Epiphany
On A Different Path
“And the magi, having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
left for their own country by another road.”
Mathew 2:12
“According to Israeli officials the Iraqi nationals were carrying massive
amounts of flammable substances known as frankincense and myrrh.
The three alleged terrorists were also carrying gold presumably to finance
the rest of the their mission.”
(from Ari Edwin in Santa in Distress, Three Wisemen Arrested)
January 6 marks the day in the Western Christian tradition that the three Wise Ones arrived at the manger. It is the beginning of the season of Epiphany, the season when the light was manifest to the world. According to Webster epiphany means “ an appearance or manifestation of God: a moment of sudden intuitive understanding, a flash of insight or an experience that occasions that moment.” The Magi came in search of the Christ Child. They came from the East, most likely modern day Iraq. They were seekers, stargazers, priestly pagans, and contemplatives seeking truth. They were non-Jews, Gentiles. They are we.
Their appearance in Herod’s court spells trouble for Herod cannot bear the idea that his imperial power could be trumped by another king. From the beginning the Wise Ones reject paying homage to Herod’s imperial authority. Their first act is to refuse to bow. Their second will be to bow to the newborn king and their third will be to refuse to return to the court and tell Herod where the baby is. Father John Dear, veteran peace activist in his Advent Reflections for 2007, states that these acts of non-cooperation prepare us for the meeting of the God of nonviolence. “When one first meets the God of nonviolence, one’s first act is to worship. The second is to repudiate the false imperial gods, disobey standing orders to partake of killings, head back on a different path, resist the culture of violence.”
On bended knee they offered gifts suited for royalty: gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for anointing the dead. They anticipated the outcome of a peaceful God into a world of empire building and war. They had no illusions how dangerous Herod would be even in his decline and so take another way home. Their refusal to obey orders and report on the birth is a blatant act of nonviolent resistance to governmental power. They “non-cooperate" with Herod.
And so should we. If we have truly met or celebrate the coming into the world again of the Prince of Peace, then our response should be manifest in our gifts and actions. So let us join the Wise Ones on bended knee and let us follow that different path too by resisting our culture of violence and all its manifestations.
For many Wise Ones of our day, the kairos moment is now for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. Time is running out for a two state solution and the drum beats of war making with Iran can be heard in the near distance. It has also been four years, 2009, since the Christian Palestinians issued their document Kairos Palestine, ”A Moment of Truth: a word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering” calling us to “come see” and take actions to end the occupation.
It is time to take a different path, a path that honors the true message of the Prince of Peace. “It’s time to move forward as human beings who are all made in the image of God. All who are able to speak the truth to power must speak it. All who would break the silence surrounding injustice must break it. All who have something to give for peace must give it. For Palestine, for Israel and for a troubled world, it’s time for peace” (from Prayer from World Week of Peace in Palestine Israel, May 29-June 4, 2011).
In mid December, on the anniversary of Kairos Palestine, another meeting was called; this time for others to join called Kairos for Global Justice Encounter. Over 60 people gathered from 15 countries to wrestle with the essential question, according to Tom Getman, one of the US attendees “How do you want the wider faith community to call attention to the criminal, even self-destructive behavior of Israel, out of concern for Jews as well as Arabs?
Getman in his article in Sojourners, Heeding the Bethlehem Call: Freedom Comes from Tenacity, further comments that “We know this it is impossible to break down the physical and political walls by force so the non-violent options of boycott, divestment, and sanctions are an obvious option. Maybe the shame and isolation of not only Israel but also the wider enabling world as in the Apartheid South Africa era will further the cause?"
To read Getman’s whole article go to:www.sojourners.com/.../heeding-bethlehem-call-freedom-comes-tena.
Pauline Coffman from the Middle East Task Force of the Chicago Presbytery and member of the Israeli/Palestine Mission Network also attended this international gathering. In her article titled Answering the Call from Bethlehem: Communities of Resistance and Solidarity for IPMN she wrote, “As other countries spoke, I heard “solidarity with the Palestinians” repeatedly. The words came easily after that. Christians in the US can offer solidarity. In fact, I have a favorite book on my shelves at home that is worn out. It is by Sharon Welch, called Communities of Resistance and Solidarity: a Feminist Liberation Theology. In the book, she writes about the difficulty in making change. The hegemonic veil that covers us is very strong. The best we can hope for is that the “communities of resistance and solidarity” can band together to poke holes in that veil and let the light of change come in. In fact, it is the light of hope in God’s promises that shows us the way.”
The Kairos Global Justice Encounter conference has issued a Call as one way to move forward, to poke holes in this veil. The Bethlehem Call: Here We Stand—Stand With Us is primarily a call for all of us to develop a Kairos consciousness based on witness. For as the document says, “Kairos is both the recognition of God’s will and the urgency of our response. It is in the awareness of a God of the Now, who is deeply involved in the human predicament. God keeps us steadfast in courage, hope, and love as we continue to struggle and resist.”
The document chronicles the current state of dismal affairs in terms of what people have witnessed--- the new “facts on the ground” in Palestine and Israel and the facts about the achievements and shortcomings of the global BDS movement. It calls for a “radical change of hearts, policies, and practices of the Israeli government and those governments that support it.” It provocatively even calls for those governments to fall if this doesn’t happen. I suspect it is comments like this last one that have brought forth strong criticism from the Jewish community already as witnessed by comments on the United Church of Christ’s website where the Call as been uploaded.
Equally provocative (and doable) are the calls for action based on recognition that this is about dismantling Israeli Apartheid. BDS as well as support for alternative tourism that utilize the “Come and See: A Call from Palestinian Christians for Ethical Tourism” is clearly stated and affirmed.
The Bethlehem Call: Here we stand – Stand with us - A new document produced in Bethlehem December 2011 by Kairos Palestine
“When one first meets the God of nonviolence,
one’s first act is to worship.
The second is to repudiate the false imperial gods,
disobey standing orders to partake of killings,
head back on a different path,
resist the culture of violence.”
Are we ready? Are there enough of us with a Kairos consciousness to make a difference? Now that the words ‘apartheid” has been used in a public document, does this then commit us to a firmer call for BDS in our faith communities? I share the opinion along with the Wise Ones and others that BDS is the nonviolent global action that will finally force Israel to end the occupation and negotiate a just peace.
The path will stir up questions and trouble like how do we proceed if the very mention of the word apartheid or BDS sends our denominations and their leaders into a panic or a censored boycott of their own against these powerful terms and demands? It begs us to consider if we should continue to spend time amending or passing resolutions at our annual meetings about calls for a Just Peace if we don’t or can’t follow up with actions with real financial consequences? Has the kairos moment come for us to move beyond organizing Christians and move with activists from other groups including other faith leaders to end the occupation and the US’s unconditional support?
Jim Wall, former editor of Christian Century in his latest blog post which was also published on The Electronic Intifada, claims that the moment is now too for churches to pay attention to Israel’s Occupation. His review of Rifat Odeh Kassis’ book, Kairos for Palestine leads him to examine the origins of the Kairos Palestine’s document and whether or not it promotes BDS. He also examines the use of the word kairos, which leads him to side with his fellow Christians in Palestine and now the world that indeed the time is now “for the world to recognize and acknowledge that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is unjust, immoral, illegal and destructive.”
To read the whole article go to Analysis for Rifat Kassis's latest book "Kairos for Palestine"
It’s the right moment for churches to pay attention to Israel’s occupation by James M. Wall, The Electronic Intifada, 23 December 2011
Let me end with this prayer that Rifat Kassis ended his opening remarks with at the beginning of the Global Encounter as it best captures the spirit and nature of both The Bethlehem Call and what is required of us to follow a different path:
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, at half truths and superficial relationships so that we may live deeply within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation. May God bless us with tears to share for those who suffer in pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. And may the blessing of the God of Abraham and Sarah, and Jesus born in Bethlehem of our sister Mary, and of the Holy Spirit, who broods over the world as a mother over her children, be upon us and remain with us always. Amen.
Our sending song is Free Palestine from One World
* Kassis’ book does not have an American or UK publisher yet. You can read a long essay on this topic at this link
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