God’s gifts of food and water are used as weapons of war in Palestine
By Andrew Kang Bartlett | Presbyterian Hunger Program
‘How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a sibling in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.’ — 1 John 3:17-18
In this December 2023 photo, people clamor for food in Rafah, Gaza (Photo by Mohammed Zaanoun)
When a crowd was gathered on the hill to hear Jesus preach and the crowd was hungry, the disciples wanted to send them away. Instead, Jesus instructs them in Mark’s gospel, “you give them something to eat.”
In the last part of Matthew 25, Jesus’ listeners were astonished when he told them they had failed him by not providing food when he was hungry or drink when he was thirsty. They tried to defend themselves saying, “When did we see you, Lord?” He answered that whenever they failed to do it to one of the oppressed members of his family, they were failing him. Throughout scripture, we are called by God to care for one another, to feed the hungry, to protect the vulnerable, and to meet the needs of any who are suffering. The time is now to understand what is happening in front of us and to act as God calls.
“As we speak, at least one million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, half of whom are children, are starving, not because of a natural disaster or because of the lack of generous aid waiting at the border,” said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, according to GEOTV News. “No, they are starving because Israel is deliberately using starvation as a weapon of war against the people it occupies.”
Read the full Presbyterian News Service article
Urge Congress to Prevent Genocide in Gaza
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