Today began with powerful preaching by Pastor Susan Briehl with a sermon based on the John 2 text. Her focus was upon what we do when the wine runs out, when it seems we have nothing left to offer. As people of God we live in hope of God coming to us to change us and all the world in the most unexpected and surprising of ways. The service of Holy Communion was held at Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Old City. The church was built in 1893 by Kaiser Wilhelm II when he ordered a new sanctuary to be built over the foundations of the former St. Mary Latine Minor Church, part of an early 12th century pilgrim hostel and convent. Redeemer is the host of three congregations, Arabic, German and English speaking as well as the headquarters for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.
And then the day ended with a powerful evening of hope as we heard the testimonies of Rami Elchanan and Mazen Faraj, the one Jewish Israeli, the other Palestinian. What they have in common is the deep pain of having lost family members to the senseless violence that goes on and on in the Middle East. Rami lost his 14 year old daughter to a suicide bomber in 1997, Mazen's father was killed by Israeli soldiers as he travled to his home. They spoke to us about the deep pain in their lives and how they have come to find hope and healing in hearing the stories of others, particularly those of their enemies. They are among a number of Palestinians and Israelis who are part of The Parents Circle (http://www.theparentscircle.org/), people wounded deeply by bombings and guns and occupation and injustice. As they tell their stories to one another, and take the risk of sharing their own and seeing the humanity of the other, they find healing for their own lives and offer hope to others.
Rami and Mazen have traveled in the United States to share their stories and they have developed a love and trust for one another. The pain of their lives remain, but they are channeling their grief into courageous energy that transforms others. They have also endured ridicule and resentment for consorting with the enemy.
Rami described his transformation this way: You live your life within a story, within a narrative, where you are enculturated with certain beliefs and attitudes about yourself and others. In Israel it means never seeing Palestinians as human beings. Never understanding their side of the story and the loss of their homeland. Every effort is made to hide from one another. Before The Wall was erected, there was the wall of hatred in the heart. But the work of The Parents Circle tears down the walls that divide and brings new understandings.
Combatants for Peace is another organization in which Israelis and Palestinian activists are working together to overcome the cycle of violence. Rami is very proud his son is following in his footsteps and now head of that organization.
After his daughter was killed by a suicide bomber, and not knowing what to do with his immense pain and anguish, Rami began asking himself, "what causes a person to be so angry to blow himself up?" At the invitation of another, he attended a meeting of the Parents Circle, and the rest is history. As he began to listen to the immense pain in others, especially in the stories of Palestinians, he saw a new story, a new narrative opening up before him. He saw the humanity in someone he did not know before.
Likewise Mazen, married and father of two daughters, has devoted his life to helping people find a new way of understanding their lives and ending the cycle of violence.
These days I am always asking the missional questions: what is God up to and how can I help? Tonight I saw God at work in breaking down walls of hatred and empowering two people for good in their lives.
Jesus changed water into wine, an epiphany of God in our midst, and a story that is more than magic. It is the story of what God can do in the hearts and lives of people, even and especially in the midst of their great sorrow and loss.
Bp Jerry
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