How many more children must die?
As parents, we do our best to raise our children well, provide shelter, food, clothes and safety. We dream big dreams for what our children will become as they grow up in this world. Parents want the best for their children and will do anything to protect them from any harm, evil or death.
January 6 is Epiphany, and it marks the day the three Magi arrived in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. This well told story of the three Magi which is often acted out in children’s Christmas pageants, holds a more frightful backdrop to Jesus’ birth narrative.
We celebrated Christmas 12 days ago when baby Jesus was born under Roman occupation and when King Herod was the king of Judea. The three Magi were looking for Jesus and King Herod told them to disclose Jesus’ exact location so that he can go ‘worship him’ too. Of course, King Herod had other plans and when the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, Herod was furious and ordered a genocide of all 2-year-old and under boys to be slaughtered in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and Mary fled with baby Jesus to Egypt to protect him and save him from the genocide.
2000 years later, another genocide is happening in the same region. Palestinians living under Israeli settler occupation are experiencing a genocide in Gaza with no end in sight. They have nowhere to flee even though Egypt is next door as they are unable to escape the genocide like Mary and Joseph did with baby Jesus.
The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is now over 22 000 where over 7000 of these deaths are children and thousands more are wounded and missing.
The world is watching this genocide in real time and so many around the world are protesting the murder of innocent civilians and children. Some of the biggest protests that we have seen in recent times are to free Palestinians and a call for ceasefire. But the political leaders are not listening to our cries for justice and a call to end the bombing of innocent civilians and children.
During this Epiphany, we need to remember that Jesus was born a Palestinian Jew. He sought refuge in Egypt from the horrific genocide happening in the same Palestinian region. When Jesus began his ministry, he taught us to love our neighbors as we love God. If we live out this simple commandment, we recognize that Palestinians are God’s children and we must do everything to protect them, provide them clean water, food, clothes, and life.
Epiphany 2024, we lament the deaths of over 22 000 innocent Palestinian lives and cry for justice to come to the region where Jesus was born and the Magi’s had visited.
Special Events:
1.Join me at Space for Grace and Spiritual Caregivers Conference, April 9-11, 2024.
2.Join Homebrewed Christianity’s new Emerged Podcast co-hosted by Drs. Tripp Fuller and Tony Jones.
3.Give a gift of "Loving Life" to a friend or become a founding member of “Loving Life”. This is a reader supported substack and this special runs till January 14th. Thank you so much for your loving support.
Loved how you highlighted the parallels of an unsanitized biblical story/reality.