Delivered on Dec. 1, 2023 in the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul by Rev. Charles Wynder Jr.
Good morning and welcome to chapel.
Today we come together as we recognize the beginning of the season of Advent. A season of anticipation and waiting that Rev. Sam Lovett will speak about at the heart of our service today. Advent is indeed a time when Christians anticipate the birth of Jesus. A birth that took place in a chaotic world. And, it is important to note that at the core of Advent is a waiting and anticipation for a world filled with God’s justice and love. An important message for us every year – perhaps especially this year.
Two days ago, Senator Charles Schumer, Majority Leader of the United States Senate rose to speak from the Senate floor and he spoke about the increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia. His forty minute remarks had echoes of the words we heard our in own Rabbi Robin Nafshi’s chapel talk last month. Senator Shumer spoke about the isolation that Jewish people have felt and continue to feel during this period of increasing bigotry, hate and antisemitism. He also said that “Because of the tolerance and openness and opportunity that courses through all of American life, I now stand before you as the majority leader of the United States Senate, the highest elected office a Jewish person has ever attained in the history of this country.” And, so – the moment was an important and historic one.
I commend his words to you.
And, note that in them, he invited us to move beyond the binary of seeing things in absolute terms. He mentioned that he is working for humanitarian aid to the Palestinans in Gaza. He said that he believes in a two state solution with Israel and a state for the Palestinian people existing side by side. Words that echo those Atia Abawi shared with us when she invited us to choose the side of humanity.
He went on to say, “We are stewards of the flames of liberty, tolerance and equality that warm our American melting pot, and make it possible for Jewish Americans to prosper alongside Palestinian Americans, and every other immigrant group from all over the world.” Words that echo Dr. Kwok’s message that being kind and being friends in community include being kind and being friends in tough times like these.
Senator Shumer’s words came a couple of days after the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont. One was seriously injured and all were hospitalized. They were shot while speaking Arabic and walking together as they were reunited for Thanksgiving weekend. The New York Times reported that the young men grew up together and “were educated at a Quaker school in Ramallah, its culture steeped in values including social justice and nonviolence.”
Perhaps you have seen the news stories of the Palestinian students and Jewish students speaking of a shared sense of isolation and fear with the increase of anti-semitism and Islamophobia.
So on this first regular morning chapel service in the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, I ask our prayers for the Jewish and Muslim students and faculty on college campuses and schools around the country: including our own. May the fullness of their humanity and their dignity be respected and seen. May they be safe, feel safe and be able to study and flourish.
I ask our prayers for all suffering from the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia in our nation - including the young men shot in Vermont.
And, during this time when the truce in hostilities has ended after days of exchanges of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, may we remember the families of those returning home and those who have yet to be released.
As people of hope, may we continue to imagine, pray and work for a world of justice, peace, and reconciliation. May we accept the invitation and charge that our Rector gave us to be lights for one another and to learn from our various religious traditions: Abrahamic traditions-Muslim, Jewish and Christian; our Dharmic religious traditions - Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist; and Indigenous traditions.
For it is in times like this that our common prayer we often pray – to eagerly bear the burdens of others has particular meaning. Take time to reach out to our Jewish and Muslim friends, students and colleagues and tell them you see them, love them and care about them and their families. “Winterim” is already a pressured time, take some pressure off of your neighbor.
And, in doing so co-labor with God to bring about a new day and new world. Let us see the light and be the light.