Last week's study leave had an unexpected Jewish theme:- we read and discussed The Misunderstood Jew written by NT professor Amy-Jill Levine (herself an orthodox Jew who wanted to be Pope as a child.)
- some of us visited The Jewish Museum in NYC and saw, among other things, an amazing portrait of Buber by Warhol.
- we drooled over windows created by Chagall, in the Pocantico Hills church.
- we saw Wicked, with lyrics written by a Jewish lyricist.
Okay, that last one was just a fluky thing.
The Levine book, especially, convinced us all that we would never preach the Gospels the same way again. And the Jewish tour guide in Pocantico Hills reminded me how precious our ties are with our Jewish brothers and sisters. It could be so rich.
But then we met our Stony Point bus driver.
Me: Where are you from?
SPBD: Palestine.
He proceeded to tell us (only because I asked) about his life in Beit Sahour and then in Jordan and now in New York where he raises his young daughters in peace. The daughters are 9 and 11. He looks worn and old enough to be their grandfather.
I have, increasingly, found a love for Palestinian Christians which now make up only 2% of the population there. People who know much more about this complicated situation than I do say that these are the most faithful Christians in the world, not because they live within steps of where Jesus walked, but because they are persecuted daily and few in the world seem to care. Elias Chacour tells the story well.
And because of all this, I confess before you and God, I am wary of Zionists. We Christians have done our share of persecuting Jews (and now Muslims). But when you take one people's land to give to another people, it's a problem.
It's much more complicated than I personally understand and can describe here, but the whole mess had caused untold agony and far reaching consequences. And so . . .
when I saw the cowboy ad in the NY Times Magazine Sunday (read about it here), I cringed. Cowboys, for some of us, imply a "Dead or Alive" shoot-em-up diplomacy that is not helpful.
No one belongs here more than you?
(What about the people whose grandparents were born there who've had to leave?)
Come Celebrate Our 60th Anniversary in 2008
(Do you really want to remind everybody?)
You'll love Israel from the first "Shalom"
(What about "shalom" for innocent Palestinians?)
I have Jewish friends who agree with me and those who don't. And maybe we'll never have peace in the Middle East. But I'm convinced it involves surrender on every side. More about that later.
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6 comments:
Hey Jan,
If you appreciated Amy Jill-Levine's book, then you will likely also appreciate Marilyn J. Salmon's "Preaching Without Contempt. Overcoming Unintended Anti-Judaism." About the culpability of everyone in the Middle East, how can there be any doubt if one reads history? And speaking culpability how about the powers here and in Europe? For me, the question is not who is most culpable - that is a never-ending debate that gets nowhere. The hardest question is who is ready to step into a peace that includes two states with secure borders for both for their children to live rather than die.
Hi Roy -
I agree that all are at fault. But my concern was the ad campaign for the
60th anniversary of Israel. Not a peacemaking move, imho.
Hi Jan
I recently returned from 2 weeks in Israel/Palestine... it is a mess of a problem. I have a stack of books I'm reading (including Chacours) from a variety of perspectives. I'm reading a book by Shlomo Ben Ami (who was an Israeli diplomat during a number of peace efforts) and has a fascinating take on the history and what not... I'd highly recommend it... Scars of War, Wounds of Peace.
Looking forward to joining the club for the next go-round.
Kerri Peterson-Davis
About the ad campaign, it's similar to the various readings of ads in the current political campaign. Neither player seems to get it right for all ears and eyes. Probably similar to any country, including our own, that seeks to honor its anniversary. We are still trying to figure out how to acknowledge the historical wounds inflicted by our founders. We are a work in progress. So is Israel and one hopes every nation.
The current Atlantic Monthly has an incisive essay by Jeff Goldberg about the current splits in Israel with regard to the way forward with the Palestinians.
Yes, the synogogue in our town-- with whom our church has a long history of cooperation and collaboration--sent us an invitation to its Gala Thanksgiving for 60 years of Israel celebration. Lots of discussion about how best to respond. Can we participate without appearing to be gung ho, Israel-can-do-no-wrong types? Tough one.
I read J-Ls book and was both impressed & convicted. In fact I think I need to read it again, because here's my concern regarding what I've been struggling with since I read it:
Following much of the emergent church/NT Wright line of thinking I've taken up seeing the bible as more narrative, AND you can't really see the bible in that way without seeing it as a comprehensive over-arching story of God's continuous work encompassing both the new and old testament; Seeing it as a somewhat seamless story, from the call of Abraham to the rise of the church.
Levine's book reminds me though to be much more careful about the ways I tell that story...which is not an easy thing to do...and probably why I need to read it again.
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