At Christmas, even the accomplices of the Gaza genocide will go to church—those who sent weapons or those who looked the other way throughout the year. Whether for convenience, indifference, or conviction, politicians, soldiers, arms manufacturers and merchants, and ordinary believers will rise, bored, from their pews to repeat the usual litanies, thinking about their holiday feasts while families in Gaza, decimated and starving, struggle to survive among the ruins.
More consistent are those who will spend Christmas at shopping malls, buying trivialities to put under the tree. With Santa Claus as their prophet, their ego as their god, and consumerism as their religion. And even more consistent are those who will completely ignore the Christmas festivities—either because they don’t know what Jesus taught and His birth means nothing to them, or because they know what He taught but also know they act in opposition to it. Out of coherence or shame, they will sit on their couches scrolling instead of joining the herd in hypocritical, hysterical rituals.
This is the harsh reality. Two thousand years have passed since the birth of Jesus, and humanity remains subject to empires, still producing ever more devastating weapons and killing each other over scraps of land. The world is filled with Herods, Pilates, centurions, and poor Christs. The stubbornness of humanity is truly astounding. We fail to learn from our mistakes and improve. We cannot overcome the evil that grows within us, infecting our lives and the entire world.
Today, as in the past, scribes and Pharisees roam the temples, and sages chatter in the halls of power. Masters like Jesus are crucified every time a bomb is dropped or someone turns away in indifference. Whitewashed tombs. Innocents slaughtered. If the world teeters on the brink of self-destruction, it is because the teachings of masters like Jesus are increasingly forgotten.
Prophets, philosophers, sages, and leaders have, over centuries, sought to awaken humanity, often paying with their lives for daring to challenge the authorities and beliefs of their time. These masters are trampled and manipulated by new, arrogant, and ignorant generations who endlessly repeat the same errors—war, the lure of power, and the mirage of materialism.
Human beings have not changed, nor have the profound dynamics of life. This is why ancient teachings remain profoundly relevant. There is nothing to “believe” but rather something to discover and understand—pure wisdom emanating from simple phrases. For example, “Love your enemy,” as Jesus said. The period at the end of that sentence is more important than the sentence itself.
Love unconditionally, without exceptions. Do not hate, kill, or subjugate anyone, least of all your enemy. Instead, love him so that he ceases to be an enemy and remains your brother—a human being, just like you. This is a rejection of violence at its root, and therefore of war. This rejection begins within ourselves. It is not utopia but an internal achievement, a victory over the miserable ego, rediscovering our souls.
This awareness is something many people continue to achieve even today, rejecting all forms of violence, including war. The problem lies with those who hold the reins of power, often representing the worst of society instead of the best. It is their voracious egos, not the impulses of their souls, that propel them to the top. These powerful individuals, for their own gain, conform to or even exploit the basest instincts of the masses rather than healing them.
Herods and Pilates. Scribes and Pharisees. These are the forces that masters like Jesus have always fought against. “Love your enemies” does not mean surrendering. Jesus was a warrior, courageously confronting the hypocrisies of His time and openly challenging beliefs and authorities. He did so peacefully, through the strength of His convictions, His words, and His example—until He was executed.
Jesus, like so many other ancient masters, led lives that serve as universal metaphors but are increasingly forgotten by arrogant and presumptuous new generations, who perpetuate the same tragic mistakes. Mistakes like war, between people and nations alike.
And so, this Christmas, churches and shopping malls alike will be filled with supposed Christians who have spent the year hating enemies or turning a blind eye to suffering. They will rise from their pews, repeating the same tired litanies, thinking only of their holiday feasts while families in Gaza endure hunger amidst the rubble.
Whitewashed tombs. Innocents slaughtered.
