The Kairos Document

In this historic document, we Palestinian Christians declare that the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity, and that any theology that legitimizes the occupation is far from Christian teachings because true Christian theology is a theology of love and solidarity with the oppressed, a call to justice and equality among peoples.

~From the Kairos Document

I came across this document on a blog that I occasionally read. I will readily admit that I have not thoroughly read through this entire document and have no intention of commenting on its entire worth and validity. This one quote caught my attention, though, and raised a number of thoughts which I will attempt to share.

I will start by saying that I am much less "pro-Israel" than I may have been at one point in my life. Indeed, there are times when I think that living in Israel is enough to turn the most Zionistic Jew a little anti-Semitic. (That was a joke...but living in Israel can be quite a frustrating experience at times, and most Israelis I know would agree with that assessment.) So bear that in mind.

...the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity...

Is the Israeli occupation of Palestine a sin? While there would be people who would strongly argue against such a notion, let us assume for the moment that this is in fact a true statement.

And then let us consider a hypothetical situation where a marriage is falling apart. The wife, fed up with all the hurt and shame she has borne because of her philandering husband declares that "your unfaithfulness is a sin against God and me. You need to change your ways or this marriage will never work. There will never be peace between us."

See the parallels?

It is true that the marriage will not work out as God intended unless the husband is faithful to his wife, and it could also be said, in a rough sort of equivalence, there will not be peace between Israel and Palestine until Israel treats Palestinians correctly.

There's only one problem. In the marriage scenario, in her accusations and just confrontation of her husband, the wife utterly failed to mention the lovers she had taken, her indiscretions, her lies. The fact is, the wife is just as much to blame for the failure of the marriage as her husband. For the marriage to stand a chance, both husband and wife must take their eyes off the faults of the other and instead work on their own failures.

I really think that the same principles apply to the Israel-Palestine conflict. especially in the Christian communities of both of those groups. Instead of admitting to their faults, each side can only see how they've been wronged. Palestinian churches ring with the refrain: "The wall is unjust! Bring down the wall!" while Israelis (and probably Israeli churches) express relief that the wall has stopped the suicide bombings. What if, instead, Palestinian churches condemned violence committed against Israelis and Israeli churches lamented the hardship that the wall has brought to their Palestinian brothers?

Maybe, then, this marriage could work.

A recurring thought

As I live here in Israel, hear stories, and talk to people, the desire and need for peace in this conflicted region is clear. However, daily it also becomes clearer that peace is complex. As I talk to my flat-mates, I find their words reflecting my thoughts: there will never be peace...apart from Christ. Only in Christ will Israelis and Palestinians both be able to let go of their victim-hood and their demands long enough to truly live at peace.

There is work being done and progress being made by organizations working to reconcile believers from both sides. One such organization is Musalaha. Here's an encouraging article I read on it, too. It's good to know that the whole Christian community hasn't forgotten about "us" here.

The Process Continues

The process of trying to understand the conflict here, that is.

I certainly don't have it figured out yet. However, if you are interested in learning more yourself, here's a link to an article I found to be informative and humorous.

I was also just introduced to the short movie "West Bank Story" which can also be described as rather informative and humorous (especially if you've ever seen "West Side Story" or any other musical). It's about 20 minutes long, and in my opinion, well worth the watch. If the embedded video below doesn't work, try the link above.

As a side note, you may wonder why both the article and movie are humorous. Frankly, the humor helps us avoid utter despair. For people who live with this daily or even think about it daily, it can be very discouraging. You start trying to think of solutions: "If only the Jews would do this, if only the Arabs would do that..." And then you realize that those are concessions that will never be made. And even if they were made, they might just make more problems. And even if they did help, there are still hundreds of other problems. Seeing a little humor in the situation can help lighten the burden.

Humor aside, though, as I examine the situation here and learn more and more about it, I am left with the realization that, as cliched as it sounds, our only real hope for peace in the Middle East is found in Christ. Different people might have different ideas of what this looks like, whether peace will only occur at the second coming of Jesus to the earth or whether it can happen slowly, though one changed heart at a time. Either way Jesus is our only hope. And for now, while we may not be able to solve the entire Middle East Crisis, we can do our part to bring the peace of Christ to individuals. In spite of what look like insurmountable difficulties, let us not give up or despair.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." ~Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

Taking responsibility

Ok, here's the situation. Let's say that you have some sort of job. I'll take an elementary example: your job is to count how many of your classmates want milk each day. You take your job very seriously because you don't want someone who wanted milk to have to go without, and you don't want to order milk you don't need and have it go to waste. One day, you are the last to get into your classroom in the morning. You aren't late, but you were just a little slower than normal. You come in, only to find that your friend Hephzibah has already taken the milk count and given it to the teacher in your name. Now you have a dilemma:

1. For one thing, you know that Hephzibah is an intelligent and responsible girl, and she probably got the milk count right. However, you know if she didn't, the teacher will still hold you responsible. Should you
• Re-take the count yourself and risk offending Hephzibah or
• Let it be and risk taking the blame if she messed up?
2. Another thought running through your mind is the issue of authority. In some sense, it seems like Hephzibah usurped your authority by taking over your job without even asking. In another sense, she has usurped the teachers authority. The teacher choose you to take the milk count, not Hephzibah, and by taking the milk count herself, Hephzibah is not following the order of leadership ordained by the teacher.
3. You also really want to be responsible and not slack on your given job. If you give this job over to Hephzibah (she continues to do it before you have the chance), are you failing to obey the authority that has given this job to you?

I realize, of course, that these are not likely to be the actual thoughts of an elementary student who's job is to take the milk count. I will admit, though, that there have been several times when I have had thoughts similar to these. I also wonder, though I've never been married, if these thought sometimes are echoed in the struggle for power between a husband and wife. It seems there are often marriages where the wife has reached for the authority which God ordained to be the husband's, and the husband chooses just to give it up without a fuss. Clearly, that is not right. I think the situations I am in are generally less clear cut, however. The authority granted to me in various jobs and situations is certainly not specifically laid out in the Bible.

This is something that I've been trying to figure out for sometime. The problem is, if you try to maintain the authority that you think you've been given, huge conflict can occur. In the example above, if you tell Hephzibah that she needs to stop taking the milk count because its the job the teacher gave you, she may well refuse to believe you. She could say things like, "Do you think you are the only person here who is smart enough to take the milk count?" or "You don't have the right to tell me what to do (or not do)." or "The teacher never really gave you that job." Or, if you tell her that you are going to be held responsible for her mistakes she may refuse to believe you. What then? How can you resolve this conflict AND do the job that you are supposed to do?

Add to this the complication that maybe you ARE mistaken in the teacher's wishes. She told you at the beginning of the year that she wanted you to take the milk count, but it's not in writing. Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe Hephzibah really is better at it any way. Or, to change the situation a little, maybe you are class president, and it is traditional for the class president to take up the milk count. However, the teacher just asked Hephzibah to take the milk count. A job that you think should have been yours was assigned else where. What now?

This blog is getting longer and more convoluted than I intended. I think my question comes down to this. When I struggle with things like this in real life, what sin do I need to watch out for? When I try to be responsible, am I doing it out of pride? Maybe there is something I should be more concerned about than the responsibility? When someone takes a job or responsibility that I think should be mine, whether "fairly" or "unfairly" what should be my response? Is there a way I should pursue getting that job back, or should I just let it go? Or does it vary? Pursuing the job will likely result in conflict, which most often is caused by (or leads to) sin. How can I personally avoid sinning here? I know I can always work on my attitude, but assuming I'm right there, is there a way I can lovingly tell someone to allow me to do my job?

Hopefully this makes some sense to anyone who might read this. And, if anyone who reads this has any brilliant ideas on how to react to these sorts of situations in a godly way, I would welcome the thoughts. :)