Land Creation

So much of our lives,

we are told

to pay attention

to the season, to the birds,

to one another.

But, the more I look,

the more I see

that the land was not

Created

to be cut into

pieces.

Prior to 1948, all of the land pictured was part of Palestine, under British occupation and rule. Since the founding and inception of Israel, Palestinians have been pushed out of the land, and Israel’s occupation has spread. Although these are considered the legal boundaries, and are present on most political maps, illegal settlements continue to be built in the West Bank. And since October 7^th, Israel has launched a full invasion and genocide in Gaza, killing over 40,000 people in the Gaza strip.

As students, as people of faith, and especially as seminarians, we are taught to look closely at the world, to notice and name what we see. And for almost a year, we have carried the heavy burden of watching this genocide from across an ocean, knowing our taxes, and for some, our tuition and our tithes, are going into the bombs that have hit Gaza ceaselessly. What we have seen goes so deep, it has even scarred the land as it has been segmented, sectioned off, into pieces.

For me, paying close attention has revealed the ways that colonization, in Gaza right now, but also all over the world, goes so deeply against God’s call for justice, peace, and liberation. My prayer is that we, and all people, might one day live as we were created to be – free.