Peace in the Holy Land
The Holy Land is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, but a tragic decades-old conflict has brought violence and suffering to two of its peoples – Israelis and Palestinians – who yearn for a just peace. A durable peace agreement is essential for the future wellbeing of all the peoples of the Holy Land, including the Christian community, which has experienced rapid emigration due to the difficult political and economic conditions imposed by the conflict.
One year ago, the United States convened an international conference in Annapolis, Md. and launched a new political process aimed at achieving a two-state peace agreement by the end of 2008. The last time a major peace initiative was attempted was in 2000. When those talks failed, violence erupted and prospects for peace became dim.
Over the last year, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been taking place and efforts to improve the situation on the ground undertaken. There has been some progress, but a comprehensive agreement in the near future is unlikely. However, the Annapolis process provides an important groundwork for continued engagement by the next Administration.
A two-state solution that establishes a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel and resolves the core final status issues, including borders, security, water, refugees and Jerusalem, is the best hope for achieving peace in the Holy Land and fostering a more stable and secure region. Christian leaders and congregants from across the country are joining together this Advent and New Year season to urge the new president to make Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking an immediate foreign policy priority.
American Christians, together with Jews and Muslims, have an important role to play in praying for peace and in raising their voices with elected officials and with the wider public. For more information on this endeavor and other ecumenical Christian advocacy efforts, go to www.cmep.org. To learn more about how the Catholic Church is responding to this issue, visit www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/mideast.shtml. Sometimes we forget that as followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, we are all children of Abraham. But like the Israelites to whom the prophet Isaiah speaks, we have all too often “hardened our hearts” toward our sisters and brothers. We have seen our differences, not our commonalities. In our relations with one another, we have fostered intolerance instead of welcome, and division in the place of willingness to work together.
Isaiah reminds us: “We are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.” Advent is a season of new beginnings, and it is a time when we can remember that we are humble, created beings; we are not the master potter and we do not have the ability to clearly see the entirety of God’s vision. No single religious community can achieve peace in the Holy Land on its own; instead, all must work together to reach a shared commitment to peace.
We are called to pray unceasingly. But what does prayer do? It invites God’s presence; it asks for action on the part of the divine. It also challenges us; it melts our hearts, transforms our consciences from the inside out, and moves us to act. It is in prayer that the veil is removed and our eyes are opened to see all persons, whether the same as us or different, as made in the image and likeness of God and with inherent dignity. In true prayer, we cannot help but to see God’s face in all people, even those whom we may perceive as our enemies.
Prayer turns us into God’s hands and feet in the world. God is the “joy of my soul,” says the Prophet Isaiah (61:10). From inner transformation comes outer action. We are inspired and moved in prayer to go into the world and to right what is wrong. We do so renewed, no longer weighted by our doubt or despair, but renewed by faith and certain that what God asks of us can be achieved.
During this Advent season, let us, as Christians, remember humility and present ourselves before God as humble servants. Let us focus on being malleable, approaching God — and one another — with open and willing hearts. Let us enter into prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds and to give us the gifts that we need to perform the work of peace in the Holy Land.
To God, the Father of Abraham, our prayer during Advent is this: Father of All, may you once again gather “the tribes of your heritage.” Bring us to the table, that we may work together as the children of Abraham. The commentary above is drawn from information provided by Churches for Middle East Peace in partnership with the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
MEH
