What We Do While We Wait
By Amy Yoder McGloghlin, Pastor of Frazer Mennonite Church
During the pandemic I’ve been cooking. That makes me feel better, to know that I”m feeding people I love. It also helps me to settle my anxious thoughts, and focus on good things, like cooking good food for my family to show them that I care.
What does your family like to cook, while you wait for the pandemic to end?
In Palestine, the land where Jesus was born, they have special foods they eat there that give them comfort.
Hummus
Labnah
Falafel
baklava
(Share some of these foods with the group. If you are doing this online, show them a picture of the food, and send a recipe so they can cook the food during the week.)
While we’ve been waiting and watching in this pandemic, we’ve been cooking our favorite foods, baking bread, eating cookies and other sweets we’ve made from scratch. Our friends, in Palestine, the land where Jesus was born, also have been cooking and making things that give them comfort and strength to keep awake.
Our Palestinian friends always have to stay alert. They never know when they will be visited by soldiers in the middle of the night, when they have to show their identification to soldiers when they walk down the street. They never know when someone they love might be hurt just because they are Palestinian.
So this week, I invite you and your family to make some of these treats from Palestine. And when you do that, let’s pray for our friends in Palestine, the place where Jesus was born.
God,
Thank you for showing us love. And thank you for the love you give us to share with others. Today we remember our friends on the other side of the world, the Palestinian people. We pray for the children in Hebron that have to walk through soldiers to get to school. We pray for the children in Gaza who live without good schools, proper medical care, or reliable electricity. And we pray for all those Palestinians that cannot live on their land. We pray that your love shines on them today and always. AMEN.