"What About the Christians In Palestine?"
People, including friends, often ask me why I advocate for the Palestinian people. Sometimes I get accused of being anti-Semitic or siding with terrorism. It is unfortunate that standing with an oppressed people group conjures up so much judgment and hatred. Unfortunately, most of the mean comments come to me from fellow American Christians.
American Christian friend, are you aware there are also Christian Palestinians being killed in the West Bank and Gaza? They feel betrayed by you, by the sects of Western Christianity that side with the secular government of Israel. I wonder what your pastor or priest in America spoke about yesterday? Did they pray only for Israel, or did they pray for all people of the land and also name the Palestinians? Have you ever taken the time to consider what a pastor or priest waking up in Gaza or the West Bank has to say to their church?
I would like to share with you the sermon yesterday from Pastor Munther Isaac in Bethlehem, West Bank, whom I have the upmost respect for. I couldn’t stop crying this morning. Please take the time to hear his words. (Sermon was translated from Arabic to English.)
Sermon 10/15-2023 “And pray for others, that you may be healed." The earnest prayer of a righteous person has power and produces great results." (James 16:5)
Beloved, these are very difficult days, in which our brothers and sisters in Gaza are living, in the most difficult circumstances today. As of last night, there were more than 2,200 martyrs and 8,000 wounded. Whole neighborhoods and whole families have been totally wiped out. There are calls for the evacuation of complete areas and the displacement of more than a million Palestinians. There's even calls to evacuate hospitals.
America and superpowers have given Israel the green light to commit war crimes without account. Christian families have left their homes, many have previously been demolished, and have resorted to churches, due to the fact that they could die at any moment. There is no electricity, water, or food. The people in Gaza have decided not to leave the churches, even if they have to die in them.
Yesterday we saw them continuing in their prayers. In both churches, prayers continued, even by candlelight. It is the refuge of God, so there is no support except Him today, from death, displacement and hunger.
The people of Gaza today face a new ethnic cleansing, 75 years after their first one. Nothing has changed, the first one is not even over yet. As Palestinians, we are still living the Nakba. We are still leaving our homes. How difficult is it to see the photos of displaced families? Some of them fled on foot, reminding us of what happened to us in 1948. We have no place in this world as Palestinians. They don’t want us here, but this is our land! Where should we go? And in Gaza specifically, where should they seek refuge?
Herein lies the root of what is happening in our land. The issue is not just 16 years of suffocating siege, but 75 years and more of displacement and ethnic cleansing. Have we forgotten that Israel - who is "defending itself" - was based on the heaps of Gaza refugee villages?
Gaza reveals to us the hypocrisy of the world. They condemned electricity and water cuts and targeting civilians in Ukraine, but in Gaza, it is Israel's self-defense. And in this land where racist laws are supreme, even the right to self-defense is Israel's exclusive right. As for the Palestinian, he should give up his land and homeland for free, or he becomes an anti-Semitic terrorist.
God’s word today tells us to pray for one another: And pray for one another, that you may be healed. Yesterday we are united with several church families in prayer for peace and the end of war, and for our people in Gaza. Prayer is very important, even if it seems it is not working. We have nothing but prayer. Prayer works and is effective. This is our faith:
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces results.”
And prayer doesn't have to be eloquent words. Our prayer must express what is within us.
It is through lamenting prayer, in which we shed our tears and express our oppression and pain. The words of the Prophet Jeremiah apply to the reality of Gaza today: "I have cried until tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony as I see the desperate plight of the people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets. “(Lamentations 2:11)
Lord, we are tired of seeing children dying. We're tired of seeing the destruction. We are tired of the scenes of displacement.
There is also the prayer of wrath. In it we shout: "My God, my God, why did you leave Gaza?" "How long will you forget all of us?" "Why are you blocking your face from her?" "In the daytime they call you, but you do not answer." "Do not stay away from the people of Gaza, because the distress is near, because there is no certainty." (Psalms 13 & 22). Lord, we are tired of watching people die. Enough.
There is also a prayer for righteousness. Our prayer is to cry out to God for truth and justice! "Would you not come back and revive us, so that your people will rejoice in you?" Show us your mercy, O Lord, and give us your salvation. (Psalm 85) How much do we ask for justice, and mercy, from the God of justice? You said, "seek my face,” today we ask for your face! Don't block your face from those who cry to you for mercy.
And with our prayers, we work and resist. In our prayers we refuse to give up. Our prayers reject what is the reality and say: We want to see change. Our prayers say, we will not accept injustice, we will not accept tyranny, we will not accept racism. We will not really accept death. With our prayers and refusal to injustice, we commit to be the change - not to surrender to reality as if we have no power. In prayer, we strive to keep our faith in this cruel world, and not to turn away from God. We will not turn away from His love and peace.
Our prayer today is that we stay in prayer, faith, and action. Like the four friends carrying the paralyzed man in the Gospel (Mark 2:2-12), let’s commit to standing with our family in prayer and action. Today's Gospel is about the faith of the four friends! They refused despair, didn’t give up, defied their reality, raised the bed, exposed the ceiling, and went down. Mark says to us: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Their faith was the reason why Jesus looked at this atheist and forgave his sins. This is faith that intercedes for others.
My dears, this man had no power or strength. Maybe he was defeated by despair, we don't know. But these four by their faith gave him life. With their faith and perseverance, these four brought healing to this paralyzed man. With what is happening in Gaza today, they need the prayers of our people. We need to carry them with courage and faith. They are the ones defying our despair.
This is our prayer, to lift up our people and our land to God in prayer, to carry them, serve them, and bring them hope, to cling to faith, to persevere in this land, and to be the cause of hope in this land. How is this we may wonder? We are few and maybe we need to be carried? Here is the role of the faith of Christianity, hope and love. Our turn today is to hold on to faith, to persevere and strive to pray first. If we have faith like a little grain, we can move mountains. Strengthen our faith Lord.
With our faith, or as weak as our faith, we want to see Gaza rise. Like this paralyzed man, we want Gaza to hear the voice of Christ the redeemer, who regains the dignity of the deprived man: "I say to you: Get up, take up your bed, and go to your house!" "So, he rose at the time and carried the bed, and went out before all, until the crowd faded and exalted Allah."
Stand up. Go. Run. Stand up in front of everyone, who once told you that you wouldn't walk forever. In front of those who may have been blamed you for your disability and said that your sin or your parents’ sin is the reason for your disability. Stand in front of those who neglected your rights or did not help you. This is our faith and today we say Lord have mercy. Lord, have your way. God, stop the war. Lord, give us true peace.
Beloved, "Pray for one another that you may be healed." “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces results." - Amen."
