Jessica Sun - Rain and the Rhinoceros: Advent in Palestine and Journeying with Justice

About this episode

Jessica Sun discusses her experiences as part of a peacemaking delegation to Palestine-Israel during Advent.

This past Advent, seventeen peacemakers led by Catholic Workers across the country returned from Palestine-Israel hosted by Sabeel, which is the grassroots, ecumenical Palestinian liberation theology movement rooted in the universal ethic of nonviolence. Meeting with civil society peacemakers across faiths, institutions, and identities in Palestine-Israel, the goals of the trip were to 1) be with and encourage the people who are under attack, 2) collaborate with Sabeel on ways that the unjust, complex realities of life in Palestine-Israel might be improved, and 3) expose human rights violations and prioritize human connection. The delegation was part of a wave of desperately needed international presence, answering the open invitation from Palestinian Christians, who are the direct descendants of the first Christians and the Living Stones of our faith, to come and see, and go and tell. They are seeking solidarity and a physical presence from faith communities in the United States amidst the U.S.-funded ongoing genocide in Gaza that is spreading to the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Jessica Sun (she/they) is a 2nd generation economic-settler-immigrant and Chinese U.S…

People in this episode

Guest: Jessica Sun

Topics covered

• faith communities
• peacemaking
• Advent
• Palestine
• nonviolence
• human rights

Keywords

• peacemakers
• Catholic
• liberation theology
• solidarity
• human connection
• genocide
• advocacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sabeel, Catholic Workers, Christians for a Free Palestine, Pax Christi USA

Places: Palestine-Israel, Gaza, Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, northern Virginia

More episodes of Tuesdays with Merton Podcast

• Byron D. Wratee - The Sound of the Genuine "True Self": Thomas Merton, Howard Thurman, and Mystical Anthropology · April 15, 2026 · 1h 4m
• John Dickerson - Finding Thomas Merton on the Campaign Trail · March 19, 2026 · 1h 31m
• Megan Way - Economics and Merton, Developing the Negatives · February 11, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Jordan T. Jones - Thomas Merton meets James Cone: A Conversation That Never Happened · January 14, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Judith Valente - In Their Own Words: The Monks Who Knew Merton · December 10, 2025 · 1h 2m
• Harley Matthews - Merton and the Protestant Tradition · November 14, 2025 · 1h 14m