Job & Peace

4 hours ago
2 min read

“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10. The key here, of course, is that in a time of incomprehensible suffering and loss, Job prayed for his friends.

In March 2019 an overloaded ferry capsized and sank whilst crossing the Tigris River in Federal Iraq. About 100 drowned, mostly women and children. A day of mourning was called to commemorate the tragedy, and in plain speaking, many in the Yezidi community were furious.Furious that an official day of mourning had not been declared for August 3rd, 2014 when the Yezidi Genocide began. Furious that “so few” were being memorialised when they had thousands dead and missing.

I remember suggesting to my staff and tribe that we break agreement with the anger and rage and post condolences on our social media pages, stating that we cannot expect compassion if we show none. Some were in agreement, some

horrified, but from that point our communal life changed.

We began to embrace the stranger, to acknowledge his suffering, to teach about other global genocides and sufferings. This was our way of “praying for our friends” and yes, at times, especially on International Days of Peace, we literally

prayed. That act of prayer, whether a posture of the heart or a verbal prayer, I believe had changed us. Healing has come. Have we become rich? In spirit, yes.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

Matthew 5:9

Today we bring you a few words, and turn our focus to artwork and paintings created by our students who are seeking peace. Those who are able to look outside their community, to look beyond their tents, to look beyond their lack, to

look and to see the suffering of the other.

We present their offerings. Please continue to pray for us as we journey in this heaving region.