Today we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ... here in our land in Palestine... Here in Palestine, we live under the harshest and most difficult conditions. Bethlehem is besieged. Jerusalem is wounded. And Gaza is being annihilated. This year we say, Christ is still under the rubble in Gaza. But we come here with faith. We remember today that it was here, in this very city, that the Word became flesh and became one of us... He was born as a human to stand in solidarity with us in our suffering... He was born among those under occupation, to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and the repressed... In his childhood, he became a refugee, to stand in solidarity with the displaced and the exiled... He was born in the time of Caesar and Herod, to speak out against every oppressor and every regime that does not respect the sanctity of life... At his birth, the angels rejoiced and proclaimed peace in a world that knows only killing, oppression, and death... He entered our world in the time of an arrogant Caesar and a tyrannical ruler who killed the old and the young for his power... And we do not forget that in his death, he was a victim of the occupier and the extremist... But this steadfast Christ rose from the dead, bringing the good news of life, the culture of love, and the message of peace... He is the Lord of peace... the Redeemer of humanity... the Savior of the universe... He is the Savior of humanity from sin... and from the power of sin... He came to save us from our selfishness, greed, desires, and our pursuit of power and arrogance... He is Jesus, born in Bethlehem... to him, we give love and worship... And today, as we come to this place, we pray that the Child of Christmas is born again in our hearts, homes, and land... and that he fills them with peace, justice, and freedom...