Jesus called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:2-6
There has been a cessation in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, the resistance or terrorist group situated in the tiny, human-packed enclave of Gaza. A conflict over housing which began in Jerusalem escalated into rocket attacks by Hamas countered by air and artillery strikes by Israel. We can certainly pray that this ceasefire will hold so that the destruction and loss of life will end.
As always, civilians died, and among them were children. Two Israeli children and 66 Palestinian children were among the dead, which should cause us all to be outraged. What in God's name did these children do to have their lives snuffed out. Simply writing about it infuriates me. This is a blasphemy and no one can rationalize which has occurred.
I've included a New York Times piece called They Were Only Children which shares the photos of the children who died, including four from the same family. One of these precious souls is pictured above.
The words of Jesus are echoing in my head. I am a grandfather of four and my heart is broken.
3 comments:
I share your outrage - and we Christians need to stop rationalizing Israeli behaviours. The politics of the modern state of Israel are not the Word of God for today's world.
Agreed to both of you.
I remember the movie Munich from 2005 which relates the story of the retribution killings against the PLO and the aftermath of the Black September massacre at the Munich Olympic games in 1972. One of the characters on the Israeli hit squad was having a moment of angst. He was lamenting that as Jews they were required to act "righteously" and he couldn't square that concept with what they were doing. Israel is so keen to be recognized as the Jewish Homeland/State. Seems to me they should start behaving like one.
Thanks Judy and Frank. Yes, if Israel wants to describe itself as "a light to the nations," taken from Isaiah, then its policies and actions regarding Palestinians must change.
Post a Comment