I never thought I would hear a government minister suggest that the UN chief’s tenure was a ‘danger to world peace’ but that’s how Israel’s Foreign Minister has reacted to Antonio Guterres’ approach to the ongoing disaster in Gaza. In fact, he has gone so far as to accuse the United Nations Secretary-General of supporting Hamas. Such, I assume, is the logic of conflict and fear, mistrust and confrontation.

Hamas’ attack on 7 October was appalling and any state has the duty to protect its citizens but given the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s reaction to that atrocity I have found myself agreeing with the sixty-nine international church leaders and aid agencies who have called on Rishi Sunak to do what he can to bring an end to the fighting.

Israel’s relentless campaign is having such an horrific effect on the Palestinian people, not to mention its own reputation that world leaders really must step up to the mark and do much more than they are currently doing to ensure a permanent, bilateral ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages. Sadly, but not surprisingly, the US vetoed the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire, and to my dismay our UK government opted out by abstaining. Their approach has left me feeling completely disheartened.

I can understand why Palestinian Christian leaders across the West Bank have decided to forgo all Christmas festivities as a mark of solidarity with their brethren in Gaza then, and deeply moved to discover that the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem has placed a symbolic ‘Baby Jesus’ in a manger of rubble and destruction. It is a very evocative image. Christmas is generally associated with peace rather than conflict but as I’ve followed the heartbreaking news emerging from what is known to many as the ‘Holy Land’ I’ve found myself returning to the story of the Wise Men’s encounter with the infamous King Herod because it has much to teach us about the world of realpolitik.

We have no idea how many Wise Men turned up to worship Jesus of course, but we do know that Herod was a very insecure and brutal ruler, and he would have been horrified to learn of the birth of a ‘pretender’ to his throne. That’s why we needn’t doubt Matthew’s assertion that when he learned that his visitors had returned home without disclosing the location of the child, he issued orders that every male child aged two and under that was living in and around Bethlehem should be systematically slaughtered. Thanks to the Wise Men’s behaviour though Jesus escaped death although His family had to flee into Egypt as refugees.

It’s a salutary reminder that God was clearly at work in that brutal world of power politics. Take the birth of Jesus for example. ‘It just so happened’ that the Roman emperor Augustus who confirmed Herod as King of Judaea was the very man who ordered the census that ensured his potential rival was born in Bethlehem, thereby fulfilling a prediction that had been made hundreds of years before. In the same way the Wise Men didn’t report back to Herod because of a dream and as a result Jesus escaped Herod’s fury.

As we watch and listen to the news then, I don’t think we should ever forget that however tough life might be God is still at work, often in the most insignificant ways and through the most insignificant of people. God has His plans, and unlike ours they cannot fail. Given this, we can be sure that the day is coming when ‘the King of the Jews’ (Jesus) will return to this world and when that happens His people will live in a world characterised by justice, righteousness and peace.

As Christians then, we can live in hope. But we must also embrace the challenges that come with our faith too, which means doing all we can to create that kind of world now. And I have a feeling that a lot more people will accept the Christmas story when we do.