Easter, John - New Life from the Tomb

John 20.1-18
“I have seen the Lord.” (Jn 20.18)

Mary shows us that the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection is not the end of the story. Jesus’ terrible death and then the empty tomb, which seemed liked a tragedy, is transformed into a new beginning in her life...and ours.

Just as Jesus commanded his followers at their passover meal, “do this in remembrance of me,” we are also charged to remember Jesus’ ministry by following him—his life-giving miracles of healing and liberation show us to our own everyday acts of mercy and compassion. By our own small acts of healing, teaching, feeding the hungry, we follow our teacher.
In Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see what it means to rely on God’s spirit, to do what we cannot do on our own. In a world seemingly bereft of hope, we, like Mary, have witnessed God’s amazing power for life.

In Palestine today, even under the brutality of Israeli occupation, there are many signs of resurrection, places where, against all human expectation, new life is emerging.....God is still, today, bringing new life out of the tomb of death and destruction and hopelessness.

This new life can be seen in Bethlehem and Ramallah and Gaza, where the children of the occupation are being given the tools for their liberation—education, pride in their heritage, self-confidence to stand up for their human rights.

New life is emerging in Israel, out of the tomb of militarism, fear and hatred, when Israeli young people meet Palestinians in organizations like Sulha and when Machsom Watch grandmothers stand up for Palestinians at the checkpoints. New life is emerging where IDF soldiers question what they have done in the name of security and they refuse to serve in the occupied territory of the West Bank and Gaza (Breaking the Silence and the Shimistim).

Once glimpsed, the hope of resurrection cannot be quashed. We have seen hopes for new life race across northern Africa and spread throughout the Middle East, as people take to the streets, throwing their bodies in the line of fire.

Even in Denver, I see signs of new life for Palestinians. More and more people are learning about what has really been happening in Israel and Palestine. And more people are protesting Israel’s brutality and its disregard of international law and human rights.

Watch some Alleliuia! action in Denver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWmfp1KEIOo. These protesters are challenging TIAA-CREF to live up to its motto, “Financial services for the greater good,” and pull their investments out of companies that support Israel’s occupation and the building of the apartheid wall. (If you squint, you can see me in my bright green jacket holding the yellow sign “End the Occupation”).

Whether you have investments with TIAA-CREF or not, take action on Jewish Voice for Peace’s new website: www.wedivest.org

Good Friday, Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me,
From the words of my groaning?

During the month of March, as we have been making our Lenten pilgrimage, 15 Palestinians were killed by Israel, including five children. As reported by the Palestine News Network, another 90 Palestinians, including 22 children, were wounded.

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
And by night, but find no rest.

Israeli troops arrested 270 Palestinians, including 20 international solidarity workers, who travel to Israel and Palestine to stand with the Palestinians in non-violent protest of continuing land confiscations and human rights abuses.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted, and you delivered them.

“Israelis Don’t Want to Be Occupiers Either”—it’s not a message we often hear in the US. The words of Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers usually drown out the voices of ordinary Israelis who see how militarization is corrupting the soul of their country. But these were the words of an Israeli peace activist, Gershon Baskin, as he reflected on the liberation movement sweeping across northern Africa toward the Middle East.

Baskin founded the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), headquartered in Jerusalem. This organization brings Israelis and Palestinians together for weekly meetings to hear speakers and learn about one another to equip grassroots leaders who are knowledgeable and creative.

But I am a worm, and not human;
Scorned by others, and despised by the people.

Photo is from an exhibit, "Christ in the Palestinian Context"

After five members of a settler family were murdered in Itamar, near Nablus, Israeli authorities approved plans to build an additional 400 homes for the settlers. Itamar is an illegal settlement in the West Bank, wedged between Palestinian towns, villages and the refugee camps where Palestinians fled from the soldiers in 1948 and 1967. Itamar has taken land from these Palestinians to build their sprawling settlement, destroying olive groves and other agricultural land. Settlers from Itamar attack Palestinians, beating, occasionally torturing, and sometimes murdering Palestinians of all ages; they burn Palestinian crops, and hack down their groves of olive trees, the livelihood of many Palestinian villagers. Hundreds of these trees, have been destroyed by rampaging Israeli settlers. (http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/itamar.html)

Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
You kept me safe on my mother’s breast.

Many Jews in Israel and in the US oppose Israel’s policies and are working to end the occupation. Jewish Voice for Peace has mounted a campaign supporting a shareholder resolution to request TIAA-CREF to engage with corporations in its portfolio, such as Caterpillar, Veolia, and Elbit, that operate on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with the goal of ending all practices by which they profit from the Israeli occupation.

Do not be far from me,
For trouble is near
And there is no one to help.

In March, Israeli authorities demolished 70 Palestinian homes and other buildings, including a mosque.

For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.

From Defense for Children International (DCI): On 8 March 2011, a 15-year-old boy from Beit Ummar village, West Bank, is arrested by Israeli soldiers from his family home at 1:00 am: Hands tied tightly behind his back with a single plastic tie - made to walk for an hour to the settlement of Karmi Zur - soldiers kicked him in the legs along the way - on arrival at the settlement he was made to sit on the ground for an hour in the cold and reports being slapped and punched - after an hour he was pushed into a military vehicle and transferred to the settlement of Gush Etzion for interrogation - interrogated by two men - "Sharif" and "Dawoud" - shouted at and confessed because he was 'scared' - signed a document written in Hebrew - taken outside and waited until 7:00 pm before being transferred to Ofer Prison - hands were tied so tightly behind his back that he began to scream in pain and they became swollen…

But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
My life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!

Holy Week - Good Friday

Psalm 22

Do not be far from me,
For trouble is near
And there is no one to help. (Ps 22.11)

Sixty-three years ago this month, the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin was the scene of a massacre by Jewish paramilitaries. It was April 9, 1948, just before Israel declared its independence on May 15. There have been many accounts of what happened that day—for many years Israelis denied that a massacre had taken place, but in recent years, as government documents were made available, it has become clear that the Irgun and the Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups, fanatical offshoots of the Hagannah, were responsible for the killing of more than 100 villagers, including women and children.

Dr. Masin Qumsiyeh, who spoke in Denver I March, wrote this poem on the anniversary of the Dei Yassin massacre, as he returned home from his US visit: http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/a-poem-for-juliano/

Deir Yassin to Gaza
by Mazin Qumsiyeh, written in honor of Juliano Mer Khamis, who was killed in Jenin April 4. Learn more about him on my April 8 blog post.

My kind old mother laments
Decades of memory that transcends
Fake Gods and fake peace offers
who bless nichsayon and slaughter
our eyes fail to see or just lament
blood of a child licked off a pavement
By stray thirsty cats
with more morals than army brats
Our ears fail to hear
voice of Dr. Izzeldinne echoes
"I shall not hate" his anguished cries
After three beautiful daughters
With a tank shell and in a niece in a slaughters
Our noses fail to smell
The whiff of death mixed with gun powder
Or the vomit of our tortured
Our hearts fail to feel
the punctured womb by the old home
the severed girl's head by the mosque dome
Mutilated,
dismembered,
disconnected
Our fingers fail to touch
an anguished young mother
Looking for a child
Jews, Christian, Muslims wail
The lost humanity to no avail
the generals must have their joy
to test their newest toy
in Gaza white phosphorous back in use yesterday
impunity from war crimes thanks to the US of A
billionaires must make more dollars
zealots must sacrifice children at altars
Gabriel can stay a knife but not drones
And hate can murder a thousand Julianos
While the apathetic multitude watch TV
Obliviously focused on their shopping spree
Bypassing love and responsibility
Chasing gadgets, hate, and vanity
Next news bulletin.... get the experience
Next anniversary..awaken the conscience?

Poem also published by Palestine News Network:
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9865&Itemid=

[You can read a detailed and well-documented description of what is believed to have happened at Deir Yassin on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre with pictures. Ilan Pappe writes about it in his book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.]

Holy Week - the Passover Seder

Exodus 12.1-4 [5-10] 11-14

Tonight, Monday of Holy Week is the first night of the Jewish Passover, a week of commemoration of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It is a time for reflection on a miracle—when God enlisted Moses’ help to plead for the freedom of the Israelite slaves and sent ten plagues to persuade Pharaoh to let them go. The tenth plague was the slaughter of the firstborn in every Egyptian household. God instructed the Israelites to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb so that the angel of death would “pass over” their homes. They were also instructed to prepare to flee their captivity in Egypt. Indeed, they left their homes in such a hurry that they had to grab their bread before it had risen. In remembrance of their hasty flight to freedom, Jews do not eat any leavened bread during Passover. Hence the plentiful supplies of matzo in the supermarket lately!

Passover, along with Shavuot and Sukkot, is one of the three pilgrimage festivals, when Jews were required to be present at the temple in Jerusalem. Holy Week is also a week of remembrance—when Jesus and his disciples, all good Jews, traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover was arrested, tried and killed.

God’s instructions to Moses and Aaron for observing Passover are the first lesson we read on Maundy Thursday because Jesus’ last meal with his disciples was the Passover meal.

Tonight, Monday in our Holy Week, Jews all over the world will be sharing a special meal, the Passover Seder. Jewish Voice for Peace offers this seder as a way to reflect on the Jewish exodus through the experience of the Palestinians who have been forced to pay the price for the existence of the State of Israel.

As Rabbi Alissa Wise of Jewish Voice for Peace explains, “This Haggadah takes our responsibility to be part of the ongoing evolution of Jewish culture and ritual seriously, by re-imagining and re-creating rituals to speak to our highest ethical values and political lives and commitments. You will find in this Haggadah, inspired by the tradition: olives on the seder plate, ten plagues of the Israeli occupation, four cups of wine dedicated to education, solidarity, the BDS movement, and community, and feminine and non-gendered blessing formulations.”

Or click here for the Jewish Voice for Peace Haggadah

Prayer: Even if you don’t read the whole Haggadah, please use the prayer of repentance, Nakba Dayenu, on page 15.

[Passover news from Palestine: Israel’s military is preparing for the Passover by announcing a "general closure" of the West Bank which will last for ten days. The closure will prevent Palestinians with work permits, from entering Israel and Jerusalem until 11:50 p.m. on 26 April. An exception is the few Palestinians who were granted permits to visit the holy sites in Holy Week (story, “Jewish Freedom Holiday Restricts Palestinians,” Ma’an News). Israel is also closing entrances to Gaza during Passover (see story, Ma’an News). Read Maria Khoury’s article about Christian access to Jerusalem in Palestine Network News. Dr. Khoury was in Denver in February and spoke at a Sabeel program.]

Lent 6, Palm Sunday, Matthew 27

Palm Sunday, Matthew Matthew 27.11-54

Now, THIS is a god Palestinians can identify with! This god, on trial before Pilate, convicted by the mob, spit upon, mocked, taunted with the vile-tasting wine, totally abandoned as he hung there dying—When Christians in Bethlehem read this story, they know what Jesus is facing. They have been there, arrested by Pilate’s soldiers, waiting in Pilate’s prison and standing in his courtroom.

They, too, have been betrayed by their leaders—their own leaders and their military rulers, the Israelis. They have sat forgotten in Israeli jails, where they have also been beaten—young and old alike. They have been mocked at checkpoints, taunted by soldiers who make them lift their shirts. They have suffered the indignity of a pat-down every time they want to leave their town. They have stood impotent as the soldiers beat their children. They have stood for hours in the hot sun, at the whim of a 19-year-old in a green uniform pointing an AK47 at them. They have been abandoned by the international community that created Israel out of their villages and olive groves.

On March 29, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons launched a hunger strike, protesting the inhumane treatment they have received and Israel’s violations of international law. In the US, we don’t hear much about Israeli prisons, but for Palestinian prisoners, Israeli prisons serve as educational institutions. The prisoners meet together, the older ones teaching the younger ones. They learn about the history of the Palestinian people and they read Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The prisons are a school for non-violent resistance to Israel’s occupation.

Sami Al Jundi was a teenager when he was sentenced to ten years in prison after a bomb he was building exploded, killing his friend. His new book, The Hour of Sunlight, co-written with Jen Marlowe, is his story of transformation in these prison schools. After his release, he founded an organization bringing together Palestinian and Israeli youth.

His is not the experience of all Palestinian prisoners and not everyone embraces non-violence. And, as Mazin Qumsiyeh pointed out during his visit to Denver in March, Palestinian non-violence is often met by violence on the part of the Israeli soldiers. But Sami’s story inspires others in their non-violent work and the work multiplies—I have seen for myself some of the non-violent work being done all over Israel and Palestine, for example, Sulha, the group I met with last year in Jerusalem. Photo shows Sulha youth and their leader, Elad. See part of that story on my blog: http://apilgrimstales.blogspot.com/2010/05/peace-is-road-that-takes-you-somewhere.html

Watch an intereview on GRITtv with Sami Al-Jundi and Jen Marlowe http://www.blip.tv/file/4976052

O God, you know the life of a prisoner. You stood before the greatest military power of your time, on trial for your life. Help us to stand with prisoners everywhere—both in Israel and with the people in our own prisons right here in Colorado. Amen.

Lent 6, Palm Sunday, Isaiah - Sustaining Words

Isaiah 50.4-9a
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. (Is 50.4)

Read what our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers call us to do to support them during Holy Week—

Position of the Local Palestinian Christian community on Restrictions on Religious Rights (and especially during Holy Week)

For Christians, Holy Week in Jerusalem has a special spiritual connection. The Old City, its gates and roads, the Mount of Olives, Via Dolorosa and The Holy Sepulchre Church, where pilgrims from all over the world journey to, are equally important to the Palestinian Christians of Gaza and the West bank, who want to join their Jerusalemite Christian brethren in the liturgical events leading to the resurrection, the holiest celebration in Christianity.

In every country that respects and implements freedom of worship, worshippers of different faiths live their faith and express their prayers without restrictions from the governing authorities. In Jerusalem, and for the past decade, this has not been the case. The occupying power is denying free access to Holy places of worship to both Christians and Muslims on several important occasions. Photo: Bethlehem residents who were denied permits, protesting at the Bethlehem checkpoint, Palm Sunday, 2010.

Last year, Israel restrictions prevented Palestinian Christians from attending the Holy Fire Saturday in Jerusalem. Israel allows only 8000 pilgrims and few hundreds of locals to enter the city on Holy Fire Saturday where the Holy Sepulchre Church and its surroundings become off limits for Christians through a complex network of walls, checkpoints, and security apparatuses.

A tradition dating long before the creation of the state of Israel is observed by Palestinian Christians on that special day. Local Christians wait for The Holy Light on the roof of the Patriarchate and at the Church of Saint Jacob, adjoining the Holy Sepulchre. The local faithful insist on preserving this right no matter what it takes. They see that the restrictions made against them are violations of basic human rights and religious freedom as well as a violation of the Status Quo and centuries of religious traditions for the indigenous Christians of this land.

On the occasion of the celebration of Easter the “The Moment of Truth Document” that unites Christians in a word of Faith, Hope and Love in a call for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, would like to emphasize on the follow:

• The right of entry to Jerusalem for West Bank and Gaza Christians. On the occasion of Easter, Palestinian Christians living outside of Jerusalem in the West Bank and Gaza are required to apply for permits to access their holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. It is estimated that of those, only 2000 – 3000 Palestinian Christians receive permits. Muslims have also difficulties in accessing their Holy sites. However, Jews do not have to apply for permits!

• The permit system instated by Israel is in obvious violation of the ICPRR, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants and treaties to which Israel is a signatory. Regardless of the number of people from the local congregation allowed toparticipate in the celebrations, we reject the imposition of a permit/quota system to access our churches and shrines.

• During Jewish holidays, Palestinian areas are put under military closure in the West bank and acquired permits are automatically cancelled. The heavy presence of Israeli Police and Military forces (around and in the Old City and surrounding the holy sites) preventing Christians from accessing the Holy Sepulcher Church and the Old City disturbs the spiritual atmosphere of Easter, especially when Israeli commanders are around and inside the Tomb of Christ.

• Excuses being used by the Israeli police regarding our ‘own security’ are not acceptable. In addition, our prayers and holding of candles are signs of peace & should not threaten the might of the Israeli Police. There is no need or justification for a fully charged army & police force. Actions taken against Palestinian Christians, the first and oldest Christian community in the world, attack not only the Palestinian people and their rights in the occupied city of Jerusalem, but in reality, the whole Christianity.

We call on all our leaders, friends, brothers and sisters around the world to continue exerting pressure on Israel, to end its military occupation on this land and to respect international law and human rights. Practical steps to take:

Support local Church leaders not to submit and accept the conditions that deprive indigenous and international worshippers of the joy of celebrating Easter.

Write to your political representatives to pressure Israel by political means to end its restrictions in this field In Colorado: (for other districts, please see: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd) Senator Michael Bennet: http://bennet.senate.gov/contact/ Senator Mark Udall: http://markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact_us Representative Diana DeGette: http://www.house.gov/formdegette/Legislative_Contact_Form.shtml Representative Jared Polis: https://polis.house.gov/Forms/WriteYourRep/ Representative Doug Lamborn: https://lamborn.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=138 Representative Mike Coffman: http://forms.house.gov/coffman/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm Representative Ed Perlmutter: https://forms.house.gov/perlmutter/webforms/contact.shtml

Write directly to the Israeli Ambassadors in your countries complaining against such actions Israeli Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren: Email: info@washington.mfa.gov.il Telephone: 202.364.5500 Kairos Palestine, The Christians Palestinian Initiative c/o Dar Annadwa, P.O.Box 162, Bethlehem, Palestine • Phone +972-2-277 0047 • Fax +972-2-277 0048 Email: info@kairospalestine.ps • www.kairospalestine.ps Jerusalem , Bethlehem, 3.04.2011

Lent 6, Matthew - Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Matthew 21.1-11

On Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, crowds still gather on the Mount of Olives and process into Jerusalem. This centuries-old tradition draws pilgrims from all over the globe, who walk the streets where Jesus rode the donkey, a tradition perhaps tracing its roots as far back as the fourth century.

Last year, a story in the New York Times reported: “Hundreds of Christians from around the world marched from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem to mark Palm Sunday, retracing the steps of Jesus 2,000 years ago….A few dozen Israeli police stood by, a small fraction of the forces on duty in recent weeks because of Palestinian unrest.”

“Unrest?” An interesting way to describe protests against the announcement of even more settlement construction in the Palestinian West Bank.

“Unrest?” An odd word for protests against Israel’s refusal of permits for people from Bethlehem to travel to Jerusalem for the procession, a denial of their centuries-old tradition.

“Unrest?” Christians from around the world didn’t need any permits to walk Jesus’ route; they just showed up by the busload on the top of the Mount of Olives. You and I would not need a permit. Our American passports would do the trick. But the locals, the descendants of those who waved palm branches for Jesus, were required to get permits to be there. And then their permit requests were denied. Even though the Mount of Olives is in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of Jerusalem.

No wonder there was “unrest.” For the residents of Bethlehem, in the West Bank, permits are required to travel to East Jerusalem, another part of the West Bank, because Israel has set up checkpoints at every road leaving Bethlehem. No one enters or leaves Bethlehem without a permit, without waiting in a long line, submitting to searches and questioning.

You’d think that Palestinians traveling from a West Bank town, through the West Bank, to another town in the West Bank, would not have to go through Israeli checkpoints. But the settlements have been built between all the towns of the West Bank and so Israel has set up the checkpoints to protect them from the Palestinians, whose land was taken for the settlements.

(the blue areas on the map are Israeli settlements, between Palestinian towns in the West Bank).

In fact, if Jesus were traveling today, from Jericho to the Mount of Olives and into Jerusalem, he would have to pass through at least two checkpoints and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adummim. Then, just before getting to the Mount of Olives, he would bump up against Israel’s 25-foot-high wall at Abu Dis (see photo), where it cuts off the road from Jericho to Jerusalem and divides this Arab village in two. Jesus would be able to go no further—not even a checkpoint here; no travel. Period.

Even though Jesus would never leave the West Bank, he could not make it to Jerusalem.......even in the unlikely event that a rabble-rouser like him would be granted a permit.

The map shows how the settlements (blue) break up the West Bank and make travel between Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Jericho (to the right, off the map) so difficult.

God, you sent your son to bring good news—your dreams for our future, of hope, health and abundant life. But we are too afraid to let go of the life we know to follow your way. As we remember Jesus’ life death and resurrection this Holy Week, embolden us to be good news for your people today. Amen.

Lent 5, John – Raising the Dead

John 11.1-45

Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again? (Jn 11.8)

It’s dangerous, this healing work. Jesus’ disciples are incredulous. Does Jesus really intend to go back up to Jerusalem, the place where the "Jews" are planning to stone him? (Jn 10.31)

This power to bring life out of death is hazardous. Lazarus himself became the target of threats (Jn 12.10). The world fears this life-giving power.

We’ve seen it in Tahrir Square, as freedom protesters were attacked and killed. We’ve seen it in Libya, in Bahrain, in Yemen. And this week we see it again in Palestine, in Jenin, a refugee camp famous for its refusal to accept Israel’s theft of land, its fences and walls and iron gates. Jenin is well-known for its uprisings against Israel’s cruelty.

This week, one of Jenin’s leaders was killed, five bullets to his head, gunned down outside the theater he created in the hopelessness of this refugee camp. Juliano Mer-Khamis was the co-founder and director of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp. It is not yet known who killed him, but he was most definitely a man of peace and freedom. Watch this 8-minute documentary by Jen Marlowe which tells Juliano’s story, in his own words—a man breathing new life into a community under occupation.

God of resurrection, you bring healing out of illness, life out of death. Today, your steadfast presence still inspires visions of the possibility of life in a world where death seems victorious. Give us courage to stand with those who have seen the vision you have given us, even when death threatens. Amen.

Lent 5, Romans - God is Waiting

Romans 8.6-11 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Rom 8.9)

This poem from Joan Chittister’s new book, The Monastery of the Heart, came to me this week via her weekly email, Vision and Viewpoint. It perfectly describes the work of Compassionate Listening, and expresses what I have seen and heard when I meet people on the ground working for peace and reconciliation in Israel and Palestine. Jamal Muqbel and his family, for example, embody this work in Beit Ommar (see Friday, Apr 1 post). And there are hundreds more…hearing God’s spirit dwelling in their hearts and joining God’s creative work, in their own lives and for the future of the world.

Listen with the ear of your heart…Prologue of The Rule of Benedict

It is a gentle, tender invitation,
this call to create within ourselves
a Monastery of the Heart.
It is the call to go down deep
into the self
in order to find there
the God
who urges us;
to come out of ourselves
to do the work of God,
to live in union with God
in the world around us.

It is not punitive, this call.
It is not demanding,
not harsh and unforgiving.
It is, instead, the daily guarantee
that, if we will only begin the journey
and stay the road—
listening to the voice of God
and responding to it
with all our gifts and goodness—
we will find that God stands waiting
to sustain us,
and support us,
and fulfill us
at every turn.
God is calling us lovingly always,
if we will only stop the noise within us
long enough to hear....

The Prologue to Benedict's Rule
demands of us
that we "Listen."
Listen to everything.
Because everything in life is important.
Listen with the heart:
with feeling for the other,
with feeling for the Word,
with feeling for the God
who feels for us.
Listen to the Word of God,
the Rule says,
"and faithfully put it into practice."
Most of all,
know that to seek God
is to find God.
In a Monastery of the Heart—
in the riches of the tradition it offers
and the treasures to which it leads,
and in company with others who are seeking, too—
find a loving spiritual guide
to encourage your journey,
to refresh your faith
when life is dry and dark,
when the days are long and draining,
when you are inclined to forget
that God is with us
for the taking.

Most of all, every day
start over again.
Remember that life is
for coming to see,
one day at a time,
what life and God
are really all about.
Life grows us more and more—
but only if we wrestle daily
with its ever-daily meaning for us.
God is calling us to more
than now—
and God is waiting
to bring us to it.
"Listen," the Rule says.
"If you hear God's voice today,
do not harden your hearts."

God, whose breath formed our very lives, your Spirit still breathes through us this day. Soften our hearts to find you there, in our very created essence. Give us courage to heed your invitation to work with you, bringing in your kingdom of justice and peace. Amen.

Lent 5, Ezekiel - Breathing Life into Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37.1-14

And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil…. (Ez. 37.11)

Near a busy intersection and trendy shopping area in West Jerusalem (the Israeli side), our Compassionate Listening stopped for lunch near a large park, much of it hidden from view by a tall fence of corrugated metal. I could hear bulldozers at work, but I couldn’t see what was going on in there. This is Mamilla Park and we were told that construction was beginning on a Museum of Tolerance, built by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, based in California.

Sounds beautiful, does it not? Just what is needed in this border area where Israeli West Jerusalem meets Palestinian East Jerusalem, where Jews, Christians and Muslims fight over land and human rights—a perfect spot for a tolerance museum, to bring people together.

This story of hope, however, has a dark underside. Mamilla Park was built on top of a Muslim cemetery, and, as construction proceeds on the Museum of Tolerance, graves are being bulldozed, the bones scattered…dry bones, ancient bones of the ancestors of today’s Palestinians, living nearby in East Jerusalem or in refugee camps in Jordan or Lebanon, or in America or anywhere around the world where they have found refuge.

Some of the bones were simply piled into cardboard boxes, unidentified, unmarked, without notifying the families or anyone in the community. The construction of the “Museum of Tolerance” has been opposed by Israeli archaeologists, historians, human rights advocates, to no avail. Construction is proceeding this very moment. Photo: my view of Mamilla Cemetery in 2010 Take a few minutes to hear about the controversy:

• Interview on Democracy Now, explaining the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s reaction to the Palestinian protest and an interview with Rashid Khalidi and Michael Rattner, explaining Palestinian objections to the building (9min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDssmI-EnHo&feature=related


• More pictures of the cemetery (2 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am0MyyjPYyU

What would express God’s desire for Israelis and Palestinians? “I will put my spirit within you and you shall live, and I will place you on our own soil.” God of creation, your breath gave life to humankind. In times of suffering, you sent your spirit and then your son to bring your people hope for new life. Today we bring you our own hopes for the future of your people. Grant us courage to carry out our part in your life-giving work. Amen.

Lent 4, John - Born Blind

John 9.1-41 (including Jesus’ explanation of this sign in 10.1-21)

…he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. (Jn 9.3)

Sometimes when I tell people what I have seen and heard in Israel and Palestine, I feel like the man born blind.

When I come back to the US with all these stories that don’t fit with what we have always believed about Israel and Palestinians, I get the questions—Aren’t the Palestinians encouraging violence? Aren’t their leaders corrupt? After all, don’t they want to see Israel “driven into the sea”? How do you know you haven’t been duped into sympathizing with the Palestinians? Is it possible you have been brainwashed? Like the blind man, I have seen something so powerful that I can’t keep it to myself. I feel compelled to tell everyone about it. Like the blind man, I’m not sure what it means, but in telling the story I am slowly finding the meaning.

This week in Beit Ommar, the Israeli army closed the city’s only entrance, the small dirt road that passes under the 50-foot-high guard tower. The people of Beit Ommar, fed up with Israel’s ongoing confiscation of their lands, have been demonstrating against the occupation. With the “unrest” all over the West Bank, Israel is clamping down on protest.

Jamal, in Beit Ommer (the name of the town, like most Arabic place names is spelled many ways in English – I have usually written Beit Ummar) wrote on Wednesday (his English is MUCH better than my Arabic, but I’ve done a little editing to make it clearer):

“Now the Israeli soldiers closed Beit Ommer; it's like a big prison, no one can use the car to go outside, also they arrested a lot of people (young men). Despite of that I continue working for peace. I invited Israelis to my house, I visited Sderot, in the south of Israel where Hamas rockets come through Gaza, I talked to people there, I faced dangers there, some people made a protest against me and other Palestinians who were there; they used bad words.

Photo is of Jamal and Margee, from our Compassionate Listening delegation last May, taken by Ellen Greene.

Also there were 4 women from Cyprus; I invited them to my house with Israelis. I coordinate with the Mayor of Beit Ommer; we invited many people to the Muncipality to screen a film about the conflict in Cyprus. Then we discussed with the Israelis; many shared and asked questions; it was a wonderful meeting. Last Monday the Compassionate Listening group visited us; we invited Israelis to the meeting, also Palestinians; they heard from both sides. Saddiye [Jamal’s wife] and the children help me in all my activities; they give me courage. It's not easy for me to continue without their support; sometimes Saddiye becomes afraid when I visit Israelis area because there is a lot of hate to Palestinians. Also my work with Israelis caused problems in my job [Jamal is a barber] because I lost many customers, because many people don't accept the idea that I deal with Israelis, but I want to continue what I started. We think of our children’s future; we want them to live on peace without fear , it's a big challenge.

Also last week we met with an Israeli family from Sedrot; they have 4 kids; our children shared playing with them; we shared a meal. It was really nice meeting. The plan was to visit them in their house but the soldiers didn't let us go to Sedrot even we though had permits, but this family come next to the checkpoint. We spent 4 hours together, this means a lot to us; we feel we break the wall between us.”

God, you know the desires of our hearts—longings for peace and security, for freedom and a future for our children. Help those of us who have been given these gifts to use them for the work of your reign of justice and peace. Amen.

Lent 4, Ephesians - In Darkness

Ephesians 5.8-14

For once you were in darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. (Eph 5.8)

So much of what has happened in Israel/Palestine over the course of the twentieth century has been hidden in darkness. Instead of living by what can be seen in the light, I have discovered that I have lived by myths that flourished in the darkness. One myth I believed was that Palestine was an empty land, waiting for industrious Jewish farmers to “make the desert bloom.” And that Palestinians rock-throwing started the violence. History teaches otherwise.

Today, March 30, is Palestinian Land Day, "Yom al-Ard," —a day commemorating the Israeli military's 1976 killing of six young Palestinians as they protested the Israeli government's seizure of Palestinian land. The day has since become a symbol of Palestinian resistance to land theft, colonization, occupation and apartheid.

The stories of Palestinian non-violent protest are hidden to most Americans. Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh’s new book, Popular Resistance in Palestine, is one of many recent books bringing this hidden history to light. He writes about the careful organizing that led up to the events of Land Day (pp 112-113), and shared them on his blog yesterday:

“Away from politics, grassroots efforts were functioning. The increased mobilization among Palestinians inside the Green Line took a dramatic and bold step forward with a large meeting in August 1975 in Nazareth attended by 110 individuals to defend the land. At this meeting, a committee was selected, headed by Anees Kardoush, to prepare for an even larger meeting. This meeting, held in October 1975, included about 5,000 activists from many factions and created the Committee for Defense of the Land (Lajnat Al-Difa’ An Al-Aradi) with 100 members and an eleven-member secretariat.

It began by protesting against the confiscation of 22,000 dunums in the Galilee and the declaration of an even larger parcel of land belonging to three villages (in the Al-Mil area) as closed military zones, with the intention of building nine Jewish settlements in this closed zone. A meeting was held in Nazareth on March 6, 1976. This included 48 heads of municipalities and local village councils and called for a day of protests and strikes on March 30, 1976 should Israel go ahead with its land confiscation policies. When it appeared the strike would take place, many areas outside of the Galilee joined it, including in the West Bank. Photo: Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh being arrested, Al Walaja, 2010

This became known as ‘Land Day’ throughout Palestine. The events actually started on March 29, when a demonstration against the Israeli army’s provocative mobilizations in the village of Deir Hanna. Later that evening, the village of Araba Al-Batoof demonstrated in solidarity and a young man, Khair Muhammad Yassin, was killed by Israeli soldiers. He was the first martyr of the 1976 Land Day. More martyrs fell over the next 24 hours.

The events were well organized and participation was high. The Israeli authorities reacted violently. Many were injured, six nonviolent protesters killed and hundreds arrested. The events coincided with the secret Koening Memorandum which laid out plans for further discrimination and ethnic cleansing to ‘make the Galilee more Jewish’. The Israeli government condemned the leaking of the memorandum, but no government official repudiated its racist content.12 After this successful popular event, differences arose that weakened the organizing committee and yet, the movement continues strongly to this day.”

As you can see, non-violent protest is an inaccurate description. Non-violence is often met with violence. Tomorrow in Palestine, Israeli soldiers protect the bulldozers clearing Palestinian land for the building of the wall; people protest; and some may be killed.

God of light, open our hearts to the light. Then give us courage to be your partners in this illuminating work; help us be your merciful light, shining on the dark places of your world. Amen.

Lent 4, Samuel - Leading

For the Lord does not see as mortals see...” (1Sam 16.7)

It’s not easy being a leader—prophet OR king. Saul learned the hard way. Enjoying God’s favor, battle after battle, he became more and more impressed with himself, finally claiming sacrificial leadership that did not belong to him. He forgot that his success was not his own, that everything he had achieved depended on God and on Samuel, God’s messenger. Samuel loved his protege–king, even when Saul arrogantly took over Samuel’s job. When God abandoned Saul, Samuel grieved.

As I read about poor Saul, I recalled the strange scene at the Colorado legislature on Friday, March 18, when first the Senate and then the House, interrupted their business to give Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren a standing ovation and a resolution of uncritical support for the state of Israel.

Everyone I’ve told about this asks, Why is the Colorado legislature passing resolutions on foreign policy? Introducing the resolution with laudatory praise for Israel, the legislators explained that it was the $36.6 m Colorado companies make, selling things to Israel. The resolution was our state’s thank you to Israel, a “democracy” that “shares our values,” and is such “ a good partner.”

I, too, have believed that Israel shares our democratic values....until 2008, when I met Dr. Abdul-Latif, a hydrologist who lives surrounded by Israel’s wall in the village of Jayyous in the West Bank. He showed us the wall and told us about his brother-in-law, Dr. Ghassan Khaled, a lecturer and professor of commercial international law at Al Najah University in Nablus, who had been arrested a few months before, on January 16. He was released for lack of evidence, rearrested and held under “administrative detention” for 20 months; then released and arrested again in August, 2010.

“Administrative detention” means that they can hold him without charges...for however long they like. Like most universities, Al Najah is a place where ideas are developed and debated. As a Palestinian university, a big topic of conversation is Israel’s occupation and strategies to end it. As a teacher of international law, I can imagine that Professor Khaled has spoken and written about Israel’s own violations of international law in continuing its occupation and discriminating against its own Arab citizens and the Arabs in occupied areas like Nablus. There have been many demonstrations against Israel’s occupation.....Is this why he is considered a security risk and held in prison for the last three years? Photo is Dr. Khaled's sister-in-law and niece, 2008

Or does his arrest have something to do with his father, Sharif Omar Khaled, who is one of the popular leaders of the peace demonstrations against the Apartheid wall built on the land of Jayyous? His own fields – like most, in that area – were incorporated into Israel by the wall, and he is required to present a permit in order to cultivate them.

We can only guess, because, since the original charges were dismissed in 2008, for lack of evidence, Dr. Khaled has never been charged with anything, only imprisoned. Dr. Khaled is not the only one. Today here are 214 Palestinians held in “administrative detention.” Are these the values we share with Israel? Is this even democracy?

God of Samuel, Saul and David, we are stubborn, and slow to learn your ways; we do not listen to your prophets or submit to your will. But we are quick to assume power. Help us learn humility, to conform our lives to your desires for us, to let go of our desire for control, to live into our baptism with the gifts you have given us. Amen.

Lent 3, John - Walking a Divided Land

John 4.5-42

But he had to go through Samaria. (John 4.4)

Jesus’ journey takes him through a land divided, by tradition and religion—like riding on the bus, past a Palestinian village on the right, an Israeli town on the hill above; or an Israeli “archaeological site with its ruins of a destroyed Arab town; or a Bedouin camp in the valley below an Israeli settlement.

Last May, as I rode the bus south toward the Israeli town of Sderot on the border with Gaza, I felt anxious, journeying toward the land of the “other”—an Israeli community located right on Israel’s border with Gaza, a place constantly under threat of attack by rockets launched from Gaza. It was these rocket attacks that Israel cited as the reason for its invasion of Gaza in December-January 2009-10. Although I knew we were meeting with a group of Israeli women who are working for peace, building bridges with their Gazan neighbors, my anger over Israel’s attack on Gaza and the horrible destruction of the towns and the deaths of so many civilians was stuck in my throat.

The women we were going to meet had moved their families to this land, which had once been home to both Palestinians and Jews, living side by side. They had come to this dry place to settle and claim the land for Israel. Even though I knew that they were working for peace, I knew that their presence was a source of the friction between Jews and Palestinians.

The bus pulled into the parking lot at Netiv-haAsara, a moshav, with a communal lifestyle similar to a kibbutz, but the agricultural lands are individually owned. It was planned as a buffer between Israel and the Gaza Strip, established in 1982 after Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai and its peace agreement with Egypt. People are still moving here and the Jewish Agency provides each family with a small piece of land.

As I sat in the moshav’s community room, I learned that Roni does not want to be an obstacle to peace. She described their life here ten years ago, when Palestinians from nearby Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya came across the border each day to work the land of the moshav. These Israeli and Palestinian farmers got to know one another, visited with one another and celebrated weddings and other social events together. She said their lives have been “undermined by the military on both sides.” Photo: Roni and Julia in Netiv-haAsara, taken by Ellen Greene

In 2005, on the day after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, removing its settlements, a rocket fired from Gaza killed a girl in Netiv-haAsara. Since then they have lived under constant threat of the rockets. Just because the rockets are homemade and rarely hit anything but a field, the threat of death is always present. When the siren sounds, everyone knows they have minutes to run to the shelters.

Julia is a social psychologist who teaches at the college near Sderot, 2 k from Gaza. Two years ago a student was killed in the parking lot by a rocket, while other students watched. The worst effect is psychological—75-80% of the people in the region have PTSD. These two women described their work to build bridges with their Palestinian neighbors—Products for Peace, which sells things like Palestinian soap with an Israeli-crafted soap dish. http://www.nisped.org.il/

Roni moved here from Britain, Julia from the US. Both came as young adults, full of hope and the promise of Israel. Julia said she once believed that Israel wanted peace, that the land was empty and that “the Arabs hated us.” Those hopes and visions have been shattered for both women as they have learned about Israel’s history and gotten to know their Palestinian neighbors.

Now they are busy planning seminars to build understanding. Julia told us she was opposed to the war on Gaza and opposes the building of the wall. She has called for an end to the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza. One of the women in their group went to Ashdod to protest the killing of the nine people on the humanitarian aid ship Mavi Marmara, which happened a few days before we met. The woman was threatened by her neighbors, who told her to apologize for participating in the protest or leave the moshav. But Roni and Julia told us, “we don’t give up because there is no other way.” They want Jewish Americans to realize that Jews need to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and the Palestinian occupation; there need to be joint ceremonies so that these events are not forgotten, so that the people can change the future. “I don’t have to compare [the holocaust and the occupation]…I cannot, because we know what this is doing to us as a people….” She finds it easier to dialogue with Palestinians than with people in her own community. “We cannot solve this militarily; we need something different…both people are entitled to a land and a life, a right not to be bombed.”

I couldn’t agree more.

God of all being, you walked our roads and drank from our wells. You listened to our squabbles over land and our arguments about how to worship you. And you dared speak to the “other,” bringing healing and peace to a divided community. We pray that you continue your creative work, forming us in your image. Amen.


[Note: Sychar….Jacob’s Well. Sychar is commonly thought to be the ancient city of Shechem, today identified with the archaeological site of Tel Balata, on a small knoll (Shechem means “shoulder” or “high place”) near the city of Nablus in the West Bank. The site today is in the Balata Refugee Camp. To read more about Balata today, see Anna Baltzer’s beautiful photographs and stories in her book, Witness in Palestine.) Jacob’s Well is at the entrance to Balata Camp. In the Orthodox tradition, the feast day of Plotine, the name given to the unnamed woman of Samaria, is celebrated, on March 20.]

Lent 3, Romans - Boasting in our Suffering?

Romans 5.1-11

…but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Rom 5.3-5)

We rarely choose suffering….unless we have something to gain, like winning a marathon. Suffering simply comes to us, unbidden and often unannounced. Like the earthquake and tsunami and nuclear emergency. Suffering is part of life. It cannot be avoided. All we can do is make the best of it. Paul’s words are not idle speculation; Paul knew suffering.

In the Middle East there are many people who know suffering. Arrest, interrogation, torture, suicide bombers, house demolitions, corrupt government officials…the suffering goes on and on. The question is, What do we do with our suffering? Does it produce endurance, character and hope? Or bitterness, misery and retaliation?

When I first went to the Holy Land, I expected to see a lot of misery, encounter a lot of bitterness. But then I met Angie. A student at Bethlehem University, she was our guide while we were in Bethlehem—setting up the gardening and painting projects we did at the Lutheran school. She told me she had applied for a permit to go to Jerusalem for Holy Week, but was denied.

It’s the custom for Christians in the Holy Land to walk the road Jesus walked, down the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, waving palm branches and singing. She said that since she was a student at a university where student groups engaged in mass demonstrations against Israel’s occupation, she was deemed a security risk, even though she did not belong to any of these student groups. There was no appeal, no process for proving that she was not a threat. The permit was simply denied, along with most of the rest of the Christians in Bethlehem. And it has only gotten worse. Last year, virtually no permits were issued for Holy Week travel. Photo: protesters who were denied permits for Palm Sunday try to push past the wall at the Bethlehem checkpoint, 2010.

Then Angie told me that she didn’t hate Israelis. She didn’t blame them for her virtual imprisonment behind the walls surrounding Bethlehem. She said she just wanted the occupation to end so that she could go abroad to study…and to Jerusalem for Holy Week.

I thought at the time, “How can this be?” And I realized I was witnessing something miraculous. That’s when I knew I had to tell her story and invite others to “come and see” for themselves. Because Angie is not the only Palestinian I met who carries no hatred for Jews or Israelis—I’ve seen it everywhere in Palestine, this miracle of forgiveness shared by Muslims and Christians.

I think this is what Paul meant. Living behind the 25-foot-high wall, not being allowed to leave Bethlehem….it takes endurance to stay there and not move to your brother’s in Texas—away from the soldiers and the threat of bulldozers. It takes endurance to raise your children knowing they may not be able to go to university abroad to become a doctor. Endurance means not giving up on your future. And somehow, miraculously, hope is born out of the despair. This year Angie is in Wisconsin, working on her masters degree so she can go back to Bethlehem, equipped to be a leader in the new Palestine.

God of unimaginable possibilities, you have created your people with a great diversity of talents and gifts. We are grateful for the opportunities we have been given to use our gifts to bring healing and hope in your world. Amen.

Lent 3, Exodus - Resistance

Exodus 17.1-7
“I will be standing there in front of you.” (Ex 17.6)

This story about Moses and the Israelites’ journey to the “promised land” makes difficult reading this week after five members of one family were murdered in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Those who discovered the murders describe a horrific and bloody scene. The settlement is called Itamar.

Jewish Zionists build towns in Palestinian areas because these are sites mentioned in the bible—places the Hebrew people settled after fleeing slavery in Egypt. Today’s residents of Itamar settled here in 1984, deep in the heart of the Palestinian West Bank, near Nablus (First map shows Itamar and how settlements are encroaching on Arab towns). They named their town after Moses’ brother Aaron’s youngest son, who, tradition holds, was buried near here. The town was settled by Orthodox Jews, on land belonging to the Palestinian town of Awarta, taking half of Awarta’s lands to build their settlement, according to Awarta residents .

Second map shows Itamar and Awarta in the larger area of the central West Bank, from Jerusalem north to Nablus: Palestinian areas shaded in brown; Israeli settlements shaded in blue. Itamar and Awarta are in upper center.
Before any investigation, the IDF characterized the attacks in a headline: “Five Family Members Murdered in Itamar Terror Attack.” Haaretz described the Israeli response: “Extensive police forces and Israel Defense Forces are scanning the area for the suspect.” It’s what we would expect—an investigation into the murders, right?

In the US, we heard about the killings, but not much about the Israeli soldiers who descended on Awarta, made everyone go outside, beat the men of the village, and arrested 12 of them, between the ages of 15 and 40 (see AIC News). The soldiers camped out in villagers’ homes for five days. Swedish volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement, describe what they witnessed in the days following the murders—IDF soldiers smashing furniture, polluting drinking water, pouring liquids on computers (http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/17061/)

We also did not hear much about the dozen settlers who retaliated by marching into Awarta, throwing stones and bottles at Palestinian homes. Or how the Israeli military intervened when the villagers tried to defend themselves (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=368642). Or about the two young cousins, 18 and 19, who were killed in March, 2010, shot at close range by Israeli soldiers. And the long history of settlers harassing Palestinians as they harvest their olives in the fall. It goes on and on.

The road to freedom for Moses and his people had not been easy. Thirst, food shortages and other hardships of travel made everyone testy and quarrelsome. Their leader, who was so sure of himself when they fled Egypt, had run out of ideas. In the barren, dry desert, not knowing where to turn, in desperation, he “cried out to the Lord.” The Lord’s answer? “Go ahead of the people…I will be standing there in front of you.”

God had not abandoned them. Just as in the pillar of fire, God continued to go ahead of them, showing them the way, providing what was necessary for life.

This is how the Palestinians survive—they stay in Awarta and other West Bank towns, trusting that God will provide what they need to remain in their homes, farming their lands, picking their olives, selling vegetables…..resisting Israeli efforts to drive them away.

God of freedom-seekers, you call your people out of bondage and lead them to places of new life, to springs of fresh water. Open our hearts to the needs of those who are imprisoned, longing for freedom and an end to their oppression. Help us find ways to join in your liberating work. Amen.

Lent 2, John - Born Again

John 3.1-17

‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ (John 3.2)

The first time I went to Israel and Palestine, I expected to see some questionable sites of Jesus ministry, do some “good works” at the Lutheran school in Bethlehem and be depressed about the conditions Palestinians are forced to live under. I expected to feel sorry for the Palestinians, their every move controlled by Israel. If the peace negotiators had not been able to achieve an agreement, I expected there was nothing I could do.

But the people I met had different plans for me.

Their puzzling hospitality invited me into their shops and homes. The Palestinians I met know that they are prisoners in their own homes because my tax dollars provision the Israeli army. They know that American corporations manufacture the weapons of their oppression—Caterpillar bulldozers that knock down their homes and uproot their olive trees to build the wall, M-16s that are aimed at them at every checkpoint, F-16s flying low overhead and shooting to blow up their homes and schools, security cameras and computer systems enable soldiers to control and humiliate them at checkpoints.

Knowing that without my tax support Israel could not continue its occupation of their land, how could they welcome me into their homes and serve me tea and cakes? This hospitality is who they are. They have never blamed me for their impossible lives. And they have not given up.

Their faith in me to change their situation challenged me. When I asked what I could to to help change their

oppression, they told me, “Tell our stories. Surely if Americans knew how we are suffering, things will change.” I felt powerless. What could I do? I have no influence with my government. Yes it’s my tax dollars, but what can I do?

As I get to know them and see the work they are doing to build up their community, performing miracles of transformation, turning their prison into a healthy place for children to grow up, I feel like Nicodemus. His declaration to Jesus showed that he saw God’s hand in the healing work Jesus was doing. Like Nicodemus, I, too, have seen the power of God’s healing promises. I have seen people imprisoned behind a 25-foot wall being transformed by the new life they have received in Christ Jesus. I have seen God’s promise of abundant life being fulfilled in the work of these faithful Christians, as they create the Bright Stars after-school programs—music and dance, art and sports—for the children of Bethlehem. I have seen God’s miracles of transformation as I watch Muslim and Christian children learning about each others’ cultures and religions and practicing tolerance and peacemaking at Dar al-Kalima school. I have seen how these Christians, trusting in God’s promise of salvation, have been freed to live their lives AS IF the wall did not exist, to build a college in Bethlehem so that when there is peace, there will be young people equipped to lead a new Palestine.

I did not expect to be hooked by these people, but in Bethlehem I have seen miracles of healing and I have experienced a miracle of forgiveness, a hospitality as radical as Jesus’ words to Nicodemus: “You must be born from above.” Trusting God’s promises that their occupation will not be the last word, the people of Bethlehem have been given new life...and a future for their children. ˆ

Photo: Art Resists the Wall, Bethlehem

God of Abraham, you have promised eternal life for all who trust in your promises. Help us, who have been baptized into new life, to be instruments in your work of salvation in a world where people are perishing. Amen.

Lent 2, Romans - Abraham's Heirs

Romans 4.1-5, 13-17

“For he is the father of all of us, it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’....” (Rom 4.17)

Standing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City....Nowhere in the Holy Land is our common ancestry more evident—Muslims, Jews and Christians. We are sisters, brothers, cousins. We share each other’s holy places, revere the same stones.

After passing through the security checkpoint and opening our backpacks for Israeli soldiers in olive green uniforms so they can check to make sure we have not brought any bombs and weapons, we walk with the other pilgrims up the ramp to the park at the top of the Temple Mount (the Jewish name), or Haram al-Sharif (the Muslim name). On the square atop this tiny piece of land that has sometimes sparked warfare, we stand next to the Dome of the Rock, the mosque built on this hilltop where Mohammad is believed to have ascended to heaven. If we walk to one side and look over the edge, we see men and women swaying in prayer while reading the torah at the Western Wall; they come to the place where the largest stones we can see in the ancient wall are remnants of wall of Herod’s Temple; it is considered the gate of heaven. Walking to the opposite side of the Mount, we look out over the Mount of Olives and the Christian churches built on the hill, commemorating Jesus’ time on the Mount of Olives, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, weeping over Jerusalem, riding the donkey down the road and then up the hill to Jerusalem, with crowds shouting “Hosanna!” Photo: praying at the Western Wall.

One tiny space.....three stories of humanity’s search to know their creator.

As Paul points out, God had a plan when God covenanted with Abraham. God did not intend that the covenant would stop with Abraham. God’s plan was much bigger than Abraham. He was only the beginning, blessed “to be a blessing.” God did not make Abraham the father only of the Jewish people. Paul reminds the Romans that God’s promise included them too—God made Abraham the father of Israel, but also the father of “many nations.” (Gen 17.4)

So, this week, when we read of a family of Jewish settlers being killed in the West Bank, how can we trust God’s promises? When we hear of Arab villagers begin held under curfew and Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians to retaliate for murders that have not yet been solved, how can we believe that God truly is the father of the nations?

God’s promises seem far away.

But the people of Bethlehem, a short drive from this scene, do trust these promises. In a land where tomorrow is uncertain, the people of Bethlehem are building a college to educate the young people of Palestine, who cannot often get the permits to travel abroad for school. The first building of Dar al-Kalima College was dedicated in November, 2010. With the first classes offered in 2006, they have now graduated three classes of students in their two-year accredited programs in arts, multimedia, tourism and communications.

I look at what is happening and find it difficult to trust that God will bring something new out of the destruction, but for these people living under Israel’s occupation, facing eviction notices and unable to travel or visit family, God’s promises are enough.....for the building of a college! Photo: dedication of the college, Nov, 2010.

God of Abraham, we praise you for your unfailing promises to your heirs. Help those of us who live in relative comfort, to trust in your good intentions for your creation. Give us courage to partner with you in your new creation. Amen.

Lent 2, Genesis - Blessing and Curse

Lent 2 - Genesis 12.1-4a

Blessing and Curse

“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12.3)

“I will make of you a great nation.” As an advocate for human rights for Palestinians, these verses from Genesis stick in my gut. They represent families in East Jerusalem sitting on plastic chairs in the street, under a plastic tarp, evicted from their homes. This is what great nations do, isn’t it?—they rule!

My own country is also heir to these words. By most every measure, the United States is a “great nation.” And I am great, blessed beyond all my dreams, with health, wealth, security, and happiness. But grab the edge of a blessing, lift it up and turn it over and on the dark, wet underside you will find a curse. My country is a blessing, but it is also a curse...to its own poor and the poor of the world.

Given the choice, most of us would choose greatness. The question is—will our greatness be a blessing or a curse? Who is blessed by American’s greatness? Who is cursed by it?

For five years, Avital has lived in a house in East Jerusalem with her husband and two preschoolers. This is the Arab part of Jerusalem, on the Palestinian side of the Green LIne, the 1949 armistice line. Avital invited us into her living room and told us about her decision to move from Netanya to Jerusalem, a dream-come-true for her, to live within walking distance of the Old City. “This is our country,” she tells us. She says she lives here so that Jews can surround the Old City and protect their right to access.

She moved here because it is a diverse neighborhood. She looked forward to living with families from different backgrounds, but now she is just afraid of them—afraid to speak to the Palestinian families in her neighborhood because she sees them demonstrating against the evictions every week. She tells us that Palestinians are evicted bec

ause they do not pay their rent, that her house was “abandoned.” The Israeli courts have affirmed her views. “The demonstrators don’t want to hear us,” she says.

Her house is owned by an Jewish American, who is investing lots of money in real estate in East Jerusalem, where the Palestinian Authority has always planned to situate its capitol. He rents the house to Avital and her husband for a low rent, very affordable for these young Jewish families. Photo: Avital telling us her story.

Avital told us part of the story. Nasser Ghawi told us another. His family is one of the families evicted from their home in East Jerusalem. The Ghawi family was given their home by the UN in the1950s, they had lived since the 1950s, as restitution for the home they lost in 1948 when Jewish militias forced them from

one of the Arab villages Israel was clearing out to create their new Jewish state (Israeli historian Ilan Pappe documents Arab removals in his book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine). Although they

have documents showing ownership, an Israeli court ordered their eviction. Photo shows Nasser Ghawi standing by a poster protesting his eviction.

What does it mean to be God’s chosen people? Is it a blessing or a curse? Is Israel chosen? Is the US chosen?

How can our greatness be a blessing to the families of the earth? By selling them M-16s and F-16 fighter planes? By refusing to apply international law to Israel? By giving Israel$3 billlion a year for security, so that their soldiers can evict Palestinian families from their homes?

How can Israel’s greatness be a blessing to the families of the earth?

Gracious God, through your servant Abraham, you have shown us your faithfulness. Help us to trust, like Abraham, that you will bless us. As we live into that trust, help us to live so that we are a blessing to the nations of the earth. Amen.

Lent 1, Matthew - Command these Stones

Matthew 4.1-11

‘If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ (Mat 4.3)

Stones……they are everywhere in the Middle East. They form the roads and mark the paths of the goats on the hillside; they get stuck in your sandals. The stones are the architecture of the buildings—gleaming white in the sun. The Romans made roads from these stones that tourists walk on two thousand years later when they visit the Antonia Fortress in Jerusalem or the ruins of Sephoris near Nazareth.

The tempter stooped, scooped up some of these stones and challenged Jesus….”command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Sounds good—people are hungry and need our help. Jesus himself made miracle bread.

We are always most tempted by our own best intentions.

Twenty-seven Palestinian children were shot in the past year while they were gathering stones—gravel, building materials—or helping their families farm the area on the north end of the Gaza Strip, near its border with Israel. Defense for Children International reports on the injuries and deaths caused by Israel’s ongoing security measures.

In February, Mustafa, 17, Nashat, 16, and Mohammad, 15, were each shot in the leg while they were gathering gravel or watching others working on Palestinian land. Israelis still do not allow enough building materials through their checkpoints, so there is a market for gravel to make the cement to rebuild houses destroyed in Operation Cast Lead (January, 2009). Gathering the gravel is a good way to make some money to buy bread for your family. Until you are shot.

Awad, Abdullah, Said, Hasan, Ibrahim, Mohammad M, Arafat, Hameed, Mohammad S, Ahmad, Shamekh, Belal, Rasmi, Nu’man, Khaled, Mahmoud, Yahia, Mokhles, Suhaib, Fadi, Rami, Mahmoud S, Hatem, Ismail…..shot in the right leg, left leg, right elbow, the head, knee, torso, left arm. They were gathering gravel, grazing goats, collecting wood. They are 15-16-17 years old and they were helping their families survive. Children can earn $8-14 a day collecting building supplies from destroyed buildings close to Israel’s border. They were all working 30-800 meters inside the border fence. See photos of the boys and stories about each one

We could dismiss these injuries….lucky they weren’t killed…..they should have been more careful….everyone knows it’s dangerous to be too close to the border.

But we cannot dismiss our role in these shootings. It is our tax dollars that pay for this Israeli security, $3 billion every year. We pay for the weapons that shoot these children; we supply the bullets and the tear gas canisters that break up demonstrations against the land confiscations. It seemed like such a good idea to use our tax dollars to protect people from suicide bombers. But Abdullah, Mustafa, Awad and the rest of these young men are not suicide bombers; they are not the ones throwing rockets into Israel’s southern towns. And they are suffering. Every evening their mothers await their return, wondering who will be shot today. Photo: Gaza farmers loading their cart in 2009, near northern border with Israel - demolished farmhouse in background.

Gracious God, you led your people through the wilderness, through the rocky desert where Israelis and Palestinians are struggling and suffering. As you gave Moses your commandments, show us your will today and give us courage to worship you in the manner you desire…loosing the bonds of injustice, sharing bread with the hungry, bringing the homeless poor into our homes. Amen.