Submitting...
But, dear God, to find oneself singing of the little town of Bethlehem must bring a lump to the throat of all of us these days! Even back then, under the ruthless rule of Rome and Herod, "how still we see thee lie" did not last long for the baby Jesus.
And today, when we have seen the skyline over the shepherds' fields dominated by illegal settlements whose pumps suck up the water that the shepherds' livelihoods depended on, we just cannot escape the realisation that the new normal there is no way to peace on earth. What do Palestinians today think of our nostalgic singing when their reality is to be confronted by an insurmountable wall and weapons at the ready, while Christian singers do nothing effective about their suffering and inability to earn a living and to be free? Bah, humbug?