In the Christian world, it is believed that Jesus was born and continues to be born every Christmas. How is it possible that a man executed more than 2000 years ago is still alive? This is the mystery of the Christian faith, the conviction that Christ conquered death, and not any death, but death on the cross, that is completely naked, tortured and crucified with nails in his extremities and hung from a wood, and has risen on the third day.
This man, Jesus of Nazareth -or Yeshua, whose name means “God saves”-, is the protagonist of the commemoration that we celebrate every 25th December in almost all the world of Christian tradition.
During his life, Jesus was a figure filled with hope for many, especially those who suffered under the yoke of the Roman Empire. However, that hope became a disappointment to some, particularly among the Jewish religious leaders such as the Pharisees, when they realized that their message was not exclusive to the Jews but included all nations. Jesus proclaimed a universal love, making clear: “You will love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) and “For this they will know that they are my disciples if they love one another” (John 13:35).
His message was radical and deeply challenging to the religious and political power structures of the time. Jesus was, as Simeon foretold in the temple during his presentation: “a sign of contradiction” (Luke 2:34).
Today, Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church and considered Christ’s representative on earth, has made significant gestures. Among them, the appointment of Fernando Natalio Chomali Gharib as a cardinal, a man of Palestinian origin and grandson of Palestinian immigrant grandparents, is an act that values the roots and dignity of the Palestinian people within the Church.
Pope Francis also expressed his closeness to the suffering of the people of Gaza in his own words: “I am with the displaced, those who have fled from the bombs, with the mothers who mourn their dead children, with the children whose childhood was stolen, with all those who have no voice and suffer the consequences of conflict”. He has also denounced “What is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide. Should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits the technical definition formulated by international jurists and organizations”.
Another deeply symbolic gesture has been the recently presented manger, where the Baby Jesus lies wrapped in a kufiya, the traditional Palestinian handkerchief. This detail moves and invites us to reflect on those who suffer, particularly in Bethlehem-the land where Jesus was born-and in other war-affected parts of the world. In this scene, the Pope reminds us: “In front of this manger, we remember those who, in Bethlehem and in other parts of the world, suffer the tragedy of war”.
Yes, Jesus, the God who saves, was born in Palestinian territory. In this place, the Word became flesh, revealing himself to the world in a human form. It is mysterious that the word had to be incarnated to dwell among us to indicate the way. There is a passage in the New Testament from the life of Jesus that perfectly reveals today’s reality “As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, saying: If you too would know on this day the message of peace! But now it has been hidden from your eyes».
Yes, God saved and conquered death. More urgently, this Christmas should lead us not to be blinded by the children who are dying today and those born in Palestinian territory who have been unable to survive. These lives cannot be hidden from our eyes.
The commitment to the word made flesh requires us to build new narratives and new imaginaries from which a new humanity emerges. The word must be a source of hope and not of wickedness. The narrative justifying war cannot be imposed on the silence of the cries of thousands of Palestinians who have died and will continue to die if we do not understand that Christmas, stripped of all consumerist meaning, We are confronted with the presence of a child who challenges us with these questions:
“What if I were born again in Bethlehem? What would you be doing?“
What if the children of Palestine today were waiting for a messiah to take them away and free them from so much misery, but they would find no answer in the Christians? Perhaps they would write on a paper plane, hoping that it will cross the walls and sneak through our windows, these verses by the Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish
«I am the victim!». «No, I am
the only victim!». They did not reply:
«One victim does not kill another.
And in this story there is a killer
And a victim». They were children,
They collected the snow from the cypresses of Christ
And they played with the angels because they had
The same age…
