Jesus is Born

Even with all my critiques of institutionalized Christianity, the evil of Christian nationalism, and all the church hurt I see on a daily basis, I still believe. I still believe that the birth of Jesus means something, to me, to women of color, and to the world. 

The reason I like Advent so much, is that it takes me back to a moment before all the distortion 

And this year, as we consider the reality that the city of Bethlehem has been under military occupation since 1967 and that Palestinians born in Bethlehem are born into apartheid, I am reminded again that we need the birth of Jesus to mean something in this world. 

Reverend Munther Isaac a pastor in Bethlehem, occupied Wester Bank, has preached repeatedly that “If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble and Israeli shelling.”

Jesus gets called the Prince of Peace a lot this time of year. But his followers are so often known for violence, colonialism, and militarism. 

That’s why Advent is such a sacred practice. Each week during Advent, we are given the invitation to rewind. To wade through thousands of years of empire and distortion. I imagine a baby born to an astute and thoughtful young Jewish woman, the astrologers who followed the stars, the angels who were filled with a song. I let my imagination breathe with what that moment meant. I let hope pull me back to center. I think about the fact that Creator came because God so loved the world- not because God wanted to judge humans into oblivion. That the birth of Creator was birthed out of love for all of humanity and all of creation. And the way of Jesus was not militarism, or empire, authoritarianism or coercion. It was vulnerability, humanity, relationship, community, and tenderness. 

It was a life in solidarity with refugees, the poor and displaced, those thrown around by the the egos of insecure leaders, and the weight of empires. 

Jesus is born. 

Peace on earth. 

A prayer for our times.