As I write these words, on this very day, I was supposed to be in Israel/Palestine. Since 2012, I have co-created and co-taught an interfaith course for Jews, Christians and Muslims. It’s based in Jerusalem, but we travel through Israel and the West Bank to engage the holy sites of all three traditions, and we listen, listen, listen to all the people of the land. This “Sharing Perspectives” course normally happens through St. George’s Anglican College in East Jerusalem, but due to the war it was cancelled this year.
There are many things I’m praying for, but what about the people of the land? The Israelis, the Palestinians, the Gazans, the Muslims, the Christians, the Jews, the Arab-Israelis, the Druze? What are they praying for?
FREEDOM from fear, from attacks, bombs, missiles, death, destruction and disease.
FREEDOM to live in peace, security and health, to eat, drink, wash, plant, work, trade and go to school.
FREEDOM from captivity, suffering, oppression and the terrifying unknown.
FREEDOM to hug family and friends, pray, dream, dance, sing and tell stories.
AND HERE in Canada and throughout the world:
FREEDOM from hate, fear, mistrust, danger, barriers, violence and the misunderstandings of words.
FREEDOM to walk, talk, be unafraid, speak one’s truth and listen to the truth of another.
I AM PRAYING for all these things, too. And right beside these prayers is the calling to reach out to those we know who are hurting and to ask how they are doing, how their family is doing and to listen, listen, listen.
“BUT THEY SHALL all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.”
(The book of the Prophet Micah 4:4 NRSV)
***
Rev. Karen A. Hamilton is the former general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches and former cochair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. She is a United Church minister and has preached extensively in the Middle East, Africa, Japan and Europe.
This piece of writing first appeared in Broadview’s October/November 2024 issue alongside the feature story “In the Face of Conflict.”
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