One week ago, Shannon and I had the privilege of volunteering at the 45th General Council of the United Church of Canada, held in Calgary from August 7 to 11. Since Shannon is not here today, I won’t attempt a comprehensive “report from General Council”, but I will share one aspect that stood out for me. I was so pleased to see that The United Church of Canada, even though we are much smaller than we used to be, still has an important place in the overall body of “Churches of the world.” GC 45 had official observers from over a dozen Christian denominations from around the world, as well as Jewish and Muslim interfaith observers, and although it was our national council it had the feel of a global gathering. In day-to-day parish ministry, it’s easy to lose track of that international, ecumenical sense of who we are as a denomination.
The week of GC45 was the 80th
anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), and
worship at Council on August 9th was a time of deep lament. We lamented
the annihilation of the Japanese people when the bombs were dropped eighty
years ago, and the military actions of today that devastate the people of Gaza.
In worship, then, we heard two Palestinian speakers who were with us in person:
Shadia Qubti, reflecting on Psalm 102, and Muna Nassar, reflecting on the
beatitudes from the 5th chapter of Matthew.
Although the humanitarian
crisis in Gaza has been ongoing for months, I have struggled to find the right
words to speak of it on Sundays, in part because antisemitism is a real thing,
and so easy to slip into when addressing actions of the state of Israel. However, the horrors of the holocaust, and
enduring bigotry toward the Jewish people does not give the Israeli military
carte blanche, and there is an urgency for people of faith to speak truth to
power right now about Gaza. For the next seven minutes, then, we will hear
(video recordings) from Shadia, a Palestinian member of the United Church of
Canada, then a twenty second pause, then six minutes from Muna, the Executive
Secretary for Mission and Advocacy of the World Council of Reformed Churches.
WATCH https://youtu.be/Xnhqb3trXHE?list=PLQDu-SgFb3Rhok2eOrSyj3XOW73EIWBkd
Shadia’s presentation starts 26:11 at and Muna’s at 39:49
In the same way that the
ancient Psalmist cried to God, wondering aloud if God noticed their suffering
while at the same time expressing praise, Shadia draws us into the lament she
brings to God. In particular, these words stay with me: “I wish I knew every
name and every story of those who sift through the sand to find lentils or
hummus that fell from torn aid bags, trying to separate grain from dirt with
trembling fingers”, along with her reminder that Arabic was one of the
languages heard at the first Christian Pentecost.
Muna speaks of Jesus’
affirmation in the beatitudes, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled” but as she sees the images out of Gaza,
of her people “being starved, literally being hungry and thirsty” she states, “blessed
wouldn’t be the word that comes to my mind.”
She goes on to confront that “Churches have normalized or romanticized
the suffering of the Palestinian people” and states that for her, “an apathetic
Christian is a contradiction in terms” – inaction is, in essence, “a betrayal
of Jesus”. She calls us away from that
Theology of Empire, to a Theology of Hope founded in justice.
May the words and lives of
these two women find a home in our hearts, in our calls and commitments, and
most of all, in our actions: as believers, as a nation, and as the Church. Amen.
© 2025 Rev Greg Wooley,
Osoyoos-Oliver United Church Pastoral Charge.
Linked video files are the property of The United Church of Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment