Establishing Justice on the Earth?
Kevin Vollrath
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching, the islands will put their hope.”
Isaiah 42:1-4
This is the first of four passages in Isaiah commonly understood as describing the “suffering servant.” Many Christians understand these prophecies to be fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry, and others consider the Biblical nation of Israel as a whole to be the suffering servant.
The passage strikes me for its repetition of justice. This servant will bring justice to not just one, but the nations. The servant will bring forth justice – as if it’s hiding somewhere waiting to be revealed. He will not falter or be discouraged until he establishes, or puts, justice on the earth.
If this passage does indeed refer to Jesus the Messiah, either justice has been established, the prophecy is false, or Jesus is still working on it. Though bewildering, the last seems most likely to me.
So how might Jesus be still bringing forth justice? Has he really not faltered or grown discouraged?
I sometimes wish Jesus was more vocal about the injustices of his day. He didn’t seem to shout or cry out or raise his voice in the streets. He raised his voice in the Temple, out of zeal for this Father’s house. Was he more passionate about teaching right worship, keeping the Temple from becoming a den of thieves, than about condemning the oppression surrounding him?
How will he bring justice to the nations? How will he bring forth justice in faithfulness? Has he still not faltered or grown discouraged? For surely justice is yet to be established on earth. Jesus’ Kingdom theology isn’t the intuitive kind of restorative justice most of us would reasonably hope for. Instead, he offered healing and prophetic words and invited others to do the same.
Yet his teaching is the hope of even the islands, the most marginal, those most distant from centers of power and influence. The next suffering servant passage also addresses the islands: “Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations” (Isaiah 49:1)– this hopeful teaching is for every nation everywhere. Yet even the suffering servant can come to doubt the purpose and value of his labor: “But I said, ‘I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain, and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God’” (Isaiah 49:4).
If both of these passages are true and both refer to the same suffering servant, it is possible to doubt the purpose of one’s labor even while one is not faltering or growing discouraged on the way to establishing justice on the earth.
May all of us working for justice take heart – our efforts are not for naught.
CMEP has the privilege of working alongside Jewish and Muslim, as well as secular, peacemakers. Perhaps many of us feel like bruised reeds or smoldering wicks, struggling to persevere. Despite theological differences, may we be unified by the fear of God which keeps us all seeking justice and hoping for redemption, especially for the most vulnerable among us.
May those of us who seek to follow Jesus’ teachings seek also to see his presence and work through our colleagues of different faiths. May all of us working for justice not falter as you put your hope in the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is still near. Justice is coming.
Lord Jesus, draw our eyes to you, the author and perfecter of our faith.
May we be inspired by your persistence. Give us eyes to see where you are continuing your work when it’s easy to only see war, destruction, and evil. We ask you to continue establishing justice around the world, particularly in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Israel, and Palestine. May your Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Amen.
____
Kevin Vollrath is CMEP’s Manager of Middle East Partnerships. Kevin is a Ph.D. candidate in Religion and Society at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he also earned an M.Div. His research focuses on the relationship between the Israeli occupation of Palestine and Palestinians with disabilities, and how the occupation produces disability. In joining CMEP, he is excited to complement his research with advocacy work.
Any views or opinions contained herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP).
By Kyle Cristofalo, Senior Director of Advocacy and Government Relations at CMEP
“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.” 1 Corinthians 3. 9-10
I do not have a particularly green thumb. One time when I was in Seminary, I accepted a plant-sitting job. The family had stopped their mail and brought their pet with them on vacation. The only task I had was to water their plants. If it rained enough (which it did), I only had to water the inside plants. One simple task. No problem, right? Well, the plants survived, but by the time I left, they were not looking particularly healthy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I did not receive any future plant-sitting requests.
What does gardening have to do with Lent? What does it have to do with my work at Churches for Middle East Peace? During this season, I have been reflecting on a prayer written in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, assassinated due to his criticism of a corrupt government that overlooked the needs of the people. One section, in particular, stands out:
“This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he reminds the leaders of the community that while they play an important role as “co-workers in God’s service,” ultimately, God brings the results to fruition. In other words, “We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.” This does not give us an excuse to sit back and wait–indeed the work of being God’s field and building comes with great responsibility. Whether we are master gardeners or struggle to keep plants alive, is irrelevant. The seed is not good because we plant it. We can plant the perfect garden only to have our hard work undone by an animal or a particularly bad storm. It is good because it is part of God’s redemptive work for this world. Our role is not to do everything, but to be faithful to our call to help bring about God’s justice in a world that so desperately needs it.
“We plant the seeds that one day will grow….”
Every day we hear more news of death and destruction throughout the Middle East. In Yemen, 16 million people live on the brink of starvation as the Saudi-led civil war enters its seventh year. In just over the year since President Biden began his term in office, Israel has demolished more than 1,000 Palestinian properties resulting in the displacement of over 1,300 Palestinians. The economic crisis in Lebanon continues without indication it will let up anytime soon. We might be tempted to ask whether it is worth continuing to advocate if the facts on the ground continue to deteriorate by the day. Does our voice really matter? On days when I feel particularly helpless, I remind myself that I am a worker, not a master builder; a minister, and not a messiah. I am not responsible for “solving” all of the challenges faced in the Middle East. Yet, I am not absolved from doing my part, either. The results might seem small, but they are a step along the way, an opportunity for the good seeds planted to blossom into a future in which all of God’s people are finally free.
Creator God, on the days when we feel our work is for nothing, remind us that you have called us to be co-workers in the service of peace and justice for your creation. May we trust that the seeds planted today will one day blossom so that justice will prevail in the Middle East and throughout the world.
_____
Kyle Cristofalo, Senior Director of Advocacy and Government Relations/Special Advisor to the Executive Director. Kyle holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from Messiah College and a Master of Divinity Degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Kyle was first introduced to Middle East advocacy work during a semester abroad in Cairo, Egypt. After graduating from college, Kyle spent 10 months serving with the Mennonite Central Committee in Bethlehem, Palestine, where he was seconded to work with Bethlehem Bible College.
Christian Palestinians speak in this amazing resource responding to the question “Is Peace Possible?”
The new book “Is Peace Possible in the Holy Land?” reveals Holy Land Christians’ struggle for survival amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Written by the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land’s Justice and Peace Commission, this book contains a compelling collection of articles and declarations from the Catholic Church in Jerusalem.
Including a pastoral letter from the former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, chapters provide an in-depth, first-hand, authoritative understanding of the identity of Holy Land Christians. In addition, Is Peace Possible? includes numerous perspectives on the Israel/Palestine conflict emerging from the Christian community. The book serves as an excellent resource for background information for those making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
For example, Christians in the region, are called the “living stones” of the Holy Land as their communities date back to the time of Christ. Historically, Christians – predominately Arab Palestinians – made up 18-percent of the overall population. Today, they constitute less than two percent.
The first chapters serve as a backdrop to position papers, formulated by the Commission, that deal with various aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These position papers were written to help the Church promote justice and peace in the region as an integral part of her mission.
Palestinian Christians confront difficult political situations on a daily basis. At the same time, they strive to promote dialogue and reconciliation and nourish the faith, that peace might blossom for generations of future Christians, Jews, and Muslims, Israelis, and Palestinians.
This book is not for the faint-hearted. It paints an unsettling and frequently disturbing portrait of the life, trials, and systematic persecutions of the Christian Palestinians in the Holy Land. “Finally,” wrote one reviewer, “authoritative answers for those who have wondered where the Church stands on the situation in the Holy Land and its’ Christians!”
To read this powerful resource online, visit CMEP’s website here. The physical book is available at Amazon.com or at your local retailer. The U.S. editor and CMEP Catholic Advisory Council chair, Sir Jeffery Abood, can be reached at jabood@att.net.
A Franciscan Blessing
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen.
We hope you will join us for a webinar about this important resource on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 11:00 am EST. Facilitated by Julie Schumacher Cohen, former Deputy Director of Churches for Middle East Peace and member of the CMEP Catholic Advisory Council, and including representatives from The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land and Palestinian Christians. Find out more and register here.
Mohammad El Kurd and the Settler Takeover in the East Jerusalem Neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah
Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon
The first time I ever travelled through the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem I was on a tour bus. More than a decade ago, it was a Friday afternoon and I witnessed firsthand Jews, Palestinians, and internationals standing in solidarity — holding signs and calling out for “Freedom for Palestine” and an end to the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes by Israeli settlers. More than a decade later, the situation has only worsened and in fact, the current protests look eerily similar as solidarity demonstrations continue on behalf of the dozens of Palestinians facing eviction from their homes.
A few weeks ago, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that at least six families must vacate their homes in Sheik Jarrah by Sunday, May 1, 2021. In total, 58 Palestinians living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, including 17 children, are being displaced so that Jewish settlers may take possession of their homes. The ruling of the court was the culmination of the decades-long struggle for Palestinians to stay in their homes that I witnessed on that tour bus back in 2009.
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Ramadan, the Muslim celebration of the Quran, is about to begin, and in Palestine, it has a special meaning. When observed faithfully, Ramadan changes both the individual and society. Several times over the last fifteen years, I have taken groups of North American students and led public delegations to visit Golan for Development, a human rights organization located in Majdal Shams in Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. I ask the Siraj Center in Beit Sahour to arrange these meetings to introduce my groups to the Druze, their religion, and Israel’s military occupation of the Golan.
Golan for Development resists Israel’s unlawful occupation and works for freedom, equality, and social justice by offering agricultural services to Druze farmers, by providing basic health services in the five remaining Druze villages of Golan, and by establishing a kindergarten, community theater, and music center for children. Beautiful, nonviolent resistance to Israel’s brutal occupation has given the Druze of Golan a higher quality of life than would otherwise have been possible, although they still suffer under Israel’s relentless domination.
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It’s midnight. There’s a knock on the door. You yell that you are coming to open it in hopes that the soldiers don’t blow it open. Moments later, dozens of soldiers invade your house. Your children wake to masked soldiers with guns pointed directly at them, yelling in a language your children don’t understand. They force your family into one room and tear your house apart without explanation. This is the reality that many families have faced across the West Bank.
Night raids are one of the most devastating acts of the Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. The violent raids occur between midnight and 5 AM, often without the families getting an explanation. According to the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling, 1,360 night raids are executed every year, the majority within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of a settlement or near roads that settlers frequent.
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When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
The Christmas season is full of light – sparkling lights on the Christmas tree; houses in the neighborhood decorated with lights for the coming holiday; candles flickering on the mantle; a fire in the fireplace representing warmth, comfort, and hope. These are the images of light we will hold onto this Advent season.
And we hold these images as hope not only for our own lives; but for the lives of those suffering in Palestine, Israel, the Middle East, and around the world. We remember in our prayers this week:
- The men, women, and children who are living in Gaza; often with only a few hours of electricity per day.
- The 60,000 internally displaced persons in Gaza still waiting for a durable housing solution since the destruction of their homes during the 2014 Gaza War.
- The families affected by the 155 demolitions or confiscations of Palestinian owned structures in East Jerusalem and the West Bank during September and October 2016.
- Those affected by the terrible fires throughout Israel and the West Bank that destroyed hundreds of homes, displacing tens of thousands.
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In His Image – Women for Change release statement against violence
Nine Israeli and Palestinian women serving with different ministries in the Messianic Jewish, Israeli Arab Christian and Palestinian sectors of the Evangelical churches in Israel/Palestine have issued a statement opposing the use of violence. They invite you to join with them in prayer for the conflict and to endorse this statement.
Using a broad definition of violence as “any physical, emotional, verbal, institutional, structural or spiritual behaviour, attitude, policy or condition that diminishes, dominates or destroys ourselves and others”, the statement challenges the status quo of the deeply divided communities and calls for a renewed commitment to seek peace, justice and security for all in Israel and Palestine. The statement calls for a renunciation of violence in all its forms-military, political, social, psychological and spiritual-and condemns both the recent spate of attacks on citizens and the use of force to maintain the occupation. Read more
This is the fifth in a week long series.
by Elli Atchison
One only has to look at the final days of His ministry to see how He suffered. Jealous Jewish leaders conspired with one of Jesus’ own disciples tJesus was no stranger to persecution and pain.o have Him arrested. Though He was unjustly accused and tried in court, “Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge” (Matt. 27:12). He faced an angry mob who chanted for His death, even though the ruling governor found Him to be innocent. He was handed over to Roman soldiers who brutally flogged His flesh, beat His body, and mocked His holy name. Finally, Jesus endured the shame and the pain of a criminal’s death by hanging on a cross. (Matt. 27:12-44)
Throughout this evil tribulation He never once defended Himself. He could have called on His Father to send more than twelve legions of angels to defend Him (Matt. 26:53). But He did not. He did not raise His hand or even His voice in self defense. His meekness was the truest sign of strength that the world will ever know. Read more
This is the fourth in a week long series.
by Elli Atchison
Jesus lost loved ones during His time on earth. He knows that the death of someone we love creates a hole in the heart that is hard to fill.
It is assumed Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, passed away before His ministry began. As a young man, Jesus would have grieved the death of His earthly father. He would have had to walk through that grief with His mother Mary and his siblings. Jesus’ own cousin, John the Baptist, was unjustly imprisoned and brutally murdered by Herod Antipas. Jesus, himself being fully human, sought solitude and prayer to deal with the pain of this tragic loss. (Matt 14:10,13) He also loved a dear friend named Lazarus who became sick and died. Jesus was so deeply moved by the pain of Lazarus’ sisters and He wept openly with them. (John 11: 33,35)
How would Jesus comfort an Israeli man who lost his wife to a violent stabbing by an angry Palestinian? Surely this husband would be justified in his feelings of bitter hate and a longing for revenge. (Exodus 21:24) Left alone to raise their children would be a constant reminder of their family’s tragic loss. The course of their lives would be forever changed. Read more
