— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
The outcry is horrendous, the pain unbearable, the brutality of hate horrific!
Images of innocent young people celebrating the feast of tabernacles, families torn out of their sleep, children, babies, women, men, elderly mercilessly slaughtered by terrorists of Hamas under the fire-lit night sky of thousands of rockets raining down on Israel.
The cries were still in the air and the mourning had just begun when Israel’s answer rose in order to protect its own citizens, to restore security and reinforce justice. But how can justice be restored when the ground is burned with atrocities, when the perpetrators hide in the midst of innocent people rendering each just operation unjust because of the loss and suffering of innocent lives? When the military euphemism of collateral damage cannot cover over the blood of children, elderly, women and men staining the hands of the one seeking justice? What is justice in such a moment of inhumane terror? Can enforcing justice under these circumstances ever become a fertile ground for negotiations and peace as the retaliation will never be immaculate and the justice of an Iron Sword never be precise and adequate enough, but too bloody and crude that anyone will call it justified afterwards? How can the cycle of revenge ever be broken when each step becomes the breeding ground for the next in a lethal spiral of violence?
What we are seeing is not on the verge of a human catastrophe, rather this is another human catastrophe, gruesome days and nights in front of the world’s tele-vision waiting for the next spiral round to unfold.
Still in shock and we cannot remain silent in response to the heartbreaking outcry of the slaughtered. I am lacking the wisdom and the insight to give any reasonable answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I realized three things about conflicts in my own life which may not apply to one-to-one conflicts of war, but helped me to see how far I am from being a peaceful person..
-1- Justice alone is never enough to allow for peace.
While justice is absolutely essential for peace to happen and to last, it is not enough, as justice will seek and always find the unfair in the other and ask for restoration of righteousness. We all fall short for thinking, saying and acting the right things at all times. If justice becomes the ultimate purpose in my life, life will be driven by the alert watching whether I and hopefully also the other will be treated fairly. Only when justice becomes fueled by the desire for a peaceful relationship with the other, can it become a safe basis for honest and true conversation and hopefully long-lasting peace. Only when justice includes the willingness to forgive, will it allow healing. Forgiveness not as the alternative to justice but the attitude by which justice is pursued. Jesus didn’t ask us to forgive and give up on justice, he always emphasized that Our Father is a just God, who always offers His hand to restore, to allow the one opposite to stand up and enter a new relationship. But how can anyone believe in the good will of the other after such an atrocity? I know that Christ did on the cross and that we are called to follow Him, but I see my own wish to retaliate when I feel taken advantage of on a much lower scale.
Lord, help me to truly fathom Your forgiving hands spread on the cross so that I will increasingly be able to seek justice ready to forgive.
Justice should create breathing space and not become the sword killing the other. I have noticed in my life how often “justice in my eyes” has become self-righteousness used to strike back at the other. It seems we often have developed our own understanding what just and fair is, rather than seeking the truth together with our adversary.
-2- Truth is often beyond what we understand.
We have, unfortunately, become a world where many of us live in our own bubble of truth, where truth is already owned and not sought after when we enter conversation. We know already that we are right and the other is wrong, rendering conversations to an exchange of missiles meant to destroy the position of the other. This has become such a dividing atmosphere in politics, in our society, even within families. Truth like justice has become a weapon to silence the other. The arrogance to know it all has ended open conversation. We have lost the curiosity to find the truth together in conversation. If we are not willing to listen carefully to the other and even walk in the shoes of the other, we will never know his or her needs, fears, hopes and therefore fail to meet the other person in a way that allows peace to grow. I always marveled at our homegroup, when we read different passages in the bible – even very familiar ones – when I realized how differently the same passage can speak to different people as we all are looking from different angles and just by listening, suddenly the truth becomes larger and more comprehensive. It is as if one reaches another level of understanding in our walk through life. It takes humility to acknowledge our limited view and the wisdom in the other’s view. My wife always reminds me when I talk too much: “I know what I know, I would like to learn more about what the other person knows.” Truth is too big to fathom, yet is so important as a base for justice. Christ said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” We cannot, Pilate-like, shrug our shoulders and give up on seeking or truth. Jesus tells Pilate that “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” We can neither ignore truth, nor resign from seeking it by asking the rhetoric question “what is truth?” Nor can we claim presumptuously that we have understood it all. Let us not use “My truth” as a sword, but humbly, yet persistently, let us ask for wisdom in our pursuit of truth. Even the truth can be very hurtful when we don’t speak it in love and therefore:
-3- Love to overcome hate needs to be grounded in the experience that God has loved us first.
To allow forgiveness and seeking truth together with your adversary will always require a big heart. When one is asked to do so after such an atrocity it seems impossible and even inhumane. Yet love will be the only way to overcome hatred, like light is the only way to drive out darkness. This love requires a source much deeper than our will, our heart and our good intentions. Lord, establish a heart in me that can love when I feel hate, help me to remember Your love, remind me against all justified thoughts of revenge of Your love for me. Hold my heart and mind in Your hand until it is calm to listen to you, Lord You love me and Your promise never fails.
Lord our hearts cry out for justice and peace and restoration of love: In our lives and the lives of others and especially in the war zones of our world. Hear our cry, Lord.
You are the Prince of peace,
Words based on “Prince of Peace” by Hillsong United
Enter my heart, as storm clouds raging deep within
Let the violent sky hold its breath
And let me find rest in your light
Let my eyes find Yours
Shining like the sun, striding through my fear
Prince of peace, break into my heart and meet me there
Let your hope like the sunlight pierce through the dark
Help me to know deep within my heart You are here
And my soul will know Your love surrounds me
When my thoughts wage war
When night screams terror, there Your voice will roar
Come death or shadow, God, I know
You will meet me there
Let me find grace and be still
Because I know
You’re always there
And You hear my prayer
AMEN
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 