Lent 4, Ephesians—Living as Children of the Light

Ephesians 5.8-14

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them….for everything that becomes visible is light.

Many of the people I have traveled with to Palestine and Israel look out the windows of the bus, listen to a Palestinian tell their story or walk the streets of Bethlehem and they express their anguish over what they see - "How can this be happening?" "Why isn't someone (the UN maybe) doing something about this injustice?"

These are moments of light—when the injustices being done to Palestinians are exposed in the glaring light of our first-hand witness. When these same injustices are talked about by governments or in the media, they are clothed in benign-sounding language. Justified in the name of security or reported as accidental and rare aberrations in Israel's efforts to protect itself.

Today's meditation shines a light on some recent events in Palestine. I invite you to read one of the stories below and allow yourself to be exposed. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is one of the beacons exposing Israel's actions. Volunteers for ISM put their own bodies in danger as they stand with the non-violent protesters in villages all over the West Bank and Gaza, bearing witness to Israel's violence. Jo Ann Wacker-Farrand and I were in Bi'lin in November, meeting with the non-violent resisters to the wall surrounding their village.

On the Ground in Occupied Palestine For over ten years, the International Solidarity Movement has supported grassroots Palestinian communities engaging in nonviolent resistance to the Israeli Occupation.

Read a story from ISM and then share with a friend. Sign up to receive these weekly updates from ISM.

Gracious God, we thank you for all your servants who put their personal safety at risk to stand against injustice. Embolden us to be bearers of your light, to reveal injustice wherever we are. Amen.

Lent 4, 1Samuel - For the Lord does not See as Mortals See

Today Lutheran (ELCA) Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton issued a press release supporting Secretary of State Kerry in his work with negotiations between Israel and Palestine, to encourage him to continue to press for a settlement. When I read it I thought: I don’t really have any faith that the negotiations will give Palestinians a deal that will improve their lives. The settlements continue to be built and every day Israelis are moving to the West Bank to live on land that I always thought would become a Palestinian state. It’s nice of Bishop Eaton to write, but it’s a lost cause.

Then I read the story of Samuel choosing a king for Israel. Or rather, Samuel discovering who it is that God has already chosen to be king. And I was reminded that God does not see as I see. God does not look at the outward appearance; God looks at the heart.

(Now, here I will refrain from a long diatribe on my belief that the leaders of Israel do not have their hearts set on peace.)

And the story continues. Samuel looks at all Jesse’s sons and does not find the one whom God has chosen. All the obvious possibilities are exhausted and still no king.

As you well know, God’s choice for king is none of the obvious choices. God chooses the least likely—David, the youngest, the least experienced, but also the one God infused with God’s spirit.

So, maybe I need to trust that God can do the impossible with the least likely resources and join Bishop Eaton in her hopeful encouragement of Secretary Kerry.

I won’t go into all the ways David disappointed God and failed to be the wise and good king wanted for Israel. God is stuck working with us humans and none of us ever meet God’s desires for us, for a world ruled with justice and mercy.

So I will give the negotiators a chance and trust that God has plans for the Palestinians, even when I cannot see them.

O God, you have more faith in us that we deserve. We repeatedly disappoint you; we fail to live out your hopes and dreams for us. But you do not give up on us. In these days, be with the leaders who are working for peace in so many corners of the world. Give them strength and the vision to see the world that you desire for all your people. And give them the courage to act on this vision. Amen.

If you want to take action, write an email thanking Bishop Eaton for her support of the negotiations. http://www.elca.org/About/Churchwide/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop Click on "contact us" at the bottom of the page and fill in the email form.

To read the letter: Text of the February letter to Kerry is available at http://download.elca.org/ELCA Resource Repository/Letter_to_Kerry_Feb2014.pdf  and text of the March letter is athttp://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/2014_Ecumenical_Letter_and_Signers.pdf.

Lent 3, John—A woman came to draw water...

John 4.5-42

In the first lesson and the gospel for this coming Sunday, we follow a theme of water, and even in the text from Romans, we hear that God’s love is “poured” into our hearts. It’s not surprising that water appears often in the Bible. When you walk on the land and gaze out over the hills, you can see that finding water to drink and bathe is a daily challenge, even in the best of times. It’s a lot like Colorado.

For the Samaritan community in Sychar, the well is the center of daily life. While the well is a necessity, it is also a venue with strict protocols—who may come to the well when and who may meet, speak or touch at the well. Jesus violates all the protocols. He speaks to a woman; he speaks to a Samaritan, an outcast; and he challenges the theology of the leaders in Jerusalem, who insist that the only true worship takes place in the temple in Jerusalem.

The site of Jacob’s well today is near the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. It is a holy shrine where pilgrims come to visit.

And water is still at the center of politics in Israel and the West Bank.

In October I visited an permaculture project in Beit Sahour, in the West Bank, next to Bethlehem. The young people from all over the world who come to work on the farm, Bustan Quaraaqua, are developing farming techniques and living arrangements for this harsh environment, where water is scarce, six inches per year.

What they told us, however, is that finding water is not simply a matter of collection and conservation, as it is in Colorado. Even though this is in the heart of the West Bank, Israel controls all the water—groundwater, aquifers, cisterns, even the rainwater.

And because Israel has claimed ALL the water in the lands it occupies, including the West Bank, it is illegal for Palestinians to collect the rainwater.

The farmers told us that six inches of water is enough for growing food. In the winter when it rains, the land is replenished and you can collect the water that runs off in pools and cisterns. But pools and cisterns are illegal. Israel’s army routinely destroys Palestinian cisterns—using explosives and bombs.

Israel gets 70% of its water from Syrian land it still occupies in the Golan Heights and 30% from aquifers, many of them under Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Because Israel “owns” all the water, they sell it back to the Palestinians—at higher rates than they charge the settlers living nearby (on Palestinian land).

Water is a real crisis in Gaza, where Israeli towns north of Gaza have drained the aquifer and Gaza’s water table is now so low that saltwater from the sea has contaminated their water supply. Israel also destroyed Gaza’s sewage treatment system, so now its sewage flows into the Mediterranean. Israel also dumps sewage in the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.

Gracious God, you provided water to the Israelites in the desert and you send the rains to quench our thirst. Forgive our wastefulness and our inattention to your good and abundant creation. Help us to share our resources with your same generosity. Amen.

More information:

• Amnesty International's report on the water situation in Palestine, “Troubled Waters.”
• Time.com’s 5 min video report on the water situation in Israel and Palestine
• Amnesty International’s video report of Nabi Saleh villagers protesting the theft of their spring by a nearby Israeli settlement (below)

Lent 3, Romans—Since We are Justified by Faith

Since we are justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…
Romans 5.1-11

So, as Martin Luther once said (or is believed to have said), "sin boldly!"

I have used this blog to help North Americans read the Bible through a lens of the Palestinian experience. This necessarily entails examining Israel's occupation and confiscation of their lands, since this is at the heart of the Palestinian experience. This critical look at Israel's policies and treatment of Palestinians always provokes resistance, even in me, because I was raised in an America that deeply regretted the holocaust—I, like many Americans vow, "Never again."

But support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel does not equal hatred of Israel or Jews. Support for Palestinians is not anti-Semitism. In fact, while criticizing Israel is NOT anti-Semitic, labeling all Jews as supporters of Israel's policies, IS racist. It is no different than labeling all Jews as money-grubbers. It is a racial/ethnic stereotype that harms people. Jewish Voice for Peace and other Jewish peace groups are adamant about this.

Recently, campus groups of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have been targeted on their campuses for actions they have taken, speakers they have invited, etc. This clamping down on free speech on several college campuses is an orchestrated effort to silence those who hold a critical view of Israel. Their speech is NOT anti-Semitic. (An aside: "anti-Semitic" is misleading anyway, since Palestinians are also Semitic people.)





There is an active SJP group at DU, but I have not heard of any problems they have encountered.

Christ Hedges wrote a comprehensive article in TruthDig on Monday, explaining what is happening on college campuses, "Israel's War on American Universities." I commend it for your reading today: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/israels_war_on_american_universities_20140316http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/israels_war_on_american_universities_20140316

The article begins….

The banning of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Northeastern University in Boston on March 7, along with a university threat of disciplinary measures against some of its members, replicates sanctions being imposed against numerous student Palestinian rights groups across the country. The attacks, and the disturbingly similar forms of punishment, appear to be part of a coordinated effort by the Israeli government and the Israel lobby to blacklist all student groups that challenge the official Israeli narrative.

Northeastern banned the SJP chapter after it posted on campus replicas of eviction notices that are routinely put up on Palestinian homes set for Israeli demolition. The university notice of suspension says that if the SJP petitions for reinstatement next year, “No current member of the Students for Justice in Palestine executive board may serve on the inaugural board of the new organization” and that representatives from the organization must attend university-sanctioned “trainings.”

In 2011 in California, 10 students who had disrupted a speech at UC Irvine by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren were found guilty, put on informal probation and sentenced to perform community service….continue reading

Gracious God, we are freed by your son, to act boldly in using our wealth and power to defend those who are poor and powerless. Help us see where we have this opportunity in our lives this Lent and embolden us to act. Amen.

Lent 3, Exodus—Remembering Rachel Corrie

Exodus 17.1-7

"Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink."
Exodus 17.6

Today is a good day to remember Rachel Corrie. Eleven years ago, on March 16, Rachel, a US citizen, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer as she was protesting to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. To honor her memory and her willingness to put herself in danger for a cause she strongly believed in, read one of her emails home shortly before her death: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/18/usa.israel

It would be wonderful to report that things have changed in Gaza, but Gaza is worse off today than it was in 2003, with severe malnutrition, damaged infrastructure, intermittent electricity—all under Israel's blockade. Gaza's water supply has been tapped for Israeli use; in fact, Israel claims to own all the water in areas it occupies—even the rainwater.

Gracious God, we are grateful for your servants who stand against injustice. Open our eyes to the suffering around us. Touch our hearts with your mercy, compassion and generosity. Bless Prime Minister Abbas's meeting with President Obama today with your wisdom and courage. Amen.