What Am I Going to Do About It?

Every day of the last two weeks we've been asked at some point by our instructor: What are you going to do about it? It's a question that I've posed to others throughout my life, especially as an ordained minister. But it's not the question I was expecting to be asked right now.

One of my main reasons of going here was to learn the spiritual geography of the place, to hear biblical stories as I walk the land, to have the opportunity to imagine history in a new way. My wish was that all of what I have experienced would add some color to my preaching and teaching.

I also thought that I was going to Jerusalem to become more spiritual (after all, the name of the course I am taking is Pilgrimage & Spirituality). In a way I have. But it's not the kind of peace/love/summer camp spiritual I had hoped for. Instead I've received a new spiritual awareness, a wrestling with the way things are that brings me to a raw dependance on God.

The challenging thing about this place is that it is layered with a history of conquest, destruction and subjugation (usually in the name of God/Allah/Yahweh). Maybe that is one of the shocks that my system has gone through - every day we've seen it both in the layers of archeology and the faces of the Palestinian people.

A Wall of Apartheid

For years people have said to me that more atrocity has been done in the name of God than we can possibly imagine. Here it is real, really real. No wonder so many people in our culture that has access to this knowledge have dropped organized religion altogether.

And don't think for a moment that we who call ourselves Christians are taking our role as peacemakers seriously in the Holy Land. A long look at the fractured body of Christ, who are a minority voice in Jerusalem (and whose priests will often not even speak to each other, let alone the Israeli government) will show you that we are poor examples. The United Church of Christ has no presence here, and without presence there is no authority, and without authority no one in power will listen.

Add to all of this the cultural context of the Middle East. I've been concerned and angry a number of times when I've learned more about the status and role of women here. Their access to education, health care and leadership in religious and governmental bodies is so limited. And it's been that way for thousands of years.

So, what do I do about it?

Bringing a deeper awareness of this place to the many folks back home is a place to start, and I am sure that all the historical/biblical/cultural background that I've encountered will come in handy in my own spiritual disciplines and preaching.

But I yearn to do something more. In a concrete way, I wonder if I might create a "tent of Abraham" program for teens back in the states, bringing Palestinian and American Christians, Muslims and Jews together for some relationship building. I believe in a God of relationship, and it's much harder to hate someone if you know them.

There's a great program here that does just that called "Kids for Peace". Maybe Hartford Seminary, St. George's College and Silver Lake could partner on something similar? I will try to have a conversation with the Director of the program, Samuel, and talk through some ways of doing this.

As we've heard more that once this week, we Christians always have hope.