This morning's news is heartbreaking on every level--and devastating for Israelis and Palestinians and people of hope and purpose. The oppressive system of apartheid sows seeds of violent resistance and hopelessless, and this morning those seeds have yielded the awful, shattering reality of aggression, bloodletting and retalitation.
BDS MOVEMENT STATEMENT ON ROOTS OF VIOLENCE
FRIENDS OF SABEEL STATEMENT ON TODAY'S ATTACKS AND REPRISALS
As I sift through reports, I continue to work through tomorrow's sermon on Matthew 5: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not go to war against an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also." I'm indebted to the late Walter Wink for his reading and teaching of this part of the Sermon on the Mount. And I'm struck today by its relevance and the challenge it poses to all of us.
But we know it is not so. Jesus unmasked this fallacy, this lie--in his teaching, in his life, in his dying and rising. The great prophets of Israel preached powerfully against its perverse logic. Only love, only justice, only human dignity and encounter can transform conflict into community. Only courage, only mercy, only human creativity can cleanse the madness and violence within us, and within our peoples. I imagine this is true not only in Gaza, in Tel Aviv today--but in Moscow and Kiev, and in Washington too.
God of Bethlehem's Child, God of Gaza's dead, God of frightened Jews and paralyzed peacemakers, God of Palestinian mothers and children of all races and tongues: Comfort the broken today. Bring peace to the dying today. And turn the hearts of your peoples to the wind, to the mountains, to the seas, to the prophets of peace. Let there be light in our eyes and new leadership amongst our peoples. And let there be hope for the peoples of Tel Aviv and Hebron, for the children of Bethlehem and Gaza, for the families of the Galilee and Haifa. Bring peace, O God. Bring peace! Amen and Ashe!
