130 Miles from Gaza: Faith that moves waves
- Fr Mirko Integlia
- Oct 2
- 2 min read
They are now 130 miles from Gaza—the crew members of the Flotilla.
What will Israel do, and who are these adventurers of human rights?
On their website, they declare their belief in: “Justice, freedom, and the sanctity of human life.”
On the same site, one can even follow the live broadcast of their navigation—something I find deeply striking.
Some admire them; others dismiss them as exhibitionists.I don’t know the answer.
But one thing is certain: they are putting their lives at risk.And that makes me feel a deep sense of envy.
Why?
In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus says:
“Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
They may not be saints, but surely what they believe in has given them the strength and courage to do something I am not sure I myself would be ready to do;I, who preach every Sunday about love for the oppressed.
I look at these boats sailing toward Israel’s unpredictable reaction, and I ask myself:
Mirko, how strong is your faith? What is it capable of moving?
I look at their enthusiasm, and I cannot help but think of so many Christian communities without fire,whose faith cannot even stir the person sitting next to them at Mass.
Communities sleepy and bored.Communities without passion for the expansion of God’s kingdom.Communities well-fed by routine yet speaking to no one and moving no one’s conscience.
And what about me—what can I do?Perhaps deep down I would like to be on those boats too.
But all that remains for me is to pray with the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith.”
Photo by Artak Petrosyan on Unsplash
How true ! Interesting it makes you think some of us just sit and watch those who make a brave move to make a message be known. Admire their courage but don’t have the guts to make a stand for something. Some do and many don’t with the attitude let someone else do it . Too much inconvenience!
We need to pray for the courage in big ways and even in small ways even as a community to make that stand 🙏