Come with me to Bethlehem.

O Little Town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie,
above the deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Come with me to Bethlehem -- a city with a population like that of Lexington -- about 30,000; a city that stands 5 miles south of Jerusalem on a rocky hill 2600 feet above sea level.

Bethlehem's roots go back to the very remote times of the Patriarchs.  Rachel was buried on the road to Bethlehem.  It was in Bethlehem that Ruth met Boaz and married him.  In Bethlehem David was born and anointed king of Israel by the prophet Samuel.  The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem rendered this little town immortal.

Come with me to Bethlehem, to Manger Square, and see the pilgrimage site where people come from near and far to visit the traditional site of Jesus' birth.  The site has housed many basilicas and churches.  The church was built by Justinian in 530. It is the oldest church in the Holy Land.

And the shepherds, while they were tending their sheep in the fields of Bethlehem,  beheld an angel of the  Lord who announced "good tidings of great joy."

In October, Bethlehem was under occupation and Israeli soldiers barred its inhabitants from going out or coming into the city.  Harassment and provocation led to violence.  Tanks and guns and tear gas filled with streets.  In this birthplace of the Prince of Peace, war raged.

Oh, with the Psalmist we cry:

Why do the nations so furiously rage together?
And why do the people imagine a vain thing?

The events of this past week in the Middle East only add to the reality of the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Bethlehem.  Terrorism has raised its ugly head once again.  We sympathize and grieve with the Israeli families who lost loved ones in the suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem.  Our own September 11th world gives us new compassion for victims and their families.  But who are the real terrorists anyway?  the Palestinians? or the Israelis?   "What is the story behind the story of this most recent atrocity?" we ask.  Did you know that, during the week before the suicide
bombing, five Palestinian boys were killed in Gaza on Thursday; seven more Palestinians were killed on Friday, three of them deliberately assassinated by the Israeli Occupation army?  These deaths, coupled with bulldozing of homes, land confiscation, and economic blockades led Hamas to vow retaliation.  And retaliate they did.  The terrible cycle of violence.  Provocation.  Retribution.  Violence.  More provocation.  More retribution.  More violence.

But  who are we to judge?  to point fingers?  to cast blame?  We point a finger at the Israeli settlers, and three fingers point right back to remind and indict those of us whose ancestors were settlers in North America.  Oh, how this truth was brought home to me this past week when I tutored at the Morse School.  This is what my fifth grade student Joey and I read together:

Cherokee
Should we move west of the Mississippi?

It is 1835.  We are Native Americans, members of the Cherokee people.  We have lived in the state of Georgia all our life, certainly long before the whites came.  But now the government of the United States says the Cherokees must leave Georgia.  They want us to move to a reservation west of the Mississippi River.

The whites always want to take our land.  In 1791, we signed a treaty with the national government of the whites.  The treaty said that we could keep our land in Georgia forever.  Soon after we signed the treaty, white settlers began to move into our territory.  They said that the state of Georgia gave them permission to move onto our land.  We know this is wrong.  We have a treaty with the national government.  Even the United States Supreme Court says that Georgia is wrong.  This land belongs to us.

Now we are surrounded by whites.  Some of their ways are good for our people.  Many Cherokees have learned to be farmers and tradesmen, like the whites.  A Cherokee warrior, Sequoyah, invented an alphabet for the Cherokee language.  Now there are books and newspapers written in our language.  Some Cherokee even own black slaves!  We have done these things so that we can survive in the world of the whites.  These changes will help us keep our land.

But the white president, President Jackson, does not like Native Americans, even those who live like whites.  He wants us to move to a place called Oklahoma.  Jackson says the national government will give us one million dollars and some new land in Oklahoma.  We have to leave Georgia in two years.  If we do not leave, Jackson will send soldiers to force us off our land.

Yes, we white settlers have not the right to point fingers and cast blame in the Middle East catastrophe.  What, then, shall we? can we? do??

Today is the second Sunday of Advent.  The candle of Peace has been kindled on our Advent wreath.  Surely the Prince of Peace calls us to pray for peace, to work for peace, to advocate for peace, to teach peace, and to live
peaceably with one another.

God's desire is for all nations to beat swords into plowshares, weapons into pruning hooks.

God's intention is for steadfast love and faithfulness to meet; for justice and peace to kiss each other.

This is why God sent God's Son into the world, born in Bethlehem, sent as "the One of peace" as Micah prophesied...
                to teach us to love our neighbor,
                    to restore broken relationships,
                        to turn the other cheek,
                            to love, even especially, our enemy.

And just as our Christian tradition is founded and grounded in love and peace and justice-making, so, too, the faith tradition of our Jewish and Muslim sisters and brothers is anchored in love and peace and justice-making.

It is not enough to love peace.  We are called to be peace makers in every arena of our physical and emotional and spiritual life.

There was a beautiful story two weeks ago today on NPR of how a group of Rabbis for Human Rights assisted a Palestinian farmer in the harvesting of his olives.  It seems that the olive grove, once on the farmers land, had
been confiscated by the Israeli government when they seized land to build a new settlement.  The olive grove now lies within the perimeter of the settlement.

A pass is required to get into the settlement, and the Palestinian farmer had no such pass.  The rabbis stood with the farmer, watching his olives ripen and their outrage was so great that it "screamed to heaven."  And so, with their Israeli passes, they somehow smuggled the farmer across the border into the olive grove and filled many bags with olives before an Israeli soldier stopped them, demanding that the Palestinian farmer show his pass.  He was forced to leave his olive grove but the rabbis carried their bags of olives with them.

The Rabbis for Human Rights are one of thousands of examples of people, of incidents, that embrace love, oppose violence, defend human rights, celebrate reconciliation, restoration, and justice.  Members of the Christian Peacemaking Team (CPT) that we support in Hebron risk life and limb every day on behalf of peace.  Palestinian Christians, Muslims, and Jews have organized schools and institutes, dialogues and forums to teach peace.

In these days of war and terrorism, violence and oppression, in spite of the dismal news that bombards us, we too must be peace makers, joining the psalmist in our cries:

"Why do the nations so furiously rage together?
And why do the people imagine a vain thing?"

We must be bearers of that message in our every sphere of influence, be it at home, at school, at work, with family or friends.

And we must unceasingly pray to the One who is our Prince of Peace, invoking His power, His wisdom, His intentions for all of human kind. For in this wondrous and holy season,

"Unto us a child is born...unto us a son is given...
The Prince of Peace...the Hope of the world."