On this cold morning after putting the Finnish apple cake in the oven, feeding the birds, the deer, and the feral cats in the neighborhood, I opened up my computer to see if the world is still out there – and it is, with a vengeance. Places in other parts of the world impact in large measure how we live whether we want them to do so or not.
There’s the ongoing question of what the Russian bear wants besides Europe as its playground, the continuing attempts of China to destroy Uyghur and Tibetan culture while it tries to mask it all with Olympic games, and the effects of the pandemic on the plans of tourists.
In the midst of this Amnesty International published a report on the dispossession of Palestinian land and property, unlawful arrests, sometimes ending in the deaths of persons without cause. Just a few months ago an elderly Palestinian man was pulled from his car, thrown on the ground, cuffed, and mistreated by Israeli soldiers. The old man, also an American citizen, died of a heart attack. There was no reason other than the exercise of raw power for this. Condemning this kind of action is not anti-Semitism.
We need to speak truth about our friends as well as our enemies.
Prayer for the Day
God of justice, y gave us eyes to see and ears to hear,
Open our eyes and ears to the cries of the oppressed;
You call us to speak truth even to our friends,
Help us to find that truth to guide us in our daily decisions.
Move us from our failure of ourselves and of you,
So we are able to speak your truth to the world around us.
In the name of him who spoke confronting unjust power,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I would like to see real peace and a state of Israel living peacefully alongside a state of Palestine.
- Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, writer (1928-2016)
Power is like a knife. It can be used to cut bread to share with your neighbor or to stab you in the back.
- Sadiqua Hamdan, Palestinian writer
O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly; and do what is right,
And speak the truth from their heart.
Psalm 15: 1-2