Happy New Year, dear Soulful Revolutionary!
I’m writing you today in anticipation of Epiphany, celebrated in Western Christianity on January 6. Epiphany is about the manifestation of Christ’s light and truth to all the peoples of the earth. The Magi — wise ones from the East — visit the Christ Child with their gifts. They then defy the autocrat who wants nothing more than to destroy the hope this child represents. Refusing to divulge Jesus’ whereabouts to King Herod, the Magi return to their homes by another way. The king then enacts a genocide, ordering the killing of all boys two and under, forcing Jesus and his parents to flee as refugees to Egypt.
Last January, inspired by this story, I convened a group of Christians for a Free Palestine to dispel the shroud of Christian Zionist propaganda through the power of collective truth-telling. Together, we participated in liturgy and reflected on lessons from the Magi, coming home to our common humanity by refusing to cooperate with genocide.
This conversation continues to be terribly timely, and so today I am sharing it anew. I hope you’ll attend to these wise and inspiring speakers with an ear to hear what these epiphanies inspire you to embody.
Featured panelists include:
* The Rev. Leyla Kamalick King, Palestinian American Episcopal priest and co-founder of Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies
* Palestinian theologian Daniel Bannoura
* The Rev. Halim Shukair, Lebanese priest of the Arabic-language faith community Mother of Our Savior Church in Dearborn, Michigan
* And other young Christian leaders for a Free Palestine: the Rev. Jean-Pierre Seguin, the Rev. Tory Moir, the Rev. Jerry Monroe Maynard, and Lana Melonakos-Harrison, and myself.
Here’s a highlight from Palestinian theologian Daniel Bannoura:
“We Palestinian Christians could not celebrate Christmas while our people are killed. We cannot celebrate while Muslims and Christians are killed incessantly in the Gaza Strip.
We are in mourning. We are grieving. Christ is born under the rubble. It is not a silent night. It is not a holy night. Nothing is calm and nothing is bright.
Here at this Christmas, we are reminded that Jesus was born in the midst of a massacre committed by the ruling authorities. We are reminded that Jesus was a refugee who was forced to leave his home with his parents because of the atrocities committed by the ruling authorities.
And so what would the Magi present to such a miserable child? Perhaps some gauze to wound up the lacerations on his body, perhaps some polluted water to clean the blood off of his body, perhaps a shroud to wrap around his dead body as it is laid in an unmarked burial site.
We're also lamenting, no, we are enraged by the seemingly unwavering Western Christian support for the mass death of Palestinian innocents in Gaza….
We refuse to give in, even when our siblings abandon us. We are steadfast in our hope, resilient in our witness, and continue to be committed to the gospel of faith, hope, and love in the face of tyranny and darkness.
I hope you’ll watch the full presentation and share it with your communities.
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