Once again,
Conflict has erupted in Israel and Palestine.
The situation is millennia old,
Literally.
Mythologically,
We can trace the roots right back to Abraham and Sarai sending Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert.
Ishmael would eventually give rise to Islam and Isaac,
The other son of Abraham,
Would give rise to the Jewish faith.
And so here we are,
In conflict.
A conflict over religion.
Perhaps more so a conflict over land.
Perhaps more so a conflict over just existence.
The rhetoric on both sides is terrible and hinting at genocide.
And those of us who are far from the conflict have little influence over it.
And yet we too experience the distress of conflict,
Albeit to a much,
Much less degree than those who are directly involved.
Our hearts break too,
Though.
And so I offer this prayer in my Christian tradition.
A prayer for peace.
And specifically,
A prayer for the children.
When there is conflict,
There are many who lose.
Their lives.
Their way of being.
And it's always the children who lose the most.
God of love.
Creator known by many names.
Elohim.
Allah.
Yahweh.
Creator.
God.
Holy mystery.
In these times of heartache,
We call to you.
We ask that you carry these burdens.
We ask that you make your presence known where it is most needed.
Surely each of us yearns to know that you are the source of love and that you attend to our every ache and pain.
Specifically right now,
We ask that your presence be known in Israel and Palestine.
Would your grace be known in every heart that breaks right now?
Would your healing be available for every body?
When there is death,
Would you send your promise of new life?
Where there is hate,
Would you make known your promise of reconciliation and restoration?
Where it seems like a chasm divides one nation from another,
Would you send a ladder tall enough for each one to climb and see that there is but one nation under you,
God?
When your love is so great as to encompass all of us,
The abundance of this earth is so great as to provide for all of our needs,
When it is tempting for one to see another as less than human,
Would you remind us that you created all of us in your image?
Where there is difference in creed,
Would you remind us that not one of us has it all figured out?
When there is difference in appearance,
Would you remind us that not any one of us looks just like you,
And yet each of us reflects your image?
God we pray especially for the children,
For the children involved in a conflict that is not of their choosing,
For the children whose bodies are harmed,
Whose memories will be stained for the rest of their lives,
Whose families are torn apart,
Whose homes no longer exist,
Would you bring to these children healing and wholeness,
Resilience,
Love,
And peace?
God we ask that those who take up their arms would be called to put them down,
To beat their swords into plowshares,
To convert their guns into farm equipment.
God would you send humility,
That each of us might know that we are of the earth,
Of your creation,
That no one is better than another,
That no one's story or orienting mythology is fully complete,
But rather that we are living out our stories,
We have agency in those stories,
And surely those stories can lead to peace,
But only if each one chooses so.
God we ask that you carry the burdens of this conflict,
Take them off of the shoulders of humans,
Take them out of the hands of humans,
That each of us can find rest.
Holy One be with each of us as we journey toward peace,
Be with Israel,
Be with Palestine,
Be with the children who pray in the name of Jesus,
A Palestinian Jew who surely understood the heartache that dwells deep in the land,
We pray in the name of the Prince of Peace.
