His name was Salem Boulos, and he was a Palestinian Christian living in Gaza. On Nov. 19, Boulos- a father of five and a member of the Baptist church in Gaza- was killed when an Israeli bomb hit a nearby building. According to an Ethics Daily article about Boulos released this morning, around 2000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, and as you might imagine, the recent conflict has been brutal for them. In short, people are dying. People created in the image of God are dying. People for whom Christ gave his life are dying. People who share our communion table are dying.
A lot of the talk I hear surrounding this conflict revolves around Israel as "God's chosen people." What I don't hear is any discussion of the purpose of Israel's chosenness. The reason God chose Abraham was so that he might be "a blessing to the nations" (Gen. 12.2-3). From the beginning, God's election of Israel grew out of his love for ALL the nations. Lesslie Newbigin, a British theologian, has helped me wrestle with election more than anyone else. Newbigin argues that God's election always serves a missional purpose. When our view of election is divorced from our view of God's cosmic mission of redemption and wholeness, then God's choosing becomes little more than an arbitrary game of playing favorites. In other words, God doesn't choose the particular because God only cares about the particular. No, God chooses the particular to be his servant for the sake of all creation. God cares about the world- ALL of it, and God uses particular people to reach the ends of the earth. God is on the side of all creation, summoning all creation to draw near.
One also wonders how we could miss so much of the New Testament which argues that in Jesus, Israel's calling and purpose found fulfillment. Jesus did what Israel could not. Jesus- who continually stepped over nationalistic boundaries, who called his followers to be peacemakers, who blessed all people through his life, death, and resurrection- epitomizes what it means to be chosen by God.
Thus, the real issue at hand isn't what side of the conflict we are on, but which side of peace we are on. The real issue is whether or not we have the courage to follow the One who always chooses peace. To be clear, I'm not arguing for Israeli control over the Palestinians or Palestinian control of the Israelis (this cycle IS the problem), and I readily confess my shallow knowledge of what is an unimaginably complex conflict. What I am calling for is a renewed commitment to peace from those who name Christ as Lord. I am arguing for an allegiance to Christ and the ways of Christ that trumps all other allegiances. I'm asking Jesus people to wrestle with the hard questions. Will we continue to flippantly dream of "world peace," or will we begin the hard work of engaging the things which make for peace? Will we allow national interests to take precedence over human lives? Will we allow our views of Israel to shape our notions of peace or will we allow our views of peace to shape our notions of Israel?
As the season of Advent slowly approaches, I'm beginning to hear echoes of the angels' song, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to ALL people." One wonders if this old song could find a new choir in this season. One wonders if that child of peace could be born anew in this season. If he is, I'm betting that he nestles down amongst the peacemakers.
Today, I pray that this peace might find its way around the whole world, and I hope it begins with the family of Salem Boulos.
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