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.
Your thoughts and experiences have profoundly moved me this Advent and I have used them in our little rural quiet peaceful villages in Cumbria. The coming of the light in the darkness became a theme that inspired and motivated me. I ache for the pain of your people and share in your anguish. You are a marvellous communicator. Thank you. I long for the return of the light after the darkness of tenebrae.
Peter Bowes Winskill Cumbria.
Thank you, Peter. Thank you. And may God bless you in this season.
God bless you Kate, keep lighting candles; in the midst of darkness your light is reaching us here in Scotland. With love and prayers, Anne
Blessings, Anne. x
Sometimes when it is so close it is very hard to find the words that convey the complexities and multi-faceted-ness of our Situation. A person further away would not appreciate the fine distinctions we feel compelled to make and the person right next to us may point out something we have “failed to list” in a tone that leaves us in no doubt they are insulted.
I’m finding that I am quickly moving away from the ‘Yes, but…’ response when I’m listening people. It’s simply becoming ‘Yes’. Because there are so many stories that must be heard, and there is truth in all of them.