters, gun violence, war, you name it; the world is hurting.

In November 2023, the heads of the churches in Jerusalem put out a notice that in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing war, the Christmas celebrations in Jerusalem would be focused on the spiritual meaning of Christmas, rather than any extravagant festivities as would normally occur. Click here to read the statement.

At the beginning of December, Bethlehem decided to do the same. Down came the tree and twinkling lights that light up Manger Square. Instead of the grand festivities, the focus is on worship. Celebrating the God who is born into the rubble, who understands the pain of oppression, and who calls for justice and love for all people.

I am humbled by the decisions of the churches and I am moved by the nativity scene set up at Christmas Lutheran Church in Manger Square. Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of Christmas Lutheran, says this about the nativity scene:

Christmas in Palestine this year. The Child under the rubble. Immanuel God is with us in our pain and suffering. God in solidarity with the oppressed. The child of Bethlehem is our hope. For the children of Gaza and all victims of wars. In Gaza today, God is under the rubble. [God] is in the operating room. If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble. We see his image in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble. In every child in incubators. Manger at Christmas Lutheran Church Bethlehem

This year, my congregation is journeying through the theme "How Does a Weary World Rejoice," created by the team at A Sanctified Art. The theme invites us to hold our weariness this Advent season while recognizing that we can also hold joy.

How does a weary world rejoice? I think we can rejoice by taking a lesson from the churches and people of Palestine. We can hold joy and celebrate the Christmas season but we must first acknowledge our weariness. By naming the hurt and pain of this season, we can begin to see joy as well.