That is the season of renewal.
One yr ends. One other begins.
On the flip of the calendar, it’s customary for columnists like me to make predictions about what could or will not be within the offing or, alternatively, to supply dispirited readers causes for hope amid all of the harm and heartache.
I’ve to confess that, as a author, I’ve all the time been loath to interact in both chore. The primary strikes me as a meaningless endeavour since taking part in soothsayer is a silly act of hubris. The second is much more troublesome, notably when the ever-elusive “silver lining” seems to this point past attain that it has disappeared into irrelevance.
This yr, just like the final, might be remembered for having to look at – bereft and helpless – as Palestinians proceed to be casualties of a genocide engineered by an apartheid regime seized with an insatiable killing lust and enabled by hypocrites who insist they’re steadfast apostles of human rights and worldwide legislation.
Day after terrible day Palestinians have suffered the merciless penalties of this wretched ruse. The variety of useless and injured Palestinians defies perception. The style of their deaths defies perception, too.
Day after terrible day, imprisoned Palestinians on their very own fractured land confront two fates: They are going to die sudden and violent deaths – victims of Israeli drones, bombs, and snipers. Or they’ll die sluggish and agonising deaths – victims of hunger, illness, and the chilly and rain.
Hope, on this inhumane context, is a cockeyed fantasy. Or so I believed.
Then, I came across a Christmas sermon delivered by the Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian, Reverend Munther Isaac, to his congregation in Bethlehem.
Reverend Isaac’s 20-minute tackle was, without delay, a blunt indictment of the architects of genocide and an eloquent attraction to not abandon hope – nevertheless frayed it could be.
As I listened, my thoughts and coronary heart oscillated between perception and disbelief.
I’m not a praying man, so my inclination was to dismiss Reverend Isaac’s entreaties – regardless of their piercing pressure and his apparent conviction – as being unrealistic, bordering on fantastical.
I used to be sceptical.
As Reverend Isaac’s sermon reached its sanguine crescendo, I had an epiphany. If a bereaved Palestinian can style a sliver of sunshine regardless of the prevailing darkness, then so can I.
I believe Reverend Isaac’s intent was to guarantee the remainder of us – believers or not – that hope exists and persists; it can’t be extinguished by the purveyors of loss of life and destruction.
Resistance can take many kinds. Nonetheless, for resistance to succeed it should be propelled by the hope {that a} future freed from need and oppression will not be solely doable, however, as historical past confirms, is inevitable.
So, what did Reverend Isaac say that moved me from glum pessimist to cautious optimist?
He started with this poignant reminder. “Christ,” Reverend Isaac stated, “continues to be within the rubble.”
The pastor was alluding to a nativity scene he had erected in his church a yr earlier that includes a new child Christ swaddled in a keffiyeh and engulfed by the particles of Israel’s relentless genocide.
The symbolism is unmistakable. Christ and Palestinians are one. They share the identical circumstances and windfall. Simply as Christ suffered on the vindictive palms of the potentates who condemned him to loss of life, so have Palestinians.
“[Donald] Trump stated that if the hostages are usually not launched in January, there might be ‘hell to pay’. It’s already hell. What’s he speaking about?” Reverend Isaac stated. “It’s certainly arduous to consider that one other Christmas has stumble upon us and the genocide has not stopped.”
By means of all of the grief, loss, and hardship, the humanity of Palestinians remained, Reverend Isaac stated, unbroken.
“It has additionally been 440 days of resilience and even magnificence,” he stated. “Sure. I consider all of the heroes in Gaza. The docs. The medics. The nurses. The primary responders. The volunteers. Those that sacrifice every little thing for his or her fellow human beings.”
Reverend Isaac additionally praised academics and musicians who educate and play music to “deliver a smile” to traumatised Palestinian kids within the shattered remnants of Gaza.
“Sure, the loss is gigantic,” Reverend Isaac stated. “However we have now not misplaced our religion and our collective humanity. That is the wonder I’m speaking about.”
Reverend Isaac implored every of us to not succumb to resignation, apathy, or despair since “numbness is a betrayal to humanity.”
As a substitute, he stated: “We should not relaxation or develop weary. To take action is to not solely abandon the folks of Gaza, however our personal humanity. That is why we should proceed speaking about Gaza … and the systematic oppression and killing till it stops.”
The complicit “conflict criminals” and their co-conspirators chargeable for the horrors being perpetrated towards Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Financial institution, “should”, Reverend Isaac stated, “be held accountable”.
“Slightly than met with justice, they’re met with [applause] within the halls of Congress and defended by European parliaments,” he stated. “They usually nonetheless dare to lecture us on human rights and worldwide legislation.”
Reverend Isaac is, after all, proper on each disgraceful counts.
“The genocide will finish in the future,” he added. “However historical past will bear in mind the place folks stood. Historical past will bear in mind what they stated. They can not declare that they didn’t know.”
As soon as once more, Reverend Isaac is true. We’ll bear in mind.
Within the meantime, Reverend Isaac is satisfied that: “From the midst of the rubble, a plant of life will come up, giving the promise of a brand new daybreak. The reassurance of a harvest the place justice and restoration will flourish. And the vine will bear fruit that nurses generations to come back.”
It’s going to take arduous work and endurance, however, I agree, the approaching harvest will certainly flourish and the vine of “justice and restoration” will, sooner or later, bear ripe and bountiful fruit.
“We have now not and won’t lose hope,” Reverend Isaac stated. “Sure, it’s 76 years of an ongoing Nakba, however it is usually 76 years of Palestinian sumud [steadfastness], clinging to our rights and the justice of our trigger.”
Reverend Isaac ended his sermon with this admonition born of scripture and borne out in, amongst different locations, South Africa, the place one other racist, apartheid state was in the end vanquished.
“Each Herod will go, each Caesar will fade, for empires have an expiry date … and allow us to keep in mind that in line with Jesus, it’s the meek, not the highly effective who inherit the land.”
The views expressed on this article are the writer’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.