On the Gaza Ceasefire
Cessation of bullets flying is NOT peace. The Palestinian people are human beings. As such, they have the right to live and thrive and shape their own futures.
By now you’ve heard the news that after 15 months and at least 46,000 dead the U.S. has brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in collaboration with Qatar. You’ve likely heard the deal will take place in three phases.
* Phase 1: Hostages on both sides released over 6 weeks, Humanitarian aid in, and people can return to their regions.
* Phase 2: Is less clear, but would involve negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire and rebuilding plan.
* Phase 3: would work toward a peaceful shared future in the region.
When I heard the news yesterday, my first response was to thank God—the God who intervenes and cuts the darkness (Gen. 1)
My second response was more sober. Understanding the fragility of any measure of peace in the region, combined with the incoming U.S. administration, I sat still—frozen—unable to allow myself to trust it.
Overnight, we were reminded just how fragile this peace is when hardliners within Israel’s government successfully stalled a necessary vote on the measure.
Biden’s administration says the hostage releases will begin on Sunday, regardless.
In all of this here is what I know: There are Palestinian and Israeli families who suddenly have hope they will see their loved ones again (dead or alive).
There are 2.3 million displaced people who deserve to be able to return to what’s left of their homes and bury their dead.
There are hundreds of thousands who will need medical and psychological care to find health.
Cessation of bullets flying is NOT peace. The Palestinian people are human beings. As such, they have the right to live and thrive and shape their own futures. And beyond rights, the Palestinian people have the divine call of God—as human beings—to flourish. Anyone and any government that hinders that divine call must ultimately contend against God.
So, I lift prayers today—knowing this deal is a first step among many.
Here—in the space between aspiration and hope and often devastating reality—we call on God to raise up peace and justice builders and protect them.
Amen.
The Narrative Gap, as coined by Lisa Sharon Harper, is the distance between the stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves, including how we got here and what it will take to make things right. In our world today, competing narratives vie for our loyalty, dividing society and the church, therefore making justice impossible. Our mission is help communities shrink the narrative gap, by identifying core issues and building community capacity so they might work toward common solutions for a just world. Here on the Freedom Road Substack, we can converse together on ways to shrink that narrative gap and help ensure everyones’ stories are told.
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