The Birth of Christ… A New Dawn and Reality
By Mr. Bahjat Khadr – Coordinator of the Online Department
We need the birth of Christ today more than ever. In the Lord’s Prayer, we say: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and in the birth, this petition becomes a living reality, as God chose to enter our world and fully experience our humanity: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14).
God’s entry into our world is not just a fleeting historical event, but a meeting between heaven and earth. For us as Palestinian Christians, birth represents an essential part of our cultural and faith identity. Christ came into a world filled with persecution and suffering, experiencing the depth of human pain and difficult circumstances, to offer hope and consolation, and to open new horizons filled with faith and hope.
From the depths of suffering and injustice, the birth proclaims the truth that the incarnate Christ walks with us, accompanies us in our challenges, and suffers with us. With this hope, we find the strength to work for change, to continue growing, being productive, and positive, even in the face of injustice and oppression. The birth calls us to resist injustice and work for justice, affirming that occupation and all forms of slavery are a blatant assault on humanity.
His birth is a call for national and human unity; it is an invitation to love that sees in those different from us the “neighbor,” who bears the image of God. Love frees us from hatred, racism, and fear, and drives us to plant the values of mercy, truth, and justice in our society, and to stand by the suffering human, especially in our homeland, which today suffers from existential and humanitarian challenges.
The birth is also a call for peace, the peace we need in our relationships with others, whether they are our relatives, our community, or even our enemies. The birth invites us to be bridges of peace amid the conflicts and tensions that fill the world. The birth shines like a light in the darkness, giving us hope and urging us toward renewal and change.
Our faith in the birth of Christ requires a genuine response, allowing the God who took the initiative to dwell among us to reside in our hearts. Thus, our hearts become a channel for grace, pulsating with love and mercy, and calling for goodness and peace. Christ’s birth is not just a memory, but an invitation to live the incarnation with open hearts to God and humanity.
