Share
RSSEthnic Cleansing, Ancient and Modern
Exodus 1:8-2:10 or Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 124 or Psalm 138
Romans 12:1-8 + Matthew 16:13-20
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live."
Exodus 1:15-16
An ancient policy of ethnic cleansing, a systematic plan to eliminate an entire people -- one of many we see in scripture. This one happened three thousand years ago, but we see it today, as well: genocide is in the newspaper every day, in a number of countries throughout the world.
It seemed for a while that things might be improving in Sudan, but recent months have seen a discouraging re-escalation of violence. "Our sense of foreboding is heightened because the violence has come in and around Abyei, a town whose history, resources and proximity to the border between northern and southern Sudan make it a proving ground for the success or failure of the nation's still-young peace agreement," Lutheran Presiding Bishop Hanson and Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori said in a joint statement on Sudan earlier this summer. "Many people have been killed, much of Abyei has been burned to the ground and as many as 120,000 people have been displaced from their homes."
,
This means that they are refugees now -- homeless, jobless, cropless, lacking in all of the things people need to live. Many of them are children. The two bishops call on all of us to pray earnestly for peace in this African nation in which so many have suffered so much for so long, and to remember their suffering in our giving. Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Episcopal Church of Sudan Support Office to assist victims of violence and those fleeing their homes. Our emergency aid includes water, food, shelter and basic necessities. We stand ready to support the Church as it reaches out to those who are again facing instability and unrest in their land.
It is easy, when a terrible situation goes on and on like the one in Sudan has, for those of us who are able to give to develop "compassion fatigue." Am I really doing any good at all? Isn't this really a hopeless state of affairs? It is a terrible state of affairs, to be sure, but we are never without hope. With prayer and resolve not to leave the people of Sudan and the church in Sudan friendless, no matter what happens, we are already making a difference in ensuring that these families who have fled their homes with only the clothing on their backs have food, water shelter and emergency care.
This will not go on forever. What will we do? Turn away now, and then swoop back in when it is over, too little and too late? Or to remain in partnership with them through the worst of it, as discouraging as it is? The choice seems clear enough, for the followers of one who was willing to face his own death in order to remain in solidarity with humankind.
Please join Bishops Hansen and Jefferts Schori in prayer for those affected by this crisis in Sudan.
