For me, one of the highlights of last week's bicentennial celebration at VTS was the live-streamed conversation with The Most Rev. Hosam Naoum, Archbishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. As an alumnus of VTS (twice over), the Archbishop had been invited to attend the bicentennial events and was slated to preside at the alumni memorial Eucharist. Due to the recent upsurge in violence in Israel/Palestine, he was unable to travel and instead spent an hour with all of us, sharing his perspective on the current crisis in Gaza and Israel.

It was at this time that I first heard about his call for a day of prayer and fasting, scheduled for today, October 17th. He is calling Anglicans and Episcopalians around the world to turn their hearts to God in prayers for peace in the land of the Holy One. Read more about Archbishop Hosam's call for peace here.

Archbishop Hosam’s words from the live stream were on my mind this morning. At this point in our Daily Office Psalm cycle, we're reading Psalms 5 and 6 for Morning Prayer. Both Psalm 5 and 6 evoke overlapping themes of lament and prayers for deliverance. Through Psalm 5, we plead to God for divine intervention in the face of the oppression of our enemies, and through Psalm 6, we come before God in repentance, seeking forgiveness and deliverance from suffering.

The beauty of the Psalter is that it invites us to sit with words of lament and prayers for deliverance, which have been shared by generations of the faithful who have come before us. This morning, I wonder what it's like for these Psalms to be prayed by both Palestinians and Israelis, who may see each other as the enemy from whom they seek deliverance.

On this day of Prayer and Fasting for peace, I am moved by Archbishop Hosam's reminder that even in hard times, Jerusalem remains the "City of the Resurrection," a beacon of hope for a "better life" and "freedom from bloodshed, injustice, and death." Therefore, I pray that people on both sides of this devastating conflict may be inspired to lay down their swords of enmity and lift up banners of peace, as invoked in this Prayer for Peace from the Book of Common Prayer:

"Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen."