Christians caught in war

A press release and a news report caught my eye. The press release from the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem arrived yesterday from the Anglican News service. Honestly, as someone who is generally pro-Israeli, it made me wince with some of his rhetoric about Israel. This is not surprising from one perspective as I know from visiting Israel that the Christians there are Palestinians. They are also predominently Anglican and Orthodox denominationally. Bishop Riah was as clear as he could be writing,

We are tired, weary, sick, and wounded. We need your help.

Specifically, the bishop (pictured here) is concerned that Israel's "disproportionate" response will touch off a war "without boundaries or limitations," "a war with deadly potential beyond the imaginations of most civilized people." What Bishop Riah asks for is that Christians here in America,

Write every elected official you know. Write to your news media. Speak to your congregation, friends, and colleagues about injustice and the threat of global war. If Syria, Iran, the United States, Great Britain, China and others enter into this war - the consequence is incalculable. Participate in rallies and forums. Find ways that you and your churches can participate in humanitarian relief efforts for the region. Contact us and let us know if you stand with us. I urge you not to be like a disciple watching from afar.

The Bishop will this week go with emergency aid for families in Nablus and medical supplies for a hospital in Gaza. He also mentions that, as the Bishop of Lebanon as well as Israel, he is traveling next week to that nation to bury the Christian dead.

The reference to Lebanon brings me to today's article in The New York Times, Christians Fleeing Lebanon Denounce Hezbollah. In that article, yet a new dimension emerges as Christians in that nation are also at risk, this time from their Muslim neighbors on the opposite side of the conflict. As the article reports,

Many Christians from Ramesh and Ain Ebel considered Hezbollah’s fighting methods as much of an outrage as the Israeli strikes.

Fayad Hanna Amar, a young Christian from Ain Ebel, Lebanon told the Times reporter,

Hezbollah came to Ain Ebel to shoot its rockets. They are shooting from between our houses. Please write that in your newspaper.

The problem is that when Hezbollah fires from between Christian homes in a largely Christian village, Israel responds with a counter attack, raining down its bombs on the Christians. Though to be completely upfront, the current situation is also a by product of not just religion, but recent history. The Times article says, "In past wars, Christian militias were close to Israelis, and animosity between Christians and Shiites lingers."

Regardless, these reports show Christians trapped in a war they did not start and they are not perpetuating. It is an under-reported side of the conflict. Bishop Riah's hope is that Christians in America (and Britain) will help influence their governments to work for peace, rather than supporting the continuation and escalation of the conflict.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
"May they prosper who love you."
Peace be within your walls
and quietness within your towers.
Psalm 122:6-7