Lucy’s Sermon – A Service for the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel
Gower Street United Church, June 17, 2012
My name is Lucy Talgieh. I am a Palestinian Christian from a place called Bethlehem. Bethlehem is supposed to be a holy place but, unfortunately, it is facing unholy acts living under occupation for 65 years. God would not accept this and humans should not accept it either. We should speak up to reach peace and justice.
Two thousand years ago in Bethlehem the angels promised peace to the people on the eve of Jesus’ birth, but the country has never witnessed any of it. The history of our region is a history of killing, expulsion, division and suffering and the list goes on[i].
I am here, taking this chance to call on our collective humanity and to remind you that God would not be pleased with people fighting in his name for the sake of territorial or political benefits. The world needs to take collective responsibility to give Palestinians and Israeli’s equal rights. We believe in one God who created all people in his or her image. God is just, fair and good, loving all and caring for all, including Palestinians. We are all equal in our humanity and dignity.
This gives us hope. However, we want hope for humans living here on earth. We want the kingdom of God here.
What do we mean by the words; make me a channel of your peace? God will give us wisdom to become channels for peace. We will also find internal peace, which will give us strength and power for continued work.
Our belief in God does not mean that we passively depend on him, that we admire him from afar and sit at home as if our work were done. No, we must work with God to end injustice and oppression of our people. In other words, I believe in faith in action. Faith without action will not satisfy others or me. We do not want simply sympathy, we need action. As Christians, we must all be involved. We are one body. When one organ suffers, the whole body suffers. We must all work as Christians to end the oppression that afflicts our region. We are not asking you to be pro-Palestinian or pro Israeli, but pro-humanity.
