This Advent we invite you to "Listen for the Word Made Flesh" [1] and explore why we find it so difficult to "hear" or to "listen" to the voices of the so called voiceless.   As we continue the Advent journey we invite you to join  the San Francisco Theological Seminary in reflection and prayer through Daily Devotions for Advent from December 1-25.

 "Devotions are written by SFTS students, alums, faculty, staff and trustees, and collectively serve as our gift to the SFTS community, our family and friends, and the larger church. Many people find that devotions are a great way to begin each day during the holiday season. ...

This year's theme is "Listening for The Word Made Flesh." The theme asks us to join those first Advent listeners -- Anna and Simeon, John the Baptizer, Elizabeth and Mary, Zechariah and Joseph, shepherds, a people longing for liberation -- to listen for a Word in Scripture and to listen in our world for the Word made flesh in the midst of us".

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[1] This title, and banner above, is borrowed from the San Francisco Theological Seminary.   

In times like these, when marginalized communities sense the threat of violence for their own livelihood and well-being, words fail. Words fail because the injustice seems insurmountable. Words fail because the system that is supposed to bring justice feels irreconcilably broken. Words fail because we can't fully articulate the profound anger, sadness, and frustration that this decision engenders in us. But, as Audre Lorde so importantly reminds us, our silence will not protect us. ...>>>

In the midst of our Advent journey, "Listening for the Word Made Flesh," we read the story of Nahida Gordon, "This Is My Story. A Palestinian American Christian Woman", that was published on December 2, 2014  in

 Unbound, An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice, as part of a series titled "Hearing the Voices of Peoples Long Silenced".     

  

From January to May of 1948, there was intermittent and indiscriminate bombardment of Palestinian civilian areas of Jaffa, including our neighborhood. During one occasion of night bombardment, the bombs fell across the street from our house and hit the St. Simon Church. This bombing and the worsening security situation for Palestinian civilians convinced my father that he should take our family to our summer vacation in Lebanon earlier than usual. On April 22, we hurriedly packed a few suitcases and drove out of Jaffa. On the way, I remember seeing houses burning. All was left behind - our pets, a dog and cat, all family pictures - all mementos of a life - all gone!

My father's plan was that we would return once school started again in September; however the Israeli government would not allow us to return. Some people managed to return to Palestine, but many were shot by the Israeli military or otherwise forcibly prevented if they attempted to return.

As a pre-teen in late 1947 and early 1948, I watched my country and community collapse around me. We lost all - our home, belongings, community, and friends. Since then I have watched and listened to the news media to see when things would be made right again, when I could return to my home.

Alas, 66 years later I am still waiting. Daily, I see Israel taking more and more Palestinian lands for settlements, which are illegal under international law. Moreover, I continuously learn of the actions and practices of the government of Israel against the Palestinian people, both Christians and Muslims. I hear about Israel's expropriation and degradation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and its blockade and aerial bombardments of the Gaza Strip. These constitute (as defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court) [14] elements of crimes against humanity. [15]

Now, in 2014, I am married, a grandmother, and Professor Emerita of mathematics/statistics. I've had an academic career during which I published, in cooperation with colleagues, findings from a variety of research projects in major scientific journals. When publishing solo, I learned that using my initials along with my married family name - Gordon - would give my submitted manuscript a better chance of acceptance for publication than if I spelled out my first name, which indicated to the editors and reviewers that I was a woman and a person from the Middle East - an Arab.

In speaking and writing about my personal experiences as a victim of the creation of Israel, my voice, which is counter to that of the prevailing understanding held by many Presbyterians and many Americans, has been ignored or at times characterized as a "red flag". However, I am heartened to see that there are a significant and growing number of Presbyterians who are speaking out on behalf of justice for Palestinians.

I grant that it is my ethnicity as a Palestinian Arab, which elicits discomfort when I tell my personal story. But it is also my gender which makes it easier for others to discount that story. My perception, however, is that it is easier and safer for me to speak out because I am a Christian Palestinian woman than it would be if I were a Muslim Palestinian man!

For references as noted click here.

This coming Sunday we will meditate on the Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55, through music provided by our choir, choral scholars, and musicians. We also encourage you to participate in the Alternative Gift Market at First Presbyterian Church after worship.  

Blessings and see you in worship,

Dries