Dear Editor,
Around the world, Christians will celebrate Christmas, attending services, giving gifts, and practicing other traditions that bring joy to children, watching Christmas movies, and reading about the humble birth of the Son of God in a manger. This time of year is supposed to be one filled with joy, laughter, meals, and music, but in Jesus’ homeland, millions of families will beg and suffer, while the world is afraid or unwilling to speak out, prioritizing their own comfort.
In 2024, I ask these Christians, where was Jesus born? This holiday, this question is not politics, is not a partisan issue, it’s not an elephant in the room, and it’s not “woke” activism, it’s a real question: where was Jesus born? Even before October 7, 2023, Bethlehem was an occupied town. Its residents, including some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, live under military rule. Soldiers patrol the streets, and civilians, including children, are arrested by soldiers. Traveling a few city blocks takes hours on end, and Christians at this time of year need permits to go to Church. In reality, the sacred birthplace of Jesus looks the way it did when he was born in a manger: occupied, oppressed, and violent, making his birth a true symbol of hope. In 2024, the word “terrorist” is a new term for the oppressed because it is more acceptable to hurt people when you say, “but what about October 7?” I believe that King Herod labeled the newborn baby in Bethlehem a terrorist too, while today we call him the Savior of the world.
Who are you praying for and why? Out here in the Pacific, we pray in thanksgiving that we live in peace, almost forgetting that at least here in Palau, we were a nation that once suffered a war and a nation conceived in violence. When you pray, do you ask God for more money to buy more material possessions? Or do we pray for 2 million people (1 million children) forcibly displaced on land smaller than Babeldaob? Do we pray for them to at least have food, medicine, and water this Christmas? Do you pray for Christians in the village of Jesus’ birth to have dignity as they gather to pray? Do you pray for the land of Jesus’ birth as it is today and not as it is in your fantasies?
This Christmas, I will pray that Christians in Bethlehem can celebrate Christmas, and that children all over Palestine can be children. I will also make more prayers asking that Palauans, notably devout Christians, say no to genocide, say no to killing children, and say enough is enough and that the Compact (USA) does not supersede our humanity. Jesus, the son of God but born in a manger, the Messiah but the son of a teenage mother, and Jesus, an innocent child in the land of Palestine escaping the wrath of King Herod, who ordered the slaughter of all baby boys. I pray that if our news and social media existed then, we would not be rooting for Herod to kill the children. If Christmas is a holiday for the followers of Christ, please open your eyes and heart, as Jesus’ people are suffering. Each vote internationally in support of the genocidal oppressors is a sin for us. Each time we say, “who cares?” we have less of a right to ask “why do they not care about us” when our time comes to beg for help. Each time you look at a manger this Christmas, please know that children in Palestine are crying just like him.
“Good and Gracious God, Christ this year is born in rubble. He was born in bombed buildings, refugee camps, destroyed hospitals, tents, and is applying for asylum. His mother has no medicine and his father, the blessed saint, has been rounded up in a prison camp.
Lord, forgive those who cheer for them to be hurt, those who hurt them, and those too afraid to speak out. Forgive those who say we should care about ourselves more than the hungry, more than the thirsty, more than the sick, more than the naked, more than the homeless, and more than the dead because they are the ‘enemy.’ Lord, forgive those who say it’s okay to hurt children because they had no choice, because there was a terrorist somewhere, or that someone has to pay. You, Lord, are our Judge and see all, so we offer our prayers.
We pray for children in Palau to spend quality time with their parents, we pray for these families to pray for those in Bethlehem. We pray for all children to be able to enjoy carols, Christmas lights, gifts, food, and family. We pray that the Palauan people and people around the world turn their hearts and cry for the poor and the oppressed, and pray for the healing of the oppressor.
Despite this, we pray thanking you for the good in the world, however small, believing that you are there. We pray in thanksgiving for the one boy who smiled again, for those protesting, and for those condemning what is so wrong. We ask you to bless the countless mothers crying for families not their own, the fathers healing and rebuilding the land of your Son, the churches praying, and the world leaders asking for wisdom to do what is right, no matter how hard it may be. We pray that here in Palau, we set aside the evil of desiring and worshipping money and status for the humanity we have for our brothers and sisters who are suffering.
Grant us wisdom, grant us patience, grant us love, and guide us to welcome Baby Jesus from the rubble to our hardened hearts.”
Amen
-Concerned Citizen