So, this is the Advent ‘wreath’ I’ve created for our house in Tiberias.

Apologies that the candles are not the correct colours, and that the middle candle is already lit. There are times when I find liturgical pedantry rather tedious. When bombs are falling nearby, when new friends are targets of attacks, when conflict and fear are the subject of nearly every conversation, I just kind of need a reminder that Christ has actually already come, and God is with us.

How I long for the reign of our Prince of Peace.

The marbles and the tear gas canister are ones my parents and Justin and I collected at Wi’am, a Palestinian Conflict Resolution and Transformation Centre in Bethlehem on Saturday morning after an afternoon of clashes on Friday. Wi’am sits literally in the shadow of the Wall and has witnessed more than its share of violence and destruction.

The marbles are the ‘weapons’ of the Palestinian children who use slingshots to launch them at the Wall and the guards. The tear gas canisters are one of the many means of retaliation employed by the Israeli soldiers.

I really have few words to describe how I feel about it. Actually, that’s a lie; I have a lot of words, but few of them are going to be constructive. I have heard horrendous stories of discrimination, racism, hatred, abuse from Palestinians and Jews in the past few days. There is so much pain. So much fear. All I know how to do at the moment is light candles against the darkness. And pray. O come, o come, Emmanuel.