A Palestinian Litany from Jerusalem
November 29, 2005
Just got back from a Prayer Vigil this evening; today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The group on campus used a Palestinian Litany from Jerusalem, written by Bishop Munib A. Younan, the Lutheran Bishop in Jerusalem. I found it to be very powerful, and you can read it below:
++A PALESTINIAN LITANY FROM JERUSALEM++
A responsive reading with Scripture and song
Reading from Psalm 85
Almighty and eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we glorify and praise you. You are our only refuge in this troubled world.
We glorify and praise you, our God.
Merciful God, in the birth of your Son Jesus Christ in Bethlehem you became one of us, sharing and understanding our humanity, our suffering and problems.
We glorify and praise you, our God.
We thank you that you took refuge to Egypt, identifying yourself with all who are refugees and victims of political power.
We thank you, our God.
We thank you that you grew up in Nazareth and ministered to the people in Galilee, and spread your kingdom in a new way.
We thank you, our God.
We thank you that you were crucified in Jerusalem, identifying yourself with every person who suffers and lives under occupation and injustice. On the cross you carried the sin and the suffering of all human beings and reconciled us with you and with our fellow human beings.
We thank you, our God.
Reading from Isaiah 40:28-31
Our Heavenly Father, we come before you with all the troubles and pains experienced by your people in the Middle East.
Lord, have mercy on us.
We pray for all the victims of injustice and violence in the present situation. We pray also for those who are responsible for injustices and all forms of violence.
Lord, have mercy on us.
We pray for laborers who cannot enter to their places of work. We pray for youth who are losing their hope for the future.
Lord, have mercy on us.
We pray for mothers who are fed up with bloodshed, killing, and the use of arms. We pray for the bereaved families, who lost their dear ones. We pray for the quick recovery of the injured. We especially pray for those who live with permanent disability.
Lord, have mercy on us.
We lift up to you the names of children whose lives were cut short by violence: Ahmed Ismail Khatib, Yasser ‘Adnan al-Ashqar, Noor Faris Njem, Odai Tantawi and the hundreds of other Palestinian and Israeli children who remain unnamed.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Jesus, our Savior, our eyes look to you, our only help in these troubled times.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray, that you open the eyes of the world, and of Israelis and Palestinians, for justice and reconciliation. Help us all to see that the security and freedom of the one people is depending on the security and freedom of the other.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for the politicians, that they may realize that the security and peace we all long for will not come by the use of arms and force, but by having justice done so that the two peoples can reconcile and together work out an equitable coexistence for the future.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for leaders around the world who have power to work for peace: Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas, Amir Peretz, President Bush, Kofi Annan, Condoleeza Rice, James Wolfensohn, leaders of the European Union, and leaders of other Arab countries.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus, you have called us to be your followers. Give us your love for our fellow human beings. Free us, and our children, from hatred, bitterness, and the denying of the rights of others; and fill us with love, truth, and justice, so that we can recognize and respect the dignity and the rights of one another.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus, you have shown us that forgiveness is not forgetting one’s rights but asserting them. We know that forgiving is to see Christ in our enemies, and to love them as our neighbors. Help the Palestinians to see you in the Israelis, and help the Israelis to see you in the Palestinians. Help all of us to see you in one another. Lead us all to affirm and respect that our humanity is a gift from you, as we are all created in your image, and give us courage to mutually recognize one another’s human, religious, civil, and political rights.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Reading from Ephesians 2:11-22
Holy Spirit, giver of life and new beginnings, help us to faithfully respond to God’s call to be ministers of reconciliation.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
Help your people everywhere find ways of encouraging people to open their hearts and confess their part in the past injustices and find ways to build a just and secure future for our children. Give us wisdom and courage in this difficult task. When the pressures of the situation make us despair, come with your Holy Spirit and renew our strength and hope.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
Sustain with your power those who in the midst of all difficulties are quietly building the culture of reconciliation, justice, and peace. They may not be many right now, but we remember that the work for God’s kingdom among us started with only a handful of faithful and committed people.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
We pray for those who people and organizations in the Holy Land who are committed to building peace: Naim Ateek, Sabeel, Mitri Raheb, International Center of Bethlehem, Michael McGarry, Rabbi Ron Kronish, Elias Jabbour, Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, Arik Ascherman, Rabbis for Human Rights, Bishop Munib Younan, Douglas Dicks, Catholic Relief Services, Givat Haviva, Joudeh Majaj, Suhaila Tarazi, B’tselem, and others whose steps toward peace are overlooked.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
Come, Healing Spirit, and change us and open ways for us to change others. Remove all injustice and fill our land with just peace. Remove all hatred and fill us all with true love.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
Remove all insecurity and bring in real security. Remove all occupation and bring in freedom for all.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
Merciful God, accept our prayer and yearning. You are the only strength we have. No one can take the power of prayer away from us. In the name of Jesus - our Liberator and Redeemer - we pray.
Amen
Posted in Politics
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
November 30th, 2005 at 12:49 am
thanks for sharing the litany. i might use that in the future when we have a peace vigil here in nashville.
November 30th, 2005 at 3:53 pm
i too was at the prayer service last evening and it was something my soul was craving at the time. thank you adam for posting the litany - it truly helped to give words to some of my emotions surrounding PEACE in this world.
monday afternoon i was listening to NJ 101.5 radio when the hosts were entertaining random calls from listeners about “the war” and such reactions to it. i turned on the program in the middle of a woman’s rant about iraqi citizens coming to the US. i’m not sure exactly what she was referring to, but it was emphasized that she was speaking about innocent iraqi families legally coming to the US to get away from the situation there. her reaction to this was of pure hostility, saying that she would walk up to these iraqis and scream in their faces to get out of our country. she claimed these actions because of desire “to take care of her own” - her family.
after being provoked a bit by the radio hosts, she went so far as to say if there were a weapon available to her, she would open fire on these innocent iraqi families coming the US, solely because she did not want them here…she would MURDER iraqi people simply for coming to the US.
and it got worse as the woman then claimed to be “educated”, “loving”, and “tolerant”, but felt that her first priority was still “to take care of her own.”
i did not know what to do with this woman’s words. my heart began to ache. it ached because of the overwhelming HATE that this woman has for what is unknown to her. this makes me scared to be a Christian in today’s world - not knowing how to even begin to practically approach a world full of women like this.
the following words from the litany surrounded my heart and comforted the emotions that had been welling up that i did not know what to do with:
____
Help your people everywhere find ways of encouraging people to open their hearts and confess their part in the past injustices and find ways to build a just and secure future for our children. Give us wisdom and courage in this difficult task. When the pressures of the situation make us despair, come with your Holy Spirit and renew our strength and hope.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew us all.
____
may the LORD guide us and strengthen us in our quest for peace…
peter
November 30th, 2005 at 9:50 pm
I am glad you enjoyed the program.
One question tho, were there any prayers said for the families of those murdered by suicide bombers?
Does this group ‘understand’ and agree with these killings of civilians?
I am seriously interested and am not trying to be argumenative.
I hope some compassion can be expressed for all who suffer from this problem.
The Christian Left for all the good it does, appears to ignore the suffering of Jewish people.
Do you have any idea of why this is?
November 30th, 2005 at 9:57 pm
One more point, I noted that all the children’s names are Arab. Hundreds of Isreali children have been murdered in this war, in fact targeted on purpose at ice cream shops, pizza places ( Sbarros) and dance clubs ( Mikes Place was teens but still).
Why do Christains have such a hard time saying their names? The Lutheran paster does say Israeli but not one name when a number of Arab names are clearly stated.
We Jewish people know all too well the history of the Lutheran Church and anti semitism. Its a sad story. Why do they continue this to this day?
I really in all my heart do not see why this is.
Perhaps you or one of your kind readers would explain this to me so I can tell the Jewish people who I know about this.
As you may or may not know, there is a great deal of fear and pain in the Jewish community about what we are afraid is the same old pattern of Christian anti semitism.
Please tell me I am wrong.
I hope so!
Thanks so much.
Callie
November 30th, 2005 at 10:27 pm
why do you assume that by sticking up for Palestine that we automatically condemn the Israelis? sticking up for Iraq and disapproving of America’s occupation doesn’t mean that i hate the US. i am not happy about it, but i am not ready to start acting prejudiced against Americans. extending the hand of peace to one nation does not automatically require the fist of hate to another.
peter
December 1st, 2005 at 9:20 am
Callie,
I do know that the Lutheran church has a scarred past. But I also know that I am Lutheran, I am not anti-semitic, and the churches of which I have been a part have certainly not been. I would be cautious about categorizing Lutherans as univocally anti-semitic (i.e., when you ask “why do they continue [anti-semitism] to this day?”) I must bear the mistakes of my tradition, yes, but I think it is unfair to categorize me by my denomination on a matter as serious as this one. I understand that a Palestinian litany such as this has an implied (though perhaps not intentional) anti-semitic character. This litany shows us that care needs to be taken to make sure that we, as Christians, are sensitive to any type of anti-Jewish messages we might be sending, with or without meaning to do so. I am not disregarding your concerns and your experiences. I would just hope that you can also see that it is unfair to make the claim that all Lutherans are anti-semitic, and that the entire Lutheran church across the world at this point in time is anti-semitic, because I don’t think that’s the truth. There are exceptions to every rule, for good and for bad - and this is why generalizations are often problematic and dangerous.
December 17th, 2005 at 11:40 pm
melissa,
I am sorry I did not reply to your comment sooner, I didn’t see it, and have been so busy with other stuff this time of year…
Anyhow, I agree, not all Luterans are anti semites! Of course not. However, the church does have a very strong history of this, and I believe it continues to this day.
For example, the church does not condemn suicide bombings or terrorism in Israel yet condemns the building of the separation barrier. It does not condemn any other walls between states only Israels even tho it has cut down on the murder of civilians significantly.
The Lutheran Church in the past has been very very anti semitic. 100’s of years of church history have been dominiated by this, from swastikas on Bibles in the 30’s to the encouragement of bloody pogroms in the 20’s….its a history of terrible genocide.
I believe this goes on today. When I read the ‘prayer’ above I see not one Jewish name. Not one mention of one Jewish child killed even tho their have been so many. Why not?
To me, an institution with such a terrible history of hate toward another faith would have at least some respect for the dead. Some small piece of remorse?
You are not to blame. But you choose not to condemn the present position of your church.
This to me is very sad. You are entitled to your own ideas. I don’t understand it. But in spite of this, I wish you well, and hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.
I also hope you find it in your hearts to change the sad course of the church you belong to that continues this horrible tradition of hate.
Callie