Bethlehem Priest reminds the world’s leaders how they have failed
JVL Introduction
This religious sermon by Rev Munther Isaac from Bethlehem is also, without question, a strong and furious political speech with an appeal to the World’s leaders, especially those in the Church to speak out. Solidarity, he says, is a costly thing and requires the world’s leaders to get out of their comfort zones, stand up for Palestine even if that is considered “controversial” and join the peoples of the world who are on the street in protest.,
He addresses many issues including, for example, racism and, of course, Christian teachings; he also echoes the words of Marek Edleman that we use: “Always with the Oppressed Never the Oppressor” as highlighted in the Church’s own introduction.
(Footnote: in searching online for an image of devastation in Gaza many came up from 4 years ago, 9 years ago, 11 years ago 14 years ago)
LL
This article was originally published by Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, London (Website) on Sun 18 Feb 2024. Read the original here.
Christ Under The Rubble - A Vigil for Gaza
On Sunday 18th February 2024 at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, The Revd Dr Munther Isaac, pastor of Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, issued an uncompromising call to the UK church. He said that they are called “to be the church, and to act in costly solidarity towards an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. This is a moral obligation. This is not the time for neutrality or soft diplomacy.”
Building on his Christmas Sermon “Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament”, Dr Isaac said: “Gaza is the moral compass of the world. We either side with the logic or power and ruthlessness, with the lords of war, and with those who justify and rationalize the killing of children. Or you side with the victims of oppression and injustice, and those who are besieged and dehumanized by the forces of Empire and colonization. It is really a simple choice: you either support a genocide, turn a blind eye or justify a genocide, or you cry out: No! Not in our name.” (The full text and video of the sermon is below).
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It’s completely agonising and bitterly humiliating how little we’ve been able to do to stop the carnage. Many of us have done everything we COULD, seemingly without any good coming of it. We’ve seen what our impotence fails to stop.
I went to the Bloomsbury Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon, after the pro-Palestinian march and listened to Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac give a briefer address along the lines of that published in this post. Afterwards, I was able to say to him that he was one of the few people who spelt out what true Christianity was about. The Palestine ambassador was also there and spoke. It is clear that Zionism has little to do with Judaism and that most of the world wants peace.
Sadly while Justin Welby’s in charge the church will continue to be a mockery of Christ’s example. The closure of churches during lockdown spelled that out very clearly.
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, cancelled plans to meet the Bethlehem-based Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac, saying he could not meet him if he shared a platform with the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at a pro-Palestinian rally, the pastor has said. (Guardian). Welby, revealing the depth of Christianity in his version of the CoE. A bit like KS and ‘his’ LP.