Palm Sunday Procession on Both Sides of the Wall

Holy Week began with the annual Palm Sunday procession. Members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams joined Palestinians on the first leg of the journey from Bethany to the Wall. Internationals, Israelis and Palestinians on the other side of the wall continued the procession from Bethphage through ancient gates into Jerusalem. These reflections from CPT and from Reformed Mission Workers, Marlin and Sally Vis, are reprinted with permission.

Al Eizariya/Bethany Palm Sunday Procession
17 March 2008
HEBRON RELEASE


AL EIZARIYA/BETHANY – On Palm Sunday, 16 March, Palestinians and internationals, Muslims and Christians, gathered at the Lazarus Gate checkpoint to commemorate Palm Sunday and highlight the travel restrictions the Israeli government imposes on Palestinians through the use of permits and Israel’s separation barrier. Most Palestinians from the West Bank cannot travel to Jerusalem.

Palestinians and internationals processed in the path that Jesus traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem. Participants carried olive branches, palm leaves, and signs reading, “Stop the Wall” and “Where could Jesus go?” When they arrived at the Lazarus Gate the group worshipped together.

Nora Carmi of Sabeel said, “Today, what we are doing is re-living this memory [of Jesus] and challenging the authorities in the same nonviolent, peaceful way, that Jesus did . . . A few soldiers with their guns and their tear gas, are not going to stop us from praying.”

Israeli border police arrived and threatened to fire tear gas at the worshippers, but they continued with some Scripture readings. While the group were completing their event on the grounds of a local religious community, the border police came and again told the worshippers to disperse.

After the service, many internationals continued on to Jerusalem to be a witness at the regular Palm Sunday procession for the Palestinian Christians who could not travel to Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday Pictures
March 17, 2008

Yesterday was the yearly first Palm Sunday walk - first because Orthodox Palm Sunday is a couple of weeks away. The walk begins at Bethphage (House of Figs) and proceeds down through Lion's Gate and into Saint Anne's Church located just inside the city walls.

The walk starts just on the other side of this wall, which separates biblical Bethany from the Mount of Olives. This picture was taken from the Bethany side of the Separation Barrier, just five minutes from tradition's site for Lazarus's tomb.

And here they come - the procession proceeds down the Mount of Olives toward the Old City, let by four Israeli soldiers. Tourists often remark about how odd it is to have soldiers in full battle gear leading the Palm Sunday procession, but for locals these soldiers are just part of the landscape. They are there as a presence for the purpose of keeping order, but it does serve to put in perspective Palm Sunday in contemporary Jerusalem. You have to wonder where the soldiers were on the first Palm Sunday walk, the one Jesus led seated on the back of a donkey. Roman soldiers were there of course, watching the crowd as it made it's way toward the city of Jerusalem. These Roman soldiers worried over the crowd as well, wondering if the motley crew made up mostly of children was planning celebration or revolution. Imagine their relief when Jesus led the crowd into the Temple through the Beautiful Gate and not toward their stronghold, the Antonio Fortress, by the then Sheep's Gate. I know, it's confusing, but stay with me.

And there they go, into the Old City, and because the Beautiful Gate is no longer there, and the Golden Gate, near where Beautiful Gate once stood was closed by one of the Muslim sultan's, the crowd passes through the gate that would have led up to the Antonio Fortress, where Pilate was no doubt staying for the dangerous time of the festival of Passover. Was Pilate watching too? Who is watching this crowd? Are they dangerous too? It could be that we are a danger to the principalities and powers. At the very least, we should be. Right? Not because we would revolt, but because we follow that first parade marshal who came riding on a donkey, unarmed except for a divine, internal resolve to redeem the world by the only means possible - his own self. And if it meant suffering, then so be it. And if it meant death, then so be it. And if there was something more to come, something transcending suffering and death, something like resurrection, well then, so be it as well. A man on a donkey rode into a city rife with corruption at every level, sold out completely to violent solutions to every problem, conflicted and factioned, and the man on the donkey knew by then that only the children would understand the significance, because only the children were willing to follow a man on a donkey rather than a man with a sword.

Who is following the man on the donkey today? And where is the man on the donkey leading us?

A New Set of Eyes and Ears

American mainline churches and peace churches have had a presence in the Middle East since the mid-19th century. Although American Churches did found a small number of Protestant congregations throughout the Middle East, these denominations made a larger impact in the region through the founding of schools (like the American University in Beirut and the Friends' Girls School in Ramallah) and hospitals, through the continued involvement of their mission workers in ministries of social service and through ecumenical cooperation with indigenous Middle Eastern Churches.

The impact of American Mission Workers in the Middle East has not only come from what they have given, but from what they have received -- not only from the talents they have invested but also from what they have learned and experienced through living in Middle Eastern societies. Some of the most reliable information American Christians get about the situation in the occupied territories comes not through the Mainstream Media, but through the reports of their Mission Workers who not only observe, but experience the day to day realities of Palestinians. It is not unusual to hear from a United Methodist mission worker who is serving as principal of a school or a Mennonite Mission Worker who is working with Palestinian environmental groups. While many mission workers bring years of experience in congregational ministry, in social service or in study of Middle Eastern and Interreligious history, others bring the enthusiasm and energy of youth. In fact, a few denominations, like the PC(USA) and the UMC, have programs geared especially toward young adults, where they place recent college grads in mission with partner churches or NGOs in various parts of the world.

A regular feature of this blog will be to share some of the reflections of American Mission workers in Israel and Palestine. The first report I am highlighting is from one of these younger mission workers, "long-term volunteer" Shannon O'Donnell. She has been serving since October 2006 as a Webmaster and an information technology specialist in the Sabeel Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem. Sabeel is a mission partner of the PC(USA) which describes its mission thus:

Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, this liberation theology seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians, to promote unity among them toward social action. Sabeel strives to develop a spirituality based on love, justice, peace, nonviolence, liberation and reconciliation for the different national and faith communities. The word "Sabeel" is Arabic for ‘the way‘ and also a ‘channel‘ or ‘spring‘ of life-giving water.

Sabeel also works to promote a more accurate international awareness regarding the identity, presence and witness of Palestinian Christians as well as their contemporary concerns. It encourages individuals and groups from around the world to work for a just, comprehensive and enduring peace informed by truth and empowered by prayer and action.

In one of her first reflections, Shannon says:

Slowly, I am learning the underlying rules of this land, and the consequences for all of the people they impact. There is a saying that if you come to this land for a week, then you will leave and write a book; if you come for a month, you will write an article; if you stay for a year, you will write nothing. The situation is complex, like a snowflake. The closer you look at it, the more intricate it appears, and the more difficult it is to explain.

I am learning more about the history behind the conflict here and now I am familiar with words like “Nakba” and “Occupied Territories.” Everyone knows about the Holocaust, but few in the West seem to have heard about Nabka. I find that there is a whole lot more to history than I was ever taught. There is a whole other side of the story that is never talked about.
...
Every day I watch them construct the separation wall, one of the biggest obstacles to a possible future state of Palestine. It’s getting difficult to see hope for a two-state solution, because there’s a big grey wall blocking my view.
...
My biggest asset to keeping a hopeful outlook has been the people with whom I live and work. The Christians I have met, those from Sabeel, those who come to visit what they call the “Holy Land” and also include what we call “Palestine” in their visit to Israel. I now read the Bible with a new set of eyes and ears that have become especially attuned to the perspective of the oppressed, to the words of Christ. But I still have so much more to learn. I look forward to learning from all the people I encounter, no matter what side of the wall they live on."

Whether our Mission Workers have been in the Holy Land for a week, a year or a lifetime, by sharing what they experience with their eyes and ears, each becomes the voice of the voiceless whose stories do not make the evening news. Let those who have an ear, hear.