Yesterday at 11am we held a Café Church style service where we heard from Rev David Hardman, Methodist Liaison Officer in Jerusalem.
With readings from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Luke 19:37-41, we reminded ourselves that as one body with many members, we must both live and suffer together, and also reflected on how the act of witnessing prompts us to speak out.
With these themes in mind, David began his sermon on Palestine and Israel by introducing us to some of the statements given in the newly released document by Kairos Palestine (https://www.kairospalestine.ps/), a movement of Palestinian Christians striving for justice in the Middle East.
Through these statements, David reflected firstly on the language we are willing to use when speaking about , and reminded us about how we make statements not only through the narratives we construct, but also the words we choose. To illustrate this, David took us through the reasons why we should use the words ‘apartheid’, ‘genocide’ and ‘settler-colonialism’ as opposed to ‘conflict’.
Highlighting more excerpts from the document alongside the day’s readings, David also reflected on what sometimes ‘costly’ solidarity with other members of the body might look like. By boycotting companies supporting the genocide and by insisting on speaking out with the language of the oppressed rather than the oppressor, we might uphold and join in on the Palestinians’ right to creative, non-violent resistance.
With this all, David wished to remind us that justice can be achieved “where mercy and truth meet”.
With the more informal setting of Café Church, the congregation were able to engage in a dialogue with David following his sermon. A variety of questions were asked on topics surrounding Palestine and Israel, including but not limited to the British state response, creative forms of resistance, and boycotts.
A warm thanks to David for his time. If you missed his sermon, you can listen to it now on our Worship page or podcast channel.