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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Prayers that have been offered down through time, yet there will always be those who hate; those who will lie and cheat and live negative lives and have followers that will do the same thing.
How does a peace loving, spiritual person or a people protect him/herself or themselves from evil?
Evil exists; always has and always will. Even Jesus couldn’t defeat evil. The reality is that we must struggle against it. Evil exists even in the most noble organizations: The UN, the US Supreme court; within governments and law enforcement agencies; within churches and mosques and spiritual communities. It cannot be won over with love or gentleness or fairness. There will always be those who choose to live in ignorance and can be easily manipulated. There will always be those who can be persuaded to follow a cult leader and so it goes. We often have little choice but to fight when we are attacked, as Israel was on October 7 of last year, and as Jews have been attacked over the years. When someone declares war and is committed to eliminating someone from the face of the earth there is no choice but to fight and to win absolute victory. Prayers, unfortunately, are, as my dad used to say, “pie in the sky.”