Prayers

1. Pray not for Arab or Jew,
for Palestinian or Israeli,
but pray rather for yourselves
that you may not divide them in your prayers,
but keep them both together in your hearts.
--Rabbi Stanley A. Ringler, from Rabbis for Human Rights

2. Gracious God, you have promised through your prophets
that Jerusalem will be home to many peoples,
mothers to many nations.
Hear our prayers that Jerusalem, the city of your visitation,
may be for all - Jews, Christians and Muslims -
a place to dwell with you and to encounter one another in peace.
We make this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.
--from "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem," Churches for Middle East Peace

3. O God, as Muslims, Jews and Christians,
We acknowledge that thou
Hast made of one blood
All the nations of the earth.
Thou dost love all of us
As if all were but one,
And dost care for each
As if thou hadst naught else
To care for.
Remembering such love,
May we not weary in our efforts
To fashion out of our failures today
some great good
for all thy people tomorrow.
And not unto us O God,
not unto us,
but unto thy name
be the glory. AMEN.
--"Prayers for Peace in the Middle East" prepared by a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim, from Pressing for Peace, NCCCUSA, August 1990.

Scripture Readings:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
--Matthew 23:37, NRSV

Verses from the Qur'an

O believers, be steadfast witnesses for God with justice. Do not let the hatred of the people make you act unjustly. Be just, for justice is next to piety. (5:8)

Hold to forgiveness and enjoin good; turn aside from the foolish. (7:199)

It may be that God will bring about friendship between you and those whom you hold to be your enemies. (60:7)

--Quoted in The Book of Resolutions, paragraph 299 on "Our Muslim Neighbors:"

Litanies

1. A Litany for the Peace of Jerusalem

Leader: My sisters and brothers, grateful for the gift of life and peace, let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for the coming of the new and eternal city where God will be all in all: For the Church of God, that she may work and pray for the peace of Jerusalem,

Response: we pray to the Lord

For political leaders, that they may take bold initiatives for the peace of Jerusalem,…(Response)

For zealots on all sides, that they may put aside their animosities and be still for the sake of the peace of Jerusalem,…(Response)

For peacemakers, that they may have courage and perseverance,…(Response)

For Jews, Christians, and Muslims that they may learn to be at peace with one another in the Holy Land, … (Response)

For all those who have died attempting to bring peace to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, that they may rest securely in the bosom of Abraham, …(Response)

-- from Churches for Middle East Peace

2. Litany for Peace with Justice

The response to each petition, following the phrase, "Let us pray to the Lord," is "Lord, have mercy."

In peace, let us pray to the Lord,

That violence, oppression and injustice may cease from our land, while justice and peace flourish, let us pray to the Lord; (Response)

That the pain of all who suffer in our land, Muslim, Jew and Christian, the grief of those who mourn, and the memories of those who cannot forget past hurt, may know God's healing touch, let us pray to the Lord, (Response)

That across all barriers of race and creed we and all who dwell in our land may respect each other's dignity and seek to serve each other in love, let us pray to the Lord; (Response)

That all who are now in conflict in our land may renounce violence and seek peace by the way of love, let us pray to the Lord; (Response)

That the Holy Spirit may lead us from prejudice to truth and mercy, teach us truly to love our enemies, and deliver is from hatred and vengefulness, let us pray to the Lord, (Response)

--Excerpted from a litany prepared by the Rt. Rev. Samir Kafity, President-Bishop, The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, 1988 and published in From the Beginning, Resources and Study Guide to the Middle East by Betty Jane Bailey. New York: Friendship Press, 1992.

Reflections:

God directs his regard toward Jerusalem every morning, and showers upon its people His mercy and His benefits…The dew which descends upon Jerusalem is a remedy from every sickness, because it is from the gardens of Paradise. --Burhan al-din al-Fazari, Muslim preacher born in 1262 CE

Forgive them, forgive me too

"Silent, still, I lay there, aware for the first time that I was capable of vicious, killing hatred. Aware that all men everywhere - despite the thin, polite veneer of society - are capable of hideous violence against other men. Not just the Nazis, or the Zionist or the Palestinian commandos - but me. I have covered my hurts with Christian responses, but inside the anger had gnawed. With this sudden, startling view of myself, a familiar inner voice spoke firmly, without compromise. 'If you hate your brother, you are guilty of murder.' Now I understand. I was aware of other words being spoken. A Man was dying a hideous death at the hands of His captors - a Man of Peace, who suffered unjustly--hung on a cross. Father, forgive them, I repeated. And forgive me, too."

--Elias Chacour, Blood Brothers. Chosen:Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, p. 169

On Being Pilate

The U.S. takes the position of letting the parties to the struggle work their differences out among themselves. Then it gives billion dollar grants year after year to the one side that already dominates the other side's towns, homes, economy, water resources, and infrastructure. Then it insists on an activist role in facilitating the "peace process" in order to sabotage any negotiations that are based on U.N. resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories, the cessation of new settlements and withdrawal from existing ones established on Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the return of Palestinian refugees or just compensation for what has been taken from them.

Having done that, we stand before Palestinians, a million of them in Israel, 2.6 million in the Israeli-occupied territories, and five million scattered around the world, and we say, as we wash our political hands: We are innocent of your blood. Look to it yourself.

Speaking as an American, Pilate is us.

--Edward J. Dillon, "Today's Via Dolorosa," The Link, New York. April-May 2000.

Additional worship resources:

"The Way of the Cross: A Contemporary Experience." Developed for the Sabeel Alternative Assembly, February 2001 by Douglas Dicks, PC(USA) Liaison and Rev. Sandra Olewine, UM Liaison-Jerusalem in partnership with Catholic Relief Services Visitor Outreach Program. (Call GBGM at 212 870 3998 for a copy.)

"Today's Via Dolorosa," by Edward J. Dillon. The Link. April-May 2001. Published by Americans for Middle East Understanding, Inc. Room 245, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115-0245. Call (212) 870-2053 for a complimentary copy, or e-mail ameu@aol.com.

	See Also... Topic: Conflict |  International affairs |  Peace |  Prayers |  Violence |  War |  Geographic Region: Israel |  Palestine |  Source: Mission Contexts and Relationships
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Date posted: Apr 05, 2002