CHRIST IN THE RUBBLE
During this special time of advent, we prepare our hearts to celebrate the first coming of Jesus into our world over 2000 years ago.
The world that Jesus was born into was not all that different from ours today. Palestine at that time was a conquered land, its population suffering under the rule of the Roman Empire. The suffering of the people was extensive – massive loss of life, famine, enslavement, the destruction of holy sites, forced displacement, and oppressive taxation which resulted in widespread poverty. Revolts against Roman rule were brutally put down; punishments were severe and insurrectionists were either put to death by crucifixion or sold as slaves thereby fuelling a large-scale diaspora. It was into that world, that Jesus came as a vulnerable infant, child of a refugee family.
Parallels with events in the Middle East today are clearly evident.
In his book, Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian pastor ministering in Bethlehem issued a passionate lament for the people of Gaza. He called on world leaders to raise their voices in outrage and condemn the genocide taking place in the land of Jesus’ birth. He challenged Christian leaders to realign their beliefs and actions with Christ, who is to be found, not among perpetrators of violence, but with victims buried under the rubble of war.
He writes:
“If Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza.
When we glorify pride and richness, Jesus is under the rubble…
When we rely on power, might, and weapons, Jesus is under the rubble…
When we justify, rationalize, and theologize the bombing of children, Jesus is under the rubble…
This is his manger.
He is at home with the marginalized, the suffering, the oppressed, and displaced.
This is the Incarnation. Messy. Bloody. Poverty”.
Let us pray:
Lord, in your coming, you did not wait for the wars to cease or peace to reign.
You came when “the fullness of time had come”. (Galatians 4:4)
You came at a time when a ‘cry was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more. (Matt 2:18)
You came and made your home among your people,
a people that was oppressed by a cruel, despotic, imperialist power;
a people living in poverty and fear,
a people broken by Roman rule,
despised and marginalised,
a people for whom there was no room in a world where only the rich and powerful counted.
‘You came unto your own and your own did not receive you’. (John 1:11)
Today, Lord, you take your place among us,
especially among those of us for whom there is no room in this world,
“those who do not belong, who are rejected by power……
those who are discredited, who are denied status of persons,
who are tortured, bombed and exterminated”. Thomas Merton
That is where you are present today, Lord
with all those for whom there is no room.
There was no room for you then, Lord.
Is there room for you now, today?
In this Advent season we pray:
‘Come Lord Jesus come.
We will make room for you.
With you, we will listen to the cries of the little ones
orphaned by the wars in Gaza and in so many other parts of the world.
We will stand in solidarity with those who seek justice and work for peace”.
May we, as disciples of Jesus who made his home among the outcast, continue to reach out to those for whom there is no room in our world, to those who do not belong and who are denied their rights as persons. We know that in welcoming and making room for the excluded, refugees, the homeless, we are making room for Christ.
Sr. Gemma Corbett
References: “The Time of the End is the Time of No Room” Thomas Merton.
“Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza” by Munther Isaac