As we get ready to gather with loved ones to celebrate the joy of Christmas and close out 2023, I’m reflecting on what it means to have hope, joy, and light in dark times.

So many of us are watching the war in the Middle East with unfathomable grief, righteous anger, and bitter pain. Light and hope seem so hard to come by in a liturgical season that serves to prepare for the coming of our ultimate light and hope in our Lord. In the very land where God chose to take on human flesh and live among us, violence, suffering, and hatred are raging. It is hard to know when or how it will end.

In Bethlehem, our Palestinian siblings in Christ have canceled their public Christmas celebrations, saying they can’t celebrate while the lives of thousands of Palestinian children are snuffed out by Israeli airstrikes — not while the West Bank faces some of the worst outbreaks of violence against Palestinians by settlers and the Israeli military in recent memory. The nativity scene in Bethlehem and in many other churches around the world has been intentionally replaced by a solitary baby lying amid the rubble of a bombed building in order to urgently call attention to the horror that has been unleashed on the Palestinian people by the government of Israel, in response to the horror Hamas unleashed against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.

I have been grieving for all the families who have lost loved ones in Israel and Palestine, and praying without ceasing for an immediate end to the violence.

We know that there is no military solution to this crisis. No amount of violence will ever cause Israelis to give up their dream of a safe homeland for the Jewish people. No amount of military might — however disproportionate — will ever extinguish the Palestinian people’s desire for self-determination. Only political solutions that provide justice for all can bring safety and peace to those who live in the Holy Land.

The promised child of Isaiah’s prophecy is alone amid the rubble in Bethlehem, but Jesus’ birth and the Christmas story serve as constant reminders that Herod never has the last word. Jesus, the one who is called God with Us, the Light of the World, and the Prince of Peace, was indeed born in Bethlehem, which is even more poignant in such a time as this. We remember that our Messiah has come, and we know that someday he will fulfill the promise that “nation will not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they study war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). With fervent prayer and courageous action, may that day come soon.

Even as we face a climate crisis, extreme inequality, increasing threats to our democracy, and so much more, let us bear witness to the hope that continues to break through, and let us redouble our commitment to letting our own light shine in 2024 as we put our faith into action for peace and justice.

Wishing you and yours a blessed, joyful, and hopeful Christmas and holiday season,
Adam Russell Taylor

P.S. Thank you for your continued support, prayer, and action as we have sojourned together this year. We hope that you will consider including Sojourners in your charitable gifts this December, so we can continue to advance peace and justice together.

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