General Minister and President John H. Thomas sent the following Holy Week message to members and churches in advance of Palm/Passion Sunday on March 16. Thomas' letter speaks to the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, which coincides with Holy Week this year.

A Holy Week Message from the Rev. John H. Thomas
A Word to Sustain the Weary

The daily lectionary invites us to read these words from Isaiah's Song of the Servant on Wednesday in Holy Week, 

     The Lord has given me the tongue of a teacher,
     that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.
     Morning by morning God wakens – wakens my ear
     to listen as those who are taught. (Isaiah 50.4)

On Wednesday, March 19, as we mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq we seek words to sustain those who have grown weary with the drumbeat of destruction and the cadence of injury and death that have accompanied us and the people of Iraq over these long years.  We listen for words that can call us beyond our weary lament to action, wakening us to commitment, rousing us from resignation, calling us to hope.  And we dare to claim the vocation of God's Servant, sustaining a weary world with a Word that speaks and acts for justice and for peace.

The betrayals, deceptions, and moral compromises of this war weigh heavily upon us.  With the disciples we have felt the urge to run away from courageous word and witness against the war.  We have tried to wash our hands of complicity in the crucifixion of Iraq and its people.  Here and in Iraq we have buried the dead, sometimes in dignity and honor, often in frightened secrecy.  We have wept for all who have slaughtered in this conflict, but have shrunk from bearing the burden of the cross.  This Holy Week the "judgment of the cross falls steady, clear, and sure."  Is there a word to sustain the weary?

A prayer written by the Rev. Yousif al Saka, an elder in the Presbyterian Church in Baghdad, offers one word, full of poignancy and promise:

     We beseech You, we humble ourselves for the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, to send your Holy Spirit to shade the land of Iraq,
     so that peace may prevail in its dwellings, and the acts of violence, kidnapping and persecution may cease;
     so that the displaced may return to their homes, the churches may reopen their gates without fear from shells and explosion;
     so that smiles may be seen again on the faces of children that have been stolen from them here in this difficult time;
     so that the elderly may lean back on their chairs in comfort and tranquility saying farewell to their children when leaving for school or work without anxiety or fear;
     so that mothers think only of happy, prosperous, and peaceful futures for their daughters and sons. 

     O Lord, have pity on us, we Iraqis.  Let the light of your face shine on us, bless us, strengthen our belief, and bestow patience upon us.

Can this word keep alive an imagination born of God's promise, free from the grip of the world's imperial projects?  Can this be a word to sustain us?

Amid our weariness on this sad anniversary day, and in the midst of our Holy Week pilgrimage, may we be confronted once again with a messenger telling us "Do not be afraid!"  May we turn from our vigil over the dead and the dying to a courageous witness to life and peace in the Risen Christ.  May our lights, reflecting the light of Christ, dispel the shadows, that morning by morning our voices may sing and our deeds proclaim, "The powers of death have done their worst, but Christ their legions has dispersed; let shouts of holy joy outburst.  Alleluia!"               

The Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

Postscript: This coming Wednesday - March 19, 2008 - join UCC members and supporters across the country as we observe the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War. From lament to action to hope, we will share in a unified day of prayer and be lights for peace. Please participate in our 100,000 Lights for Peace effort.