We all continue to be disturbed by war occurring in the Middle East. I was talking to a friend recently who confessed intense feelings were being stirred in him by what was happening. He was particularly distressed at how he saw religion being used to justify atrocity. When I probed further, he shared that his emotions were beyond that of righteous anger, consisting instead of genuine hatred. He saw the irony of how the emotions he was disgusted by in others, existed also in him. He had no intentions of acting on them, but he did concede if he was living closer to the trouble, how easily he could be drawn into it. My friend’s remarkable honesty reveals a problem in which we all share. The attitudes we detest in others, exist also in us. My friend has recently been getting to know Jesus by reading the Bible. He told me that focusing on Jesus helps to quell the feelings of hatred he has inside him. This should come as no surprise given Jesus was lauded as the ‘Prince of Peace’ who accomplished his mission through forgiveness and non-retaliation. 

Craig Langstaff. Rector. St Peter’s Anglican Church (Article published in edition of ‘Heads News’. July 2025)