Raised by Christian minister parents I married a Jewish woman from a Conservative Jewish family and at age 35 did so with a commitment to Judaism. Following Jewish custom, the offspring’s religious education would be her responsibility and domain.  Five years later  the first of our two daughters was born and I was ordained as a pastor.  My “call” to serve was thanks to a vibrant, progressive Christian Church I had joined and the rich discovery of the prophets/”nabi” of the Hebrew Bible. On visits of my wife’s family, their seder meals and shabat candle lighting deepened my honoring of the Jewish faith traditions.

Contemporary Israel and the ongoing struggle to share the land was never discussed on those visits but my wife may have informed her family of my views.  They came in part from study of Africa’s colonial experience and my spending two years in the Congo which continues to suffer exploitation and oppression by the former colonizers allied with the new nation’s ruling class.  My position on safeguarding Israel’s future was also shaped by my conscientious objector status and opposition to the War in Vietnam. 

The leading U.S. pacifist organizer of the last century, A.J. Muste (see my former posts about Muste) originated the quote, “There is no way to peace.  Peace is the way.”  The 76 year history of the wars in the Middle East are for me conclusive evidence that war is not the way to peace for Arabs or Israelis.  I understand, however, how American, Soviet and their allied armies’ war on  three fascist regimes in WWII have influenced U.S. and Israel’s policies on making peace with Palestinians who were forcibly expelled in 1948.

Today as a Christian minister and life-long student I have faith that the Hebrew and Greek holy writings reveal enduring truths about contemporary human societies and cultures.  The truth that the Jewish-Christian authors of the New Testament proclaim Jesus as showing humanity the way to peace. The truth that we hear today false prophets and their errant rulers crying “Peace, peace when there is no peace” (Jer 6:14 and Jer 8:11). And that in the time of Ezekiel, “they have misled my people, saying ‘peace’ when there is no peace; and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear whitewash on it.” (Ezek. 13:10)

My faith has led me over the years to listen to the cries of anguish coming from Palestinians and support their rights affirmed by U.N. Resolution 194 in 1948.  The unity and solidarity with all oppressed people that is envisioned by holy texts requires no less.   The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Center (sabeel.org), created by Palestinian Churches and based in Jerusalem, has, for four decades, helped me sympathize with the cries of Palestinians living under Israel’s unequal and exclusionary occupation of their former homeland.  In reading the letter I’ve excerpted below, I believe I hear the voice of God responding to the spiraling of the Israel-Palestine conflict since October 7. Less than two weeks after the Hamas attacks and initial Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Sabeel and several other Palestinian Christian organizations appealed for solidarity of all Christians and ultimately all of humanity.  It appeals to all to pray with Thomas Merton that “if today I hear the voice of God, may I not resist a softer, more compassionate heart.” 

Dated the day Israel bombed the Church in the above photo, Sabeel and other Christian organizations in Israel-Palestine addressed their plea to Western church leaders and theologians.  “Words fail to express our shock and horror with regards to the on-going war in our land. We deeply mourn the death and suffering of all people because it is our firm conviction that all humans are made in God’s image. We are also profoundly troubled when the name of God is invoked to promote violence and religious national ideologies”  we read in the letter’s first paragraph. 

The writers begin the second with “we watch with horror the way many western Christians are offering unwavering support to Israel’s war against the people of Palestine. While we recognize the numerous voices that have spoken and continue to speak for the cause of truth and justice in our land, we write to challenge western theologians and church leaders who have voiced uncritical support for Israel and to call them to repent and change.”

The Palestinian Christians then ’grieve and lament’ the Israeli military’s use of tactics that target civilians: “such as the use of white phosphorus, the cutting off of water, fuel, and electricity, and the bombardment of schools, hospitals, and places of worship—including the heinous massacre at Al-Ahli Anglican-Baptist Hospital and the bombardment of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius which wiped out entire Palestinian Christian families.”

The letter ends with resounding notes of faith “remembering that God ‘will judge the world in justice’ (Acts 17:31). We also remind ourselves and our Palestinian people that our sumud (“steadfastness”) is anchored in our just cause and our historical rootedness in this land. As Palestinian Christians, we also continue to find our courage and consolation in the God who dwells with those of a contrite and humble spirit (Isa 57:15). We find courage in the solidarity we receive from the crucified Christ, and we find hope in the empty tomb. We are also encouraged and empowered by the costly solidarity and support of many churches and grassroots faith movements around the world, challenging the dominance of ideologies of power and supremacy. We refuse to give in, even when our siblings abandon us. We are steadfast in our hope, resilient in our witness, and continue to be committed to the Gospel of faith, hope, and love, in the face of tyranny and darkness.”

When I prepared for a surgery this week, my thoughts turned to the destruction of Gaza hospitals and dearth of medical supplies. I thought of the children in Gaza undergoing amputations and other excruciating procedures without benefit of anesthesia.  I tried to imagine what had enabled those children to accept and survive what was happening to them.  Their example helped me in an unfathomable way to prepare for the outcome of my surgery whatever it might be. In my gratitude afterwards for its success, along with doctors, nurses and other hospital care givers, I gave thanks for the resolute courage of the children of Gaza.  

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