“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied… God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”
—Jesus of Nazareth, circa 30 CE [1]

As peace remains elusive in the Middle East and Ukraine, friendships are broken, foes are made, and anxiety grows. Like a viral contagion, injustice and conflict affect everyone, regardless of where they occur.

In his famous sermon on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee in Palestine, Jesus of Nazareth taught a world-changing message to a group of his students and followers. It was a message of hope and promise. Counter to the presiding philosophies, political agendas, and religious laws of his time that sought to maintain power and privilege, he invited the meek and merciful to inherit what rightfully belonged to them: the favor of God. His teaching unquestionably included the ideas of his time but also introduced humanity to a revolutionary way of living. He awakened his followers to the reality that all things were connected and, therefore, required a new level of moral clarity for a people in a long-suffering and conflicted region in human history—collective peace and justice.

When peace and justice are left unsatisfied, humanity suffers from mistrust, anxiety, depression, and anger. These are symptoms of our physical, emotional, and spiritual separation from one another. More tragically, so long as peace and justice remain distant, our human family remains estranged from our full potential for goodness, unity, and flourishing.

In the Christian tradition, the hope of mutual flourishing is expressed as, “A great number of people, so many that no one could count…from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth…wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.”[2] The image described in the final pages of the Bible envisions peace, life, and universal goodness for all people without prejudice. The implicit lesson is this: our shared existence on earth equitably belongs to everyone.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “The prime minister [of Israel] has come under pressure to address the worsening humanitarian situation for the enclave’s roughly two million people. His office said Sunday that Israel would allow ‘a basic quantity of food to be brought in’ to avoid a starvation crisis.”[3] If carried out as promised, it will avoid a catastrophic mass starvation event of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. However, the announcement also comes with a confirmation of another worst fear—an unrelenting oppressive siege and total militarized control of the Gaza Strip that will likely result in the permanent displacement of the Palestinian people. The current trajectory implies a terrible outcome: over 2 million descendants of an ethnic people who are representative of “every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth,” are being denied their blessing—a right to live in peace and unity among their Israeli neighbors and the world.

There are no simplistic solutions when hostages remain held and tortured, weapons of war are endlessly deployed, people are suffering under siege, political figures are calling for Gaza to “be entirely destroyed,”[4] and global nations like the United States impotently respond. In times like these, this is how friends become foes, allies become enemies, the risk of escalation rises, and there will be no victors, only survivors. That should alarm all of us.

The ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and emerging conflicts in other parts of the world are fundamentally about people’s right to live peacefully and prosper where they are today. We all come from a particular time and place that can be pinpointed on a map with its own cherished cultural and social identity. The same is true for those currently suffering, fleeing, imprisoned, dying, at war, or under the oppression of others in the places they call home. In a world that increasingly feels dehumanizing, people are acting in their own interests to “re-humanize” their existence. There is a better way forward.

Hope is not difficult to imagine when the work toward a better tomorrow can begin immediately. To achieve it, we must reclaim our fundamental quest of being human: to “hunger and thirst for justice” and “work for peace.” Justice and peace are not opposing goals, but the necessary components for eternal hope and healing. Those who embrace the call are promised healing and wholeness for themselves and, ultimately, our global family. 

[1] Matthew 5:6,9, New Living Translation.

[2] Revelation 7:9, New Century Version.

[3] https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-says-it-will-allow-food-into-gaza-for-the-first-time-in-months-834048a6 

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/06/hamas-israel-hunger-war-in-gaza 

Hope and Justice For All

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