"How We Go On"

by the Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals,

UCC PIN Steering Committee

All of this got me to wondering, as we mark the end of 2024, and look ahead to 2025, how can we sustain ourselves in this struggle for peace, justice, and human rights in spite of the relentless gaslighting, denial, and silencing of Palestinian voices and their allies? How do we embrace the sumud of our Palestinian siblings in a world on fire, a world gone mad, a world that has lost its moral bearings?

Dr. Gabor Maté, a Jewish Canadian psychologist, holocaust survivor, and outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights, appeared on a recent episode of the Christ Hedges podcast to talk about this very question, among other things. In the last ten minutes of the episode, Chris asks Dr. Maté what he would say to those who are feeling demoralized and defeated these days. “It’s been a hard year,” Hedges says, “for those who care about human rights, the rule of law, and the plight of the oppressed… what would you tell people is the most important thing to sustain our own mental health… our own equilibrium, and yet not be silenced?”

Dr. Maté gives three pieces of advice. First, he says, find community. Find others who care about the things you care about, because we can’t do this work alone. Second, he tells listeners to take care of themselves and to practice self-care, because this work is hard.

Finally, Dr, Maté references the words of Rabbi Tarpon— a first century rabbi who is famous for having said, “you are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Maté also references the concept of Tikkun Olam (reparing the world), and explains that we are not meant to fix the whole broken world all on our own, but merely to find the shards of light where we can and gather them up.

Dr. Maté says that one could look at Jesus, the Buddha, or other similar figures, and easily come to the conclusion that they failed. “How is loving-kindness going?” Maté asks. “How is forgiving your enemy and turning the other cheek going?” One way of looking at these figures, he says, considering how the world looks now, would be to say that they were massive failures. Another way, however, of looking at these figures and their lives would be to see that they contributed massively to a human project that is a long-term project. “And in our own little ways,” he says, “we can do the same thing.”

How many of us find ourselves despairing because the little we are able to do seems to have no impact? How many of us are disheartened because we've spent the last 15 months relentlessly advocating for a ceasefire and an arms embargo, with very little to show for it? It may feel like we are failing, but the truth is, more people now than ever have had their eyes opened to the injustice that Palestinians face. More people now than ever have been awakened to American complicity in decades of oppression, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and now, genocide. More people now than ever are paying attention, and now that they have seen the truth, they cannot unsee it.

We cannot let our opponents, powerful though they may be, colonize our minds with despair. Rather, let the start of a new year be an opportunity for us to recommit ourselves to the work, knowing that we are not obligated to fix the world all on our own, but neither are we free to desist from doing our part. Maybe it’s enough to contribute what I have to give, trusting that what I have to give combines with what you have to give, and that what we have to give combines with what other communities have to give, and that all together, it means something. We trust that all together, our efforts contribute somehow to a future with less suffering, and a future where there is a free Palestine. We believe this, not in a Pollyanna-ish way, but in a way that can only be described as what it means to hope.

This excerpt is from the UCCPIN January 2025 E-Newsletter. To view the full newsletter, click here: UCCPIN January 2025 E-Newsletter.