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Good morning!

Nowhere is the subject of peace and understanding, or more realistically, violence and misunderstanding, more evident than in discussions about conflicts, which have a religious dimension. Speakers tend to polarize, advocating one side or another, pursuing a strictly partisan agenda.

Perhaps too few of us are concerned to consider different views that differ from our own and can be overwhelmed by shrill screams of advocacy.

The problem with advocates, especially those bound by a single cause, can be their intrinsic inability to engage in dialogue - opposing the search for mutual understanding. When one side is depicted as solely or primarily responsible for a conflict, the ears and eyes of the 鈥極ther鈥� are closed.聽 Too often a position of commitment for the wellbeing of one equates with a blanket condemnation of the 鈥極ther鈥�, which is generally depicted as if it can do no right.

If we are committed to genuine reconciliation, we should realize that good neighbours are better than good guns. In the words of Rev Martin Luther King, 鈥渨e are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.鈥�

Hope is the vital ingredient that men and women of faith can bring to conflict, even from thousands of miles away.

This was brought home to me recently when I met members of the Parents Circle 鈥� a grassroots organisation of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis.聽 An Israeli mother who lost her son and a Palestinian woman who lost her younger brother told my students, 鈥榠f you don鈥檛 want to be part of the solution, don鈥檛 be part of the problem鈥�.

We praise you O Lord, the Source of Hope. Amen