Episcopal Press and News
Statement by the Presiding Bishop on the Middle East Cease-Fire
Episcopal News Service. March 21, 1991 [91081]
Edmond L. Browning, Presiding Bishop and Primate
We are united as a world community in our common joy that this conflict has apparently ended. In these early hours of relief and thanksgiving, we thank God and know we have been bonded by our common prayers. Now, we are at a place of sorting out what we will remember from this, and what we will forget, what we will carry forward as a new understanding of who we are, and what we will leave behind. These choices will make perhaps a more lasting mark upon the world than the choices made in the battle.
We must leave behind all hatred and enmity. Our faith gives us an understanding of God's grace transforming the pain of our lives. It is time to move on.
We must remember with grateful hearts the sacrifices of all who have served in the Middle East over these last months, particularly those who have given their lives. We must remember the suffering innocent, particularly in Kuwait, Iraq, and Israel. We must remember those who mourn. Sorrow unites, and tears shed together begin to heal the wounds of nations.
We must remember that the only way truly to win a war is to secure the peace, and the only way truly to secure peace is to begin to do justice. The days ahead will be difficult ones, as decisions are made that reach far into the future of this global community.
More than ever, now is the time to attend with persistence to the other, still festering problems in the Middle East. President Bush and the leaders of our nation understand this. As Secretary Baker said some weeks ago, we are challenged to "resume the search for a just peace and real reconciliation for Israel, the Arab states, and the Palestinians." He said that by reconciliation he did not mean simply peace as the absence of war but "a peace based on enduring respect, tolerance, and mutual trust."
Over these months we have prayed for and stood in solidarity with the people of the Middle East. We have been in frequent contact with our partner churches there. Now, as people of faith, we know we have been called to do all that we can -- working together and with our partners in the Middle East whose burdens are so heavy -- to bind the wounds and bring in the new day that must surely come.
As we move through these next critical days, let us also remember that this war, like all wars, is a mark of failure of the human spirit. Let us reflect on that as we give thanks for the end of hostilities, welcome home our loved ones, and continue to pray and work for the honorable peace of God's promise.
Edmond L. Browning
Presiding Bishop and Primate
March 1, 1991