Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in the Holy Land

I’ve just returned from my first trip to the Holy Land, and I’m now entering the season of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany with a new outlook on the land where Jesus was born. The trip was a collaboration among the Reformed Church in America (RCA) Women’s Transformation and Leadership, RCA missionaries Sally and Josh Vis, and PhD candidate and RCA minister Dustyn Keepers. We climbed Mt. Arbel and walked the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. We visited archeological sites such as Qumran and Magdala. We waded into the waters of the Jordan River, sailed the Sea of Galilee, and floated in the Dead Sea. We opened our Bibles time and time again to read stories that talked about the areas we visited and the people who lived there many, many years ago. All of these were wonderful experiences that will stay with me for a lifetime.

We were invited into the sacred space of listening.

However, for me, some of the most challenging and edifying moments during our trip were the times when we—as Americans—were invited into the sacred space of listening to the stories of the people who live in the midst of the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. 

It is one thing to have head knowledge when talking about issues related to the conflict in the Holy Land. It is an entirely different and profound experience to sit down with people who live the conflict, and to hear their personal stories of violence, devastation, persecution, loss…but also of love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In this post, I’d like to share two of those experiences with you.

It is an entirely different and profound experience to sit down with people who live the conflict.

Tent of Nations is a 100-acre farm owned by a Palestinian Christian family, the Nassars, with papers showing that their family has lived and farmed this land since 1916. Amal is one of the family members who continues to live and work there. She and her family have been embroiled in a court battle with the State of Israel since 1991, when the Nassar Family was given a notice stating that the State was claiming the land as their own. Since that time, the Tent of Nations has been surrounded by five Israeli settlements, and the Nassars and their land has been attacked by the settlers and the Israeli military on numerous occasions.

She uses this persecution as an opportunity to cultivate the fruit of the sprit.

Perhaps the most egregious event was when the Israeli military bulldozed and buried 1,500 olive trees from the Nassar property at harvest time in 2014, essentially destroying the family’s crop and livelihood—not only for that harvest—but with the goal of forcing the Nassars to either forfeit their land, or provoking them to retaliate, which would ensure that the Nassar Family would be imprisoned and they would lose their land. Amal—a devout Christian—told us over and over again during our time together that her faith has taught her not to repay evil with evil, and not to perpetuate the cycle of violence, but rather, to use this persecution as an opportunity to cultivate the fruit of the sprit. Click here to learn more about the Tent of Nations and their work to build bridges between people and land and to cultivate the fruits of the spirit to heal a world filled with conflict, and consider sponsoring the replanting of an olive tree for a loved one during this holiday season. 

All four family members were shot.

Parents Circle Families Forum is a group comprised of those who have lost loved ones due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine. We had the opportunity to listen to the story of Najwa, a Palestinian Christian, as one of the two speakers from Parents Circle. Najwa, her husband, and their two daughters were driving in their vehicle one day when Israeli military forces mistook their vehicle for that of a potential person of interest in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and the soldiers fired multiple rounds into Najwa’s vehicle. All four family members were shot; Najwa’s 12-year-old daughter did not survive.

She pleaded with us to pray for justice and to remember our Christian brothers and sisters.

It was such a sacred space, to be invited into Najwa’s story as she shared about her family, her faith, and her thoughts on the future of the Holy Land. Najwa’s prediction was that there will be no more Christians living in the Holy Land in 5-10 years, and she pleaded with us to pray for justice and to remember our Christian brothers and sisters, who are so often forgotten when we—as foreigners—talk about the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. Click here to learn more about the work of Parents Circle Families Forum, and consider donating to the work of Parents Circle on behalf of a loved one this holiday season.

It would be easy to overlook the stories—like those of Amal, and Najwa, and so many others—who have chosen to cultivate the fruit of the spirit, as mentioned in Galatians 5,  rather than perpetuate the cycle of violence, hatred and persecution that is now so deep-rooted in the conflict. Yet, by lifting these stories up and exposing them to the light, we can do our part to help the fruit of love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to grow—not only in Israel and Palestine, but all over the world. We can also honor the pleas of Amal and Najwa to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. Will you join me?

To learn more about the conflict in the Holy Land, visit the CRC Office of Social Justice page on Middle East Peace, and while you’re there, sign up to receive advocacy alerts related to the conflict here.