We Are All Descendants
The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson
Manassas Presbyterian Church
Manassas, Virginia
July 27, 2014
We
Are All Descendants
Genesis 15:1-6
“We have turned our
back on our
Jewish brothers and
sisters.”
“We have embraced
groups that want nothing less
than the destruction
of Israel.”
“We have become anti-Semitic.”
These are some of
the comments and charges
that have been aimed
at our denomination
since last month’s
meeting of
the General Assembly
in Detroit.
These comments and
charges have come
in response to a vote
taken by the General Assembly
to divest of
investments in three American companies
held by our church
pension funds.
The companies are
Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard,
and Motorola
Solutions.
Our pension funds
hold about $21 million dollars worth
of the three
companies’ stock.
The companies have a
combined net worth
of well over $100
billion –
that’s “billion”
with a “b” –
so our holdings are
insignificant to the companies.
Still, we made the
decision to divest of our holdings
because of our
determination made at General Assembly
that products and
services
made and provided by
the three companies
and sold to the
Israelis
are being used in
ways that are
harmful to the
Palestinian people
and an impediment to
prospects for peace
between the people
of Israel
and the people of
Palestine.
The reaction to the
vote was immediate and furious.
Rabbi Noam Marans,
director of Interreligious
and Intergroup
Relations for the
American Jewish
Committee said of the action,
“The PCUSA
leadership is facilitating
the delegitimization
of Israel
in the guise of helping
Palestinians. …
This is an affront
to all who are committed to
a peaceful
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The PCUSA decision
is celebrated by those who believe
they are one step closer
to a Jew-free Middle East,
they have empowered
those within the denomination
who are driven by
hatred of Israel
to undermine support
for the peaceful resolution
of the conflict via
a directly negotiated
two-state solution….”
These are strong
words.
These and other
similar accusations
have been aimed at
our denomination
suggesting, even
stating,
that we harbor a
“hatred of Israel,”
and abet those who
want a “Jew-free Middle East.”
All because we
decided to divest our holdings of
three American
companies?
What’s going on
here?
Here’s the thinking
behind the decision,
the reason for the
vote,
the action taken:
Caterpillar makes bulldozers
and other heavy equipment
that have been used
to destroy the homes of Palestinians
in settlement areas,
as well as to destroy
agricultural land,
and tear up roads in
Palestinian settlements.
Hewlett Packard and
Motorola Solutions
make equipment the
Israelis use
to further their
occupation in disputed territory.
The products and
services are not helping
the cause of peace,
and are thought to
be in fact inflaming the conflict.
Our church has long
had a practice of looking at moral,
ethical and social
considerations for our investments,
so the decision to
divest was certainly
not the first time we’ve
done something like this.
We, as followers of
Jesus Christ,
are called to work
for peace,
peace and
reconciliation,
and sometimes that
may mean
we will disapprove
of actions taken,
or words said,
by those we love and
support.
And we may need to
step up and take action,
or make a statement
to express our concern
clearly, explicitly.
Any parent knows
that while they may
love their child
unconditionally,
they may not always
approve of things
the child does or
says.
And sometimes
quarrels result from the disagreement.
Our denomination has
a long record of
strong support for
Israel.
But that doesn’t
mean we approve of
everything our
Israeli brothers and sisters do;
that doesn’t mean
that we cannot stand up and say,
“Even as we stand
with you and support you,
we do not approve of
this action or that.”
As one leader of the
church put it,
“It’s a question of
how you really say
as prayerfully and
sincerely as we can,
‘friends, this
enterprise of taking away this land
and squeezing these
people has got to stop.”
(C. Iosso in the Presbyterian Outlook, May 12, 2014)
Unconditional love
does not require unconditional approval.
So if we believe the
Israelis are threatening
the human rights and
lives of Palestinians,
then we should speak
up,
we should make our
concern known.
To take such action
isn’t to turn from Israel,
pull our support
from Israel,
or side with the
Palestinians,
especially those who
have made clear
they seek nothing
less
than the destruction
of Israel.
The side we are
always on as disciples of Jesus Christ
is the side of
peace.
So for anyone to say
our denomination’s action
was motivated by a
“hatred of Israel”
is simply wrong.
In fact, a careful
reading of the whole Resolution
that the General
Assembly voted on,
of which the
divestment decision was a part,
shows just how
strong our support for Israel is.
Listen to the
preamble:
“The PC(USA) has a long standing commitment
to peace in Israel and Palestine.
We recognize the complexity of the issues,
the decades-long struggle,
the pain
suffered and inflicted by policies and practices
of both the Israeli government and Palestinian
entities.
We further acknowledge and confess our own
complicity
in both the historic and current suffering
of Israeli and Palestinian yearning for
justice and reconciliation”
We are for peace;
for peace for the people of both
Israel and Palestine.
We are committed to working for peace
in Israel,
peace in Palestine,
peace between the people,
peace for the people,
peace which can only come
through peace by the people.
Now, listen to the first point of
the Resolution:
We the people of the Presbyterian
Church (USA),
“Reaffirm Israel’s right
to exist as a sovereign nation
within secure and internationally recognized borders
in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.”
Now I wasn’t there at the
General Assembly,
but that sounds to me
strongly supportive of Israel
as a nation,
and as a people,
supportive of their right
to live in
peace and security.
Here’s the second item in
the Resolution:
We the people of the
Presbyterian Church:
“Declare [our] commitment to a
negotiated two-state solution
(two states for two peoples)
in which a secure and universally recognized
State of Israel
lives alongside a free, viable, and secure state
for the Palestinian people.”
“Secure and universally
recognized State of Israel”—
that’s where we as a denomination stand.
Firmly, without hesitation.
It is where we have stood historically,
and it is where we continue to stand.
Further, even as we stand for peace
for the Palestinian people,
we stand firmly against those who seek to destroy
Israel.
Following the vote at the General Assembly,
the three top leaders of our denomination
wrote an open letter to our Jewish brothers and
sisters
in which they stated where we stand, writing:
“Of central importance in our deliberations
was our continued concern for Palestinians and
Israelis
to live in peace.
…The close nature of the vote revealed
how deeply Presbyterians care about
both Jewish and Palestinian neighbors
and the assembly’s struggle to make this decision.
All peoples in Israel and Palestine
should live in security, freedom, and peace.
This action is but one aspect of our commitment
to work to this end.
The assembly was explicit:
our selective divestment of American companies
engaged in nonpeaceful pursuits
that furthers the occupation
does not
constitute divestment
from Israel itself.
Nor does this indicate any desire for the PC(USA)
to walk away from our deeply held, multilateral
Jewish-Christian relationships.
…We are committed more than ever
to sitting at the table and
living in community with you.”
And in support of that,
the Resolution approved by the General Assembly
reaffirmed explicitly our:
“commitment to interfaith dialogue and partnerships
with the American Jewish, Muslim friends
and Palestinian Christians and
[we] call for all presbyteries and congregations
within the PC(USA) to include interfaith dialogue and
relationship-building as part of their own engagement
in working for a just peace.”
And that is our call:
to work together for a
just peace,
everywhere, in every part
of the world.
To work together because
we are all
descendants of Abraham,
all followers of the God
of Abraham,
all of us part of the
family that God told Abraham
would be more numerous
than the stars in the sky.
Abraham, the “the ancestor of many nations;”
not just many people, but
“many nations”.
(Genesis 17:4)
“No longer shall your name be Abram,
but your name shall be Abraham;
for I have made you the ancestor of
a multitude of nations.”
(Genesis 17:5)
Many nations,
many peoples,
different languages,
different cultures,
different ways of
thinking and doing things.
But all of us called to
live together,
live peacefully together.
In a statement released three weeks ago,
the leadership of the World Council of Churches
encouraged churches to “engage in dialogue with
Palestinian churches,
civil society actors,
and Jewish partners.
[Instead of] reacting to the political
controversies
around economic measures,
churches should thoughtfully and prayerfully
consider how they might respond
from the foundation of their faith,”
(Statement on
Economic Measures and Christian Responsibility
toward Israel and Palestine, July 7, 2014)
Our actions taken at the
General Assembly last month,
right or wrong,
wise or short-sighted,
has led to a breach,
a breach between us and
our Jewish brothers and
sisters,
and we are called by God
through the prophet Isaiah
to be repairers of the
breach.
(Isaiah 58:12)
We’ll do that here in
this church
as we look for new ways
to reach out
to our Jewish brothers
and sisters.
We’ll repair the breach
together,
all of us descendants of
Abraham,
remembering that the side
we are always
called to take
is the side of peace,
as we follow the Prince
of Peace.
AMEN
posted by Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson @ 11:00 AM
