大象传媒

Good Morning

I was in the Today studio on that October Saturday morning as reports of the Hamas attacks on Israel began to filter through. This weekend, after many months of unimaginable suffering and violence, we dare to believe that a path to peace will open up.

The phrase 鈥済oing home鈥� has been spoken many times since news of a potential ceasefire first emerged. A UNICEF spokesperson told Nick on this programme yesterday: 鈥淲hat families in Gaza hope for when a ceasefire materialises is to return to their home; children tell me that they are longing for their own bed, not least because its cold at night.鈥�

Bring them home is also the name of the group representing Israeli hostages and missing families. They have described recent days as a rollercoaster, as they wait and hope for news of loved ones who are still unaccounted for.

The immense sense of suffering and loss for those who will not be returning home is even more focussed at a moment like this. The emotional scares of this conflict will endure for generations. Healing, of course, is a hugely complex matter.

The theme of exile and return is central to the history of the holy land. The books of the bible contain many examples of physical displacement from the land resulting in trauma. And because suffering and loss of life is usually a consequence of such separation, the result is often appeals for divine intervention. 鈥淲hy O Lord?鈥� is the lament in many of the prophetic books and psalms with prayers that peace might prevail.

This always makes me think of the New Testament parable of the prodigal son, which highlights the simple joy of what it means to return home. Human love endures over everything and the opportunity to start afresh is offered whatever has taken place. 鈥淚n the evening of life,鈥� writes the 16thC Spanish priest St John of the Cross, 鈥渨e will be judged on love alone. Returning home is a journey into the heart of love itself.鈥�

I鈥檝e kept in touch with friends in the Holy Land since that fateful October day. It鈥檚 a land I love dearly, where I also feel very much at home, and to which I can鈥檛 wait to return as soon as the time is right. This weekend, the region holds its breath: that the current steps towards peace will prevail.

But we do well to call to mind the wisdom of Psalm 34 - that we should See Peace & Pursue it. For the peace we seek is not a destination in itself but a perpetual pilgrimage of intention. There will, it seems, always be twists and turns, -- ups and downs, -- moments of stark realisation and divine revelation as the journey home continues.

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