Wi’am, The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center
NIV
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
—Micah 6:8
Dear all,
Let us contemplate the following prophetic terms in our relationship with Pilgrims of Ibillin:
Act Justly
The first step in the right path that our lord is calling us to act justly. Justice is not merely about defending personal or communal rights or condemning social evils or denouncing violence and terrorism. Biblical justice starts in the heart where conscience and consciousness coexist.
Acting justly requires sacrifice, empathy, commitment, perseverance and action; it is not mere talk, sympathy, wishful thinking or lip service. Challenging injustice on all levels is what our Lord entices us to do!
This is the walk and talk of Pilgrims of Ibillin and Wi’am.
Speaking about occupation, confiscation of land, building settlement, family separation, denying all kinds of freedom, human trafficking, refugees and displaced people — may make us appear caring and interested, but words are meaningless or cheap if they are divorced from acts of agape, work, justice and mercy. Words do nothing to ease the pain of suffering. Acting justly means Wi’am and Pilgrims of Ibillin work to correct wrongs.
Regardless of the social, economic and political systems that had created injustices, we are determined to take action to end the suffering of people, free them from oppression and help them celebrate life fully with dignity and integrity.
Love Mercy
I think and I believe that Pilgrim’s and Wi’am’s people have combined compassion and love as strong emotions with practical demonstration of empathy and kindness through their tireless actions of solidarity and commitment.The next command offered by God in Micah 6:8 is “to love mercy.” According to the Encyclopedia of the Bible, mercy requires both “an inward disposition and an outward action”.
“It is evident that mercy combines a strong emotional element, usually identified as pity, compassion, or love, with some practical demonstration of kindness in response to the condition or needs of the object of mercy.”
– Encyclopedia of the Bible
Walk Humbly
The third command in Micah 6:8 is “to walk humbly with your God.”
Wi’am’s staff strive to walk in the steps of our lord Jesus who comes to the world to serve and not to be served. The interest of the people is more important than our own that is why we offer mediation, counseling and psycho- and social support. We serve the community at-large, help the needy and work with the marginalized and the downtrodden. We also work with children, women and the elderly. We try to offer services with a smile. We receive freely and we also offer free services.
As in Philippians 2: 3-11: Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…
No one doubts that humility is a hallmark of Wi’am’s work. All of our staff recognize that without God’s grace, we would be useless.
Walking humbly with God is of key importance when working with people living in oppression, poverty, tyranny, and who suffer under Occupation where all their human rights are violated.
Too often, we think that third world’s people have nothing to teach or to share. In contrast, walking humbly with God recognizes the strength, the compassion and agape that we all possess and can share with the grace of God.
Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly is our talk and walk in life. We can’t do that without our partners (Pilgrims of Ibillin) who give our work more dimension, more depth and more meaning.
Yes, we are walking in the shoes of the Pilgrims of Ibillin and adhering to the Bible’s guidance to, Colossians 3:12: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.