For the fourth week of Advent, December 22-24 | It is both terrible and comforting to dwell in the inconceivable nearness of God, and so to be loved by God that the first and last gift is infinity and inconceivability itself. But we have no choice. God is with us. - Karl Rahner | Thursday, December 19, 2024 | |
We’re almost at the end of our Advent season, the second Advent season in a row where much of our attention has been focused on the violence taking place in Palestine, specifically in Gaza.
On Wednesday, December 18, Churches for Middle East Peace (of which Pax Christi USA is a member) held a moving online vigil with religious leaders across the world, including Santa Fe’s Archbishop John Wester, praying for an end to the atrocities and for a permanent ceasefire. Use this link to watch the recording on YouTube.
>>Join us tonight (Thursday, Dec. 19, 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific) for the final PAX Mass of 2024, with celebrant Bishop John Stowe. Use this link to register if you have not already done so.
>>On Monday, Dec. 23, at 8:30 PM Eastern/5:30 PM Pacific, we’ll gather for our last weekly Advent prayer service. Use this link for more information. All are welcome for a brief time of reflection and the chance to meet in small groups with others to share.
2024 has been a busy, exhausting, and, for many, a painful and difficult year – though we have celebrated sweet joys and happy memories, too. We hope in the coming days – the end of Advent and the start of the Christmas season – you are able to find the rest that you need and the inspiration to continue the work of building the New Creation. (Make sure to read the reflection from our partner Zoughbi Zoughbi of the Wi'am Center for Palestinian Conflict Transformation below!)
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In peace,
Judy Coode
Communications Director
Pax Christi USA
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Holy God, we cry out to you as massacres in Gaza erase entire families. Even “safe zones” bring no refuge, and the hungry are struck down while seeking bread. We grieve the loss of so many lives, each one a world unto themselves—precious and irreplaceable. Though we cannot name them all, you know their faces, their stories, their dreams. We remember your promise: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Be near to those who grieve, to the wounded, and to the weary. Intervene for the people of Gaza, oh Lord, and bring justice to the oppressed.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
God of all nations, you who love justice and defend the oppressed. As the Syrian people stand on the threshold of a new era, we include them in our prayers. We ask for an end to violence and peace for the country. We pray for all who suffer from occupation, war and oppression, that they may soon experience justice and peace.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
God of the Oppressed, we cry out as our brothers and sisters continue suffering under the weight of oppression. Yet you, O Lord, are a God who sees, a God who acts. We ask you to shatter all systems of violence that defy your peace. In the face of destruction and unjust imprisonment, let the promise of freedom endure. Holy Spirit, strengthen the weary, uphold the imprisoned, and embolden the brokenhearted to hope.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
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Emmanuel, God who is with us, we thank you for the light that shines through your living stones. Despite the trials they face, they continue to keep hope alive in the land of your birth. We lift up the churches and institutions that offer support and solidarity, and we ask for your blessings on the upcoming ecumenical Christmas dinner. May it be a moment of joy, unity, and shared faith. Strengthen the hearts of those who work tirelessly to bring hope to their communities. This Advent, may the peace of Christ reign in the hearts of all, and may the light of your love break through the darkness, guiding us toward justice and freedom.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
God of justice and compassion, we lift up all Palestinian detainees and their families, who endure separation, suffering, and hardship. You see their pain, and you are near to the brokenhearted. We pray for the campaign launched by Friends of Sabeel North America, that it may build lasting connections of solidarity, love, and hope between congregations and those unjustly detained. May these relationships remind each detainee and their family that they are not forgotten, and that their struggle for justice is shared by a global community. Lord, may the power of your love and justice break through the walls of imprisonment and occupation.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
God of Liberation, we remember the words of Mary in the Magnificat: “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. “(Luke 1:52-53) Hear the cries of the oppressed and the marginalized, especially the women of Palestine, who bear the weight of suffering with strength and hope. We pray for their liberation, for the breaking of chains and the end of all forms of violence, patriarchy, oppression, and injustice. Like Mary, may we trust in your promise of freedom, knowing that you are at work in the world, even in the darkest times.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
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Hope isn’t guesswork or speculation; hope is an active, nonviolent struggle for justice and peace. Hope is shared among friends and allies. At Christmas what we in the Holy Land need most is hope—real, actionable hope, made visible, even tangible in partnership and solidarity. This is no time, then, for mere speculation. It’s a crisis of conscience, a moment of decision, a time to be counted. Hope insists, then, on discipline and action, even costly discipleship. And this kind of hope does not, will not disappoint us.
There’s no doubt that we are living under political and socio-economic conditions eerily similar to those facing peoples of this land when Jesus was born, 2,024 years ago. In those days, under a violent Roman occupation, Herod the Great massacred all children under the age of three—fearing the divine promise of liberation and the new world order that the baby Jesus symbolized. In their flight to Egypt for refuge, the Holy Family faced the many terrors of their own time—families crying, women trembling, and fear dominating every community and countryside.
Generations later, more than 50,000 have been killed and more than 200,000 wounded in just the last 14 months in Gaza. Seventy percent of those killed are children and women. More than a million women are without homes or safe shelter. At least 17,500 children were killed. We can say one child is killed every 30 minutes!!! Fear grips communities as homes are demolished, hospitals destroyed, schools reduced to rubble, and families erased for civil records. Ambitions are uprooted, dreams are assassinated, and human rights are denied. And amid this devastating despair, extremism, fundamentalism and racism thrive, leaving whole peoples hopeless and helpless. Though the Bible offers 365 assurances that we “be not afraid,” fear begets fear, and violence inspires vengeance.
Jesus’ story, however, did not end in his family’s flight to Egypt. This Christmas we remember that his commitment to God’s kingdom led him to resist every empire with love, overturn the many tables of injustice, and walk the Stations of the Cross in faith—embodying in all these ways an ongoing struggle against oppression and hate. If the spirit of Herod persists today, in so many places, its grip on the hearts of nations and peoples, so too does Jesus’ vision of nonviolent resistance and reconciling peace. By his word and in his steps, we are steadfast in our passion, in our collaboration, in our shared commitments to a world renewed and redeemed. ...
Use this link to read Zoughbi's entire message on the Wi'am website.
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Israeli authorities have deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population in Gaza by intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians … adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.
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In doing so, Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide. The pattern of conduct, coupled with statements suggesting that some Israeli officials wished to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, may amount to the crime of genocide.
- Governments and international organizations should take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, including discontinuing military assistance, reviewing bilateral agreements and diplomatic relations, and supporting the International Criminal Court and other accountability efforts.
Use this link to read the entire report, "Extermination and Acts of Genocide," on the Human Rights Watch website
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The Cut Ties with Genocide/Mask Off Maersk campaign, organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, is focused on Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping and logistics companies which directly ships military supplies to Israel, supplies that are used against the Palestinian people.
The campaign seeks to highlight Maersk’s role in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and apply pressure on them to:
- Stop transporting military cargo complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people, and
- Terminate all contracts that support war and genocide, including their contract with the US Department of Defense and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
We are invited to participate by either directly taking action at a Maersk facility or port (like Pax Christi New Jersey has done; see photo above of a recent action in Morristown NJ) OR by educating people about Maersk’s role and inviting them to sign on to the Mask off Maersk petition).
Use this link to learn more about the Mask Off Maersk campaign and find resources through this toolkit from Christians for a Free Palestine.
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Pax Christi USA
Weaving threads of peace for more than 50 years
202-635-2741 | 415 Michigan Ave NE, Suite 340, Washington, DC 20017
www.paxchristiusa.org
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