During a very interesting talk, this Palestinian raconteur told us many stories of life under occupation. Stories that made us laugh, and a few that moved us to tears. Throughout it all, the impression I got of the man was one of spirited discipleship and disobedience. Not unlike Jesus himself.
Didn't Jesus himself stir up trouble? Didn't Jesus challenge the thinking of his day? Didn't Jesus overturn the tables of the money changers in order to startle the people awake?
Upon his ordination in 1965, the young priest was sent by his bishop to a remote little place in Galilee called Ibillin where, for the next 40 years, Abouna did his best with the meager resources he had to build schools for the poor. 37 times he was charged by the Israeli authorities with the crime of building without proper permits. And each time, Abouna continued to build and to disobey. He was answering to a much Higher Authority than the government of Israel.
One time, frustrated that he could not get a permit from multiple government officials in Israel, he appealed to Washington D.C. He flew there and knocked at the door of the home of then Secretary of State James Baker. By good fortune, he met Baker's wife and by sheer chance he happened to arrive on the day that her women's Bible study group was meeting to discuss the Sermon on the Mount. Abouna announced that he was The Man from Galilee and would be happy to explain what Jesus meant.
As a result of this chutzpah, Abouna made a lasting friendship with the Bakers. And he got his permit.
In one other story, Abouna had been invited to speak in Rome to an audience of Vatican officials, on the topic of shrines in the Holy Land. After speaking for awhile on the topic, Abouna then shifted his focus to the people, the "living stones," of the Holy Land. A high-ranking cardinal interrupted Abouna and demanded to know "Are you in union with Rome?" Abouna replied that he is in union with Jesus and asked in return "Are you in union with the Man from Galilee?"
In addition to schools and libraries, Abouna has labored to build understanding and to work for peace. "Don't tell us that we need to learn to live with one another" he exclaimed toward the end of his talk. The people know that. The Arabs, the Jews, and the Christians. They were doing that for centuries! What is needed, Abouna said, is to come together and remember that all of us are babies who were made in the image of God. Each person has dignity and was born to live a life of joy and peace.
As my friend from church Joe Percoco puts it so well in his excellent daily email on Jesus' message, "Archbishop Chacour's message is all about brotherhood and solidarity and how, as God's beloved children - all endowed with the same dignity, all equal members of the one flock - we are called to accept and respect each other, to support each other, to be reconciled with each other, to live peaceably with each other, and to love each other."
A good shepherd from Galilee, Archbishop Chacour was a breath of much needed fresh air in our church and in our world!
Posted by Terrence Seamon on Monday April 30, 2012
