Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Address at the Diocese of Parramatta Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace in Israel and Palestine at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta
26 October 2023
Called to negotiate the hard road of fraternity, solidarity and reconciliation
Dear friends,
It is with a deep sense of solidarity that we have gathered here to share the pain and anguish of those who suffer the terrible effects of terrorism, war and violence in the Middle East. We join Jews of Israel, Australia, and around the world who are grieving for their loved ones. Similarly, we join the Palestinians and Muslim families and friends in Australia and around the world, who are also mourning the loss of thousands of lives, especially women and children. The deadly spiral of attack and retaliation entrenches hostility, perpetuates violence, and pushes peace beyond the horizon. Therefore, with Pope Francis, we pray and appeal for all parties to lay down their weapons.
“Terrorism and extremism do not help reach a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but fuel hatred, violence, revenge and only cause each other to suffer. The Middle East does not need war, but peace, a peace built on dialogue and the courage of fraternity.”
The Word of God speaks to us about the God who challenges us all to build a new world where all shall be treated with dignity and love as God’s children. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the mountain Temple as a symbol of unity for all the nations. The old Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. But God will build a new one which will not only be the focal point for the nation of Israel but will also bring all peoples together. They will no longer relate with each other as rivals and enemies. Instead, they will be brought into unity of God’s children. They will “hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles”.
This is an extraordinary prophecy that breaks down all barriers and summons the exiled Jews to lead all peoples of the world in the task of building God’s Kingdom. The remnants of Israel, that is, those who persevere despite of the trial of the great exile, will be the nucleus of God’s universal household. This community will be the antidote to the imperial ideology of division, oppression and dominion by the strong over against the weak and the vulnerable. The faithful exiles are summoned by Isaiah to rebuild a post-exilic society where fraternal communion, justice, solidarity and care for the vulnerable will be its distinguishing feature.
The Gospel presents us with a value system and a vision of life that is centred on the love and service of others. In the world in which people often by default prioritise personal wellbeing, security and wealth over the care of the poor and the oppressed, the followers of Jesus are called to negotiate the hard road of fraternal concern, compassion and solidarity.
The God that we worship is involved with the pain and suffering of our world. God is involved in our quest for justice, peace and the flourishing of all creation. The victory of shalom is won by the awesome power of compassionate love, in and through solidarity with those who suffer.
In Jesus, God breaks the grip of scapegoating by stepping into the place of a victim. God is willing to die for us, to bear our sin because we desperately need deliverance from our propensity to violence. Jesus’ persecutors intend his death to be sacrificial business as usual. In other words, one can use violence in order to counter violence. But God means it to be the opposite. Jesus’ death and resurrection means that God has reset the cycle of human behaviour. We can and we must resist the spiral of violence. With the Patriarch of Jerusalem, we say to all parties in the conflict:
“The use of violence is not compatible with the Gospel, and it does not lead to peace. The life of every human person has equal dignity before God, who created us all in his image.”
May we follow the example of the Suffering Servant who shows us the way of disarming hatred with love, evil with goodness, violence with benevolence, indifference with compassion. May our commitment to heal and transform our wounded humanity and our broken earth be brought to fruition in accordance with God’s plan in Christ.
