CPTnet
December 17, 2001
HEBRON: A season for miracles
By Rick Polhamus
“Is there anything too hard for the Lord.” – Bible,
Genesis 18:14
“A miracle does not prove what is impossible, rather
it is an affirmation
of what is possible.” – Maimonides
This is a season for miracles. Sometimes I think it
would be a miracle if
we could just be nice to each other. Though we are in
the holiday season,
for many of us life is no holiday. Thanks to some of
us, others don’t have
much to give thanks for.
This year the season of Advent for Christians,
Hanukkah for Jews and
Ramadan for Muslims overlap. All three traditions have
giving as a central
theme. For Christians, giving is a reflection of God’s
gift in the birth of
Jesus. For Jews, the giving is a celebration of God’s
gift that kept the
lamps burning long after the oil should have run out.
And for Muslims the
giving comes from recognizing that there are ones less
fortunate and that
no matter what our status is we can always find
someway to share with others.
The American writer O Henry wrote a story of a woman
who sold her hair to
purchase her husband a watch chain only to discover
that he had sold his
watch to purchase her a comb for her hair. This is
this kind of giving that
I have witnessed by the Palestinian people during
their holy season of
Ramadan.
For Muslims, Ramadan is a time of fasting during the
hours from sunup to
sundown. It is a time for reflecting about those for
whom fasting is not
just a religious practice but the reality of their
poverty. Following the
prayers at sundown, families gather with guests to
break their fast and to
share not only the food but also the joy of friendship
that shows that
others care.
This Ramadan season has seen many travel restrictions
and hardships placed
on the Palestinian people. Yet through it all they
have continued to find
ways to travel to join families and friends to break
the fast. Even the
economic hardships because of the curfews and closures
have not stopped the
people from making and sharing the sweets, tea and
coffee following the meals.
During the day as we CPTers make our way though the
city, we are asked by
many to join them for the evening breaking of the
fast. In the evening as
we do patrols, many times we are invited in to share
the sweets, tea and
coffee. These invitations are not just from friends
but many times from
people we have just met.
We spoke with the principal of a boy’s school that has
been closed for the
past few days because of a curfew imposed by the
Israeli military. We
discussed the additional hardship caused by the
restrictions placed on
Palestinians during this holy time of year. He said,
“Even though things
are very difficult, I know our God is a great God. He
provides us with
opportunities in all situations.”
To those who lack faith this statement may seem
unreasonable. Reason only
goes so far. It doesn’t make any sense for it to go
further. Faith allows
us to reach towards that capacity in us which is just
beyond our grasp.
Sometimes it seems like peace here is impossible. But
who among us wants to
bear the burden of denying that the impossible is
possible? It is not that
night is not dark, but evil need not prevail. Pick a
star. Light a candle.
Share a meal. If this seems childish, find the child
in yourself and
remember, “a child shall lead them.”
There is a children’s game played during Hanukkah that
involves spinning a
top called a dreidel. Written on the side of the top
are four letters that
stand for the message: “A Great Miracle Happened
Here.” Pat your chest
above your heart. This is the stage for miracles. When
we are loving we
stage our own miracles. Happy holidays.
