Between the Altar and the Sanctuary: Reimagining the Missional Church on a Reading of Luke 11:47–51 in the Context of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

Abstract

This article seeks to investigate the disruptive and destructive nature of global wars, human vulnerability, and woundedness as demonstrated in the context of the violence regarding the Israeli-Palestine conflict. This war, particularly the current encounter between the State of Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in Palestine, has reached a catastrophic level. The attacks and counterattacks on both sides – Israeli State and Hamas – which started on 7 October 2023 have resulted in the death of many civilians, including women and children, while many are displaced, wounded, and hurting. They are living in the context of death and dying. This article raises questions from the perspectives of a missiologist about the religious nature, promotion, and justification of the Israel–Palestine conflict underpinned by the notion “between the altar and the sanctuary”. Tapping into the resourcefulness of Luke 11:47–51, this article reimagines a missional church as interfacing with and mediating the shalom of God in the face of global wars and woundedness.