by Alan Dorway
“Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. We both have layers” – Shrek
On May 14th it rained in Bethlehem. The rain was welcomed by our group as a break from the warmth and sunny days we’ve experienced here. It also rained rocks. We watched as boys not older than 18 rained rocks with arms and slingshots toward a guard tower. Lastly, it rained combined hymns sung by pilgrims as we gathered where the angel announced the birth of the Christ-child.
These images stuck in my mind through Sunday, May 17th. On Sunday, for me the rain began to stop. We were reminded that part of our pilgrimage to Israel was to strip away some of the narratives and see the complex issues facing Israel/Palestine in bite size pieces to reflect on and share when we’re home. Layers, this trip has many layers.
For instance, we worshiped in an ecumenical setting at an agency designated to bring peace in refugee camps right next to the separation wall. We broke bread together, shared the cup of Christ, prayed together, and did not have to look more than 20 feet to see the gray wall filled with graffiti separating people who need above all to see each other as human.
Hebron
In the afternoon, we went to Hebron. There we saw streets closed for only one group to use and wire mesh over the souk to protect another group from being targeted as trash dump. Hebron is also the place of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre. This was a shooting carried out by American-Israeli Baruch Goldstein. On February 25, 1994, Goldstein opened fire on a large number of Palestinian Muslims who had gathered to pray inside the Mosque of Abraham. The attack left 29 people dead and 125 wounded. Goldstein was only stopped after he was overpowered and beaten to death by survivors.
The massacre immediately set off mass Palestinian protests and riots throughout the West Bank, and within 48 hours another 9 Palestinian protesters had been killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. Goldstein was widely denounced in Israel and by Jewish communities, yet others laud him as a hero and view his attack and death as an act of martyrdom. We visited this place, now divided into mosque and synagogue. We met a man in the mosque whose father and uncle were there that day, they survived, and this man thanks God everyday for life where others died. Layers.
Palestinian children explore the Mosque, reminding us that this is very much a living house of worship, holy and home to many.
When I taught pre-teens in Sherwood Forest at Calvin Crest, I led a lesson on our sin and how it separates us from God. First, we did a finger painting activity. Our group would take time to be creative and paint images of creation, God, and whatever else they desired. Afterward, I had the kids wash up. When we settled back down I would ask, are your hands clean? In fact, I said, if you have the cleanest hands I’d give you a chocolate bar that I had in my backpack. Of course, as I only had one candy bar, I needed to be very selective. I’d go around looking at hands being very picky and say, “no, I can still see dirt”, “oops, paint still under your nails”, “who am I going to give the candy bar?” No one, all of the hands I inspected had dirt on them. This drove the kids crazy, “my hands are less dirty than his”, “I cleaned them really well”, “my hands are good enough, come on give me the candy!” The truth is that none of our hands were clean.
As I looked at my hands on this Sunday in Bethlehem, they were not clean either. My trip to Israel and Palestine is complicated, layered in images and testimony, history and reality. What am I going to take as my story out of these layers?
Confessing sins of commission and omission
When we worshipped, the priest confessed spontaneously sins of commission and omission. In front of the worshiping community, he boldly confessed and sought forgiveness. This was a powerful moment in the worship for a lot of us where the words of assurance were forgiveness seeking. Layers upon layers of narratives and history need to be peeled back and looked at and confessed. Our hands are dirty, my hands are dirty and maybe we need to sit down together at a table, not seeking answers, but admitting sins and seeking forgiveness.
That is my prayer. Forgiveness that will, in God’s time and through honest confession, bring peace, healing, and justice. In the interim, let’s share coffee together, laugh with one another, hold each other’s hand, and eat candy bars. When we participate in activities where we see each other as human, then Jesus is there, guiding us deeper into relationships where we change and grow. At the end of my lesson on sin, all of us, kids and leaders, got a candy bar. Why? Because God’s love is more than enough to clean us and wash away our sin that separates us from one another. Layers. Layers in our lives that God’s love can strip away and peel back so that we see each other as a new creation and are able to re-create life together. My hands are still dirty, but grace gently allows them to be clean.
Peace, Alan Dorway
