"Gaza was hell before October 7, and the world was silent...This war has confirmed for us that the world does not see us as equal..." says Pastor Munther Isaac. It seems to me that a truly "Apartheid-Free" movement is organized to confront the "theology of the empire" and the de-humanizing violence that follows in its wake. To confront that theology, to prevent genocide, we must act together. We must create relational, political, human power--capable of democratic, diplomatic and nonviolent change. "Silence," he says, "is complicity." To preach the Gospel and avoid the call to solidarity puts the church's standing itself at risk.
Years ago, maybe even 13 years ago, I worshipped with this congregation in Bethlehem, accompanying an American delegation on a mission of discovery, fact-finding and support. Back then, in the midst of a suffocating occupation, surrounded by illegal West Bank settlements, our Bethlehem hosts asked for our help. For our advocacy. For our courage in breaking the silence, confronting the complicity of American politicians. We've done too little. We've accomplished hardly enough. And for that I confess my own sin, my own cowardice, my own inaction. Lord, have mercy. Christ in the rubble, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
