This is the time of renewal.
A year is coming to an end. Another begins.
At the turn of the calendar, it’s common for columnists like me to make predictions about what may or may not be in store, or alternatively, to offer discouraged readers reasons for hope amidst all the heartache and heartache.
I must admit that as a writer I have always longed to undertake either task. The first seems to me to be a meaningless endeavor, since playing fortune teller is a foolish act of hubris. The second is even more problematic, especially when the ever-elusive “silver lining” seems so far out of reach that it has faded into insignificance.
This year, like the last, will be remembered for watching, bereft and helpless, as Palestinians continue to fall victim to a genocide orchestrated by an apartheid regime gripped by an insatiable desire to kill and enabled by hypocrites , who insist that they are steadfast apostles of genocide, human rights and international law.
Day after day, Palestinians suffered the cruel consequences of this pathetic ploy. The number of dead and injured Palestinians is incredible. The manner of her death is also unimaginable.
Day after day, the imprisoned Palestinians on their fragmented land are confronted with two fates: They will die a sudden and violent death – victims of Israeli drones, bombs and snipers. Or they will die a slow and painful death – victims of hunger, disease, cold and rain.
Hope, in this inhumane context, is a high-spirited fantasy. At least that’s what I thought.
Then I came across a Christmas sermon given by Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian Reverend Munther Isaac to his congregation in Bethlehem.
Reverend Isaac’s 20-minute speech was at once a blunt indictment of the perpetrators of the genocide and an eloquent appeal not to give up hope, however frayed.
As I listened, my mind and heart wavered between belief and disbelief.
Not being a praying man, I tended to dismiss Reverend Isaac’s requests—despite their piercing power and his obvious conviction—as unrealistic and borderline fantastical.
I was skeptical.
As Reverend Isaac’s sermon reached its optimistic climax, I had an epiphany. If a grieving Palestinian can create a spark of light despite the prevailing darkness, then so can I.
I think Reverend Isaac’s intention was to reassure the rest of us – believers or not – that hope exists and endures; It cannot be erased by the authors of death and destruction.
Resistance can take many forms. But for resistance to be successful, it must be based on the hope that a future free from hardship and oppression is not only possible but, as history confirms, inevitable.
So what did Reverend Isaac say that turned me from a gloomy pessimist to a cautious optimist?
He began with this poignant memory. “Christ,” said Reverend Isaac, “still lies in the rubble.”
The priest alluded to a nativity scene he had installed in his church a year earlier, depicting a newborn Christ wrapped in a keffiyeh and engulfed by the rubble of Israel’s relentless genocide.
The symbolism is unmistakable. Christ and the Palestinians are one. They share the same circumstances and the same providence. Just as Christ suffered at the vengeful hands of those in power who sentenced him to death, so too have the Palestinians suffered.
“(Donald) Trump said if the hostages were not released in January there would be ‘hell to pay.’ It’s already hell. What is he talking about?” said Reverend Isaac. “It is indeed hard to believe that another Christmas is just around the corner and the genocide has not stopped.”
Despite all the grief, loss and hardship, the humanity of the Palestinians remained intact, said Reverend Isaac.
“It was also 440 days of resilience and even beauty,” he said. “Yes. I think of all the heroes in Gaza. The doctors. The medics. The nurses. The first responders. The volunteers. Those who sacrifice everything for their fellow human beings.”
Reverend Isaac also praised teachers and musicians who teach and play music to “bring smiles” to traumatized Palestinian children in the devastated remains of Gaza.
“Yes, the loss is enormous,” said Reverend Isaac. “But we have not lost our faith and our collective humanity. That’s the beauty I’m talking about.”
Reverend Isaac implored each of us not to fall into resignation, apathy or despair, because “Deafness is a betrayal of humanity.”
Instead, he said, “We must not rest or grow weary.” To do so is to fail not only the people of Gaza, but also our own humanity. “That’s why we have to keep talking about Gaza… and the systematic oppression and killing until it stops.”
The complicit “war criminals” and their co-conspirators responsible for atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank “must,” said Reverend Isaac, “be held accountable.”
“Instead of giving them justice, they are met with (applause) in the halls of Congress and defended by European parliaments,” he said. “And they still dare to lecture us about human rights and international law.”
Reverend Isaac is, of course, right on both shameful counts.
“The genocide will end one day,” he added. “But history will remember where people stood. History will remember what they said. You can’t say they didn’t know.”
Once again, Reverend Isaac is right. We will remember.
Meanwhile, Reverend Isaac is confident: “From the rubble will arise a plant of life that promises a new dawn.” The assurance of a harvest in which justice and restoration will flourish. And the vine will bear fruit that will nourish future generations.”
It will take hard work and patience, but I agree that the coming harvest will indeed prosper and the vine of “Righteousness and Restoration” will bear ripe and abundant fruit in due time.
“We have not and will not lose hope,” said Reverend Isaac. “Yes, it is 76 years of an ongoing Nakba, but it is also 76 years of Palestinianness Come on (Fortitude), holding fast to our rights and the justice of our cause.”
Reverend Isaac concluded his sermon with this exhortation, drawn from scripture and confirmed in places like South Africa, where another racist apartheid state was finally defeated.
“Every Herod will perish, every Caesar will perish, for empires have an expiration date… and let us remember that according to Jesus, the meek, not the mighty, inherit the land.”
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
