At the Tent of Nations, just outside Bethlehem, I'm thinking about Jesus and the particular commitments that make Christianity come to life for me. Late in the afternoon, our delegation meets with Amal Nasser, a remarkable woman, a shining light really. She tells us about her family's generations-long commitment to nonviolence and 'the fourth way.' She's also a Christian, but she doesn't flaunt that part of her life. It's the love she wants so dearly to get across, the love and the determination to keep loving.
"We could leave," she says, "but we will not. We could give in to despair, but we will not. We could fight back with violence, but we will not." Instead, she says, the Nassers have chosen 'the fourth way'--the way of persistent and creative nonviolence, the way of love and courage. When the state shuts down their water, they think of other ways to collect rainwater and build huge cisterns for the task. When the state denies, again and again, to provide any power, they think solar, and find power in the sun's rays. And when Israeli settlers, using American-made bulldozers, block the access road to the Nasser Farm, the Nassers go the long way around.
Amal and her brothers have undoubtedly had their bad days, and have undoubtedly been provoked to rage over the years. Last spring, the army bulldozed 1500 of their precious fruit trees, trees that provided food and work and meaning for so many, for so long. But the Nassers' faith is such, their courage is such, that they return again and again to that 'fourth' way--and walk on the path of justice and peace. Day after day after day.
I believe you'll find a video of Amal speaking to us here.
Amal reminds me of another central figure in the Bethlehem story: Mary who comes all this way to register with Joseph and, while here, gives birth in a cave to baby Jesus. Mary too is courageous. We miss the point of Mary's story when we treat her too gently and see only sweetness and grace. Her way is something like 'the fourth way.' She imagines a future in which God scatters the proud and lifts up the lowly. And she builds upon the foundation of her faith a disciplined, creative, determined life of loving resistance. Raising a tender Jewish boy in a brutal Roman world: that's loving resistance. Teaching him right from wrong in a violent Roman world: that's loving resistance. Believing that one family, one life makes all the difference: that's loving resistance. So Bethlehem may be where Jesus is born, but it's where Mary kicks the kingdom into gear.
Interestingly, Mary's great prayer of praise is inspired by a Hebrew Bible prayer by Hannah in First Samuel. Read them both, side by side, and you'll see. Mary's prayer is intended to remind us of Hannah's. Both experience the great mercy and grace of God--and both transform their personal praise into a deep and extensive commitment to radical social change and upside-down justice. Here they are, Hannah and Mary. And their prayers.
Hannah’s Prayer
1 Samuel 2
Hannah prayed and said,‘My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.
‘There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honour.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
‘He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.’
Mary’s Song of Praise
Luke 1
And Mary said,‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
