Israel, Palestine, Garth Brooks & Me.

The water cooler topics in Ireland this week have been dominated by the Garth Brooks concert debacle. ‘Who do you side with?’ is the question of the day; the international country star, or the residents around the venue? I reached my saturation levels on new information about this on Thursday when it was reported Barack Obama and the White House were for some inexplicable reason being corralled into the dialogue. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when that made the agenda for the morning senior staff meeting. 

All this in a week when tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories are at their height. 

Right now in Dublin city centre, people have made posters and placards to protest a concert not happening, while a 4 hour plane ride away, one nation launches rocket attack after rocket attack on another, raining devastation down on an occupied people in retaliation for 3 teenagers brutally killed mere weeks ago. There are no winners here.

Two issues. Two very different types of injustice. And we all take sides on them. We talk about fairness, justice and human rights, whether it be on the other side of a city or another continent. 

But walking home today, thinking about the Middle East, praying passionately for mediation and peace, that those upholding the injustice would see the error of their ways, I got to thinking about the injustices I uphold in my every day and heard the words of Jesus echoing in my ears. “Remove the plank from your own eye before you point out the speck in your brothers.”

I’m far from perfect, I make mistakes, I act with injustice and impunity towards people around me every day, but it’s much easier to point out the poor decision making in others than acknowledge and do something about my own.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t get involved in these situations, it’s right that we do, that we call out injustice and hypocrisy where we see it, but let’s not do it from our lofty pedestals. Let’s point out the mistakes in others from a place where we are willing to also acknowledge our own failures and shortcomings.