Tag Archives: Bethlehem
Christmas Reflections: Remembering Bethlehem, Seeking Peace
… as Christians we still have a duty to speak up against war crimes, racism, and injustice, even if that means we are accused of antisemitism or of being on the side of terrorists. If we are to celebrate Christmas and sing carols with integrity then we must speak up against all violence in the Holy Land, even if our calls for peace are misinterpreted or misrepresented. Continue reading
Sermon: Epiphany 2024
The magi, as Gentile foreigners, would be able to get through the checkpoint into Bethlehem in the same way that I did when I visited. It would now be illegal under Israeli law for Herod and his court to enter, though. Jewish Israelis are forbidden from visiting and seeing Palestinians as ordinary people, living in their own homes, which makes it easier to convince them that all Palestinians are terrorists who want to kill them. Herod’s soldiers would still be able to raid Bethlehem, as the IDF did this Christmas. Mary and Joseph would need to go through multiple checkpoints on their flight to Egypt, and arguing that they needed to do so to save the life of their baby might not work. Continue reading
Sermon: No Christmas in Bethlehem
It is important for us as Christians to do this, because Christianity is so profoundly implicated in the violence in Israel and Palestine. One of the reasons that many Jewish Israelis believe that their state must be a fortress is because of the centuries of Christian antisemitism the culminated in the twentieth century in the Holocaust. And one of the reasons that the United States government provides Israel with weapons is because of the strength of Christian Zionism in the USA. Continue reading
Sermon: Jesus the refugee and the tragedy of Bethlehem
Sermon for Williamstown Uniting Church Epiphany, January 4 2015 Matthew 2:1-12 For the past month or so the soundtrack of my life has been Christmas carols. I’ve heard them whenever I’ve been shopping; I’ve played them while driving in my … Continue reading
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