Israelis and Palestinians finding peace in Jesus(Photo: © CMS)
By Tanas Alqassis, CMS regional manager for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa
I, a Palestinian, recently helped lead a group of 27 young Christians originally from opposing backgrounds – Israelis, Palestinians and Americans – on a weeklong Jordanian desert trek.
The trip was part of a programme sponsored by CMS’ strategic partner Musalaha (reconciliation), which promotes peace between Israelis and Palestinians through a shared love of Jesus.
On arrival everyone greeted each other and shared stories, followed by a meal, worship and prayers. The next day we set off at sunrise, mounted on camels, and started to explore the desert. We stopped for Bible study and talked about our identity, our responsibilities and forgiveness.
Surprising question
On the Thursday night before Easter, an Israeli participant, Itav, asked me, “What are we reconciling about? I did not know you before this encounter and I have nothing against you.”
I have been working with Musalaha for more than 20 years and this was the first time that a participant had asked me this, which I thought was brilliant.
Within a few minutes, most of the group had gathered around Itav and me as we talked about his question.
We concluded that we need reconciliation because we have ignored our responsibilities as children of God – in the way we behave towards each other, talk about each other and stereotype each other.
Later that evening, one of the guys talked about washing feet and the example Jesus showed us in humility and service. Some commented on how in Middle Eastern culture it is a hard thing to do, as only servants wash their masters’ feet.
Suddenly an American, an Israeli and a Palestinian brought a bucket of water over and started washing each other’s feet. Immediately, everyone else did the same. It was a night full of worship, tears, love and humility.
Shocked by love
I was sitting next to a policeman – a young Jordanian Muslim who was assigned by the government to protect the group (a normal procedure in Jordan).
Jamal’s English was not good enough to understand everything that was going on, so I offered to translate.
He was shocked by what he saw and heard.
He had misconstrued ideas about Christians. But I could see the passion in his eyes and his questions started going deeper – asking about faith and salvation. Then suddenly his mobile rang and he said that he had to go and pray.
I said to him, “Why don’t you pray with us?” He hesitated, but left. A bit later, a woman in the group came and asked me if I could bring Jamal into the tent and wash his feet. I said to her that I was happy to do so, but I could not ask him in front of his friends he was praying with, and that we needed to wait for God’s timing.
Five minutes later, Jamal moved away from his friends and came to watch us washing each other’s feet. One of the male participants took Jamal by the hand, prayed for him and washed his feet.
God’s work is beyond our thinking and power; we just need to trust him and take our identity in him more seriously.
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