The Birth of Jesus
The Most Real Christmas Ever
When I was a little girl memorizing scripture for Christmas pageants, it was the King James Version of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.
2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The names of these towns and places are both ancient and new. According to many sources, Nazareth is a historic city of Lower Galilee, in northern Israel; it is the largest Arab city of the country. In the New Testament Nazareth is associated with Jesus as his boyhood home, and in its synagogue he preached the sermon that led to his rejection by his fellow townsmen. The city is now a center of Christian pilgrimage.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but according to Matthew and Luke in Christian scripture, he was born in Bethlehem—a small town in Judaea, a few miles south of Jerusalem—because Mary and Joseph had traveled there when she was pregnant. The Roman Empire was doing a census, and folks had to go back to their hometowns to be counted. Joseph, descendent of King David, traveled almost a week with his pregnant wife; her water broke, and she gave birth to Jesus in the hostel where the animals slept, because there was no more room in the people place.
Today, Bethlehem is in the West Bank, in Palestine. The Church of the Nativity is visited by Christians all over the world. I’ve been there, several times. There is a beautiful cave people bend down to see. It feels holy, even while crowded, to be close to this place, to experience the geography of this story.
Today, Nazareth is the largest Palestinian town in Lower Galilee, in Israel. I’ve been there, more than once. I’ve seen Mary’s Well, where tradition says she and Gabriel had that conversation about her giving birth to Jesus.
Today—and it seems like for forever—the geopolitical dynamics in Palestine/Israel/Gaza are complicated, mired in conflict about land, identity, and belonging. The West didn’t help. Christianity has not helped. Here is one article on Gaza that might help you learn some of the story. I didn’t write it and there are so many others. I am not vouching for all that is here, but I find it helpful.
I’ve been reading, listening, learning, praying for this region, since forever, or since my first trip there in 1993. My heart is broken at the ongoing genocide led by some of the leaders of Israel, whose people were killed in a genocide. This truth, this hard truth haunts. Especially at this moment, on the way to Christmas and Chanukah; with Ramadan coming in February—I wonder how can we even dare to mark these holidays unless we get real about the devastating number of children being born and then dying in war?
I’ve heard some of you say, “This does not yet feel like Christmas.” I understand. Yet, to me, this is the most real Christmas ever. We are seeing the places that mark the story. And the violence of empire is the backdrop now as it was then.
I just put up my Christmas tree. It was late, and I love Christmas trees. BUT bump this Christmas tree if I can’t speak the truth about the Middle East. Bump Christmas pageants and presents unless we acknowledge the gift of the truth about Jesus in the rubble, and unless our Christmas list includes a permanent ceasefire..
We’re going to worship on Sunday and tell the sacred story and have amazing music. Some of us are dressing up as our favorite characters in the drama. Do that if you can! But we will mark Christmas with the truth of Empire—then and now—weaving through our call to faith. Our faith calls us to truth and truth enables our liberation. The baby that is the reason for the season was born in a region dominated by Empire, repeatedly.
We don’t want to be on the side of empire, do we family? We want to be on the side of God’s realm on earth in which all the people are free and everyone has enough. We are called to reframe and reclaim Christian; we are called to love the hell out of the world and stand on the side of love.
Our Christmas worship is at 3:00p this Sunday at Judson Memorial Church. Come be with us to talk about liberation. And on Christmas Eve we will gather again at 7:00p.
AND if you want to look squarely at how to fix what White Christian Nationalism has broken; if you want to plot the love revolution we need to heal our souls and the world; if you want to organize for a more just society, get your ticket now to The Fierce Urgency of Now Conference, April 4-6, 2025, in person at Judson Memorial Church and online. Tix are $99 through the end of the year.
I love Christmas, I really do, and I want to celebrate it with the truth that will set us free. I’ve rev’d up about that. How about you?
P. S. Your year-end donations are tax-deductible and help us move the world toward love.