On a little hill above the Sea of Galilee – not a mountain, by the way – a crowd of people is listening to Jesus delivering a sermon, in effect a manifesto for the delivery of God’s kingdom. They hear him declare that certain categories of people are especially blessed by God, among them
the pure in heart and the poor,
the meek and the merciful,
the peacemakers and the persecuted.
His hearers are stunned by the message. One of them – let’s call her Janet – has the temerity to call out: ‘But Jesus, our world’s not like that! Those are not the kind of people who are valued.’
And Jesus replies, ‘No, they are not, but one day they will be. Feet will be washed, people will learn to forgive one another, and receive forgiveness, not once or twice, but seventy times seven times; and all will be valued for just who they are. Not yet, but when my kingdom has come, on earth as in heaven. And meanwhile….
Meanwhile, you are to set about building that kingdom by making my words known, by promoting and living the values that I am giving you.’
Jan Davies was above all a ‘meanwhile person’. She understood the urgent priority behind Jesus’s words, and she sought to apply them. She was prepared to lay herself open to opposition, indignity and accusations of naivety in order to do so.
The focus of Jan’s passion – indeed, her anger – lay in the Middle East, inspired by the desperate plight of the Palestinian people, especially in the land that all three major world faiths call Holy. How did that come about?
We have heard something of Jan’s background and family life, with its joys and its deep sorrow, and the large part of her life that was spent here in Freshfield. We heard about her family, her love of music, her passion for travel, her capacity for friendship, and in later years her membership of the congregation here at St Peter’s.
Jan’s life changed in her late twenties when she moved away from Formby: she became politically aware and, as she admitted with a hint of pride, she moved further to the left.
This led her to apply, more in hope than anticipation, for the post of Regional Director of Christian Aid, based in Liverpool. She underwent a tough interview with Dean Edward Patey, who clearly liked what she had to say, as, somewhat to her surprise, she was appointed. Edward became a lifelong friend and mentor until well into his retirement. So Jan established herself in Merseyside.
In 1981, in spite of Alan’s tragic death, Jan went ahead with her first visit to Palestine/Israel: it was to be the precursor of many such visits. She wrote about her experience in a challenging book, They Came and They Saw, edited by Michael Prior.
Jan’s eyes were opened to the tragedy of the Nakba – the catastrophe – which followed Britain’s walking away from Mandate Palestine in 1948: the dispossession, dispersal and expulsion of nearly half a million Palestinians from the land of their birth. This affected Jan deeply, and it shaped the rest of her life.
She joined the worshipping community at Our Lady and St Nicholas, Liverpool Parish Church around 2003, and stayed for 20 years before moving to St Bride’s, Toxteth which was, and is, very supportive of Palestine. A few years ago, when she was no longer able to drive into Liverpool, she came back to St Peter’s, which had always been her family church.
After her time with Christian Aid, Jan worked for the United Reformed Church and USPG. But then, in retirement, came what she regarded as her most important work, with the establishment of the Friends of Sabeel UK, now known as Sabeel-Kairos.
Most people here this morning will know that Sabeel (meaning The Way) is an ecumenical Theology Institute, based in Jerusalem. To quote from its website, Sabeel ‘strives to develop a spirituality based on love, justice, peace, nonviolence, liberation and reconciliation for the different national and faith communities,’ with particular reference to ‘the identity, presence and witness of Palestinian Christians.’
Janet’s wholehearted promotion of these aims, all over this country, has led to some deeply moving tributes that were sent to Gwyneth, as news of Jan’s death reached Jerusalem and the United States.
Her dear friend and mentor, Canon Naim Ateek (the founder of Sabeel), wrote:
‘ I am grateful to God for [Jan’s] long faithful service for the cause of peace with justice for the Palestinian people. I thank God for her commitment to the work and ministry of Sabeel and for the fact that she was the one that started and established Friends of Sabeel in Britain. Without her dedicated service and hard work we could not have been able to attract the British friends to the Sabeel movement for peace, justice, reconciliation and liberation.’
Cedar Duaybes added:
‘In 1996 Rev. Naim asked her if she would start a Friends of Sabeel group in the UK. Since that time she has been a devoted FRIEND to each and every one of us and to the cause of Justice and Peace in the [Middle East]. On every occasion like Christmas or Easter, Jan would call to greet us and whenever she heard of troubles or unrest, she unfailingly called to make sure we were OK and to show solidarity.
Jan truly worked hard for many, many years, to promote justice and peace in Palestine and Israel, so that all the people of the Middle East would equally enjoy their Human Rights…. We will all remember Jan with much love, respect, appreciation and much, much gratitude.
We will be with you in heart and mind on Saturday, 25th July to remember and celebrate Jan’s life.’
Jan’s death reminded her friend Samia Khoury that she had written a poem to mark Jan’s retirement as Chair of the Friends of Sabeel UK. Here it is:
‘From all of us, board, staff and volunteers at Sabeel,
We want to express to you dear Janet how we feel.
This is a great opportunity to use some imagination, expressing on behalf of all, our deep appreciation.
No wonder FOSUK has so much life,
You were there for its birth as midwife.
Your commitment and dedication made it grow, Your personal giving and efforts made it flow.
For your perseverance and devotion to our cause
You deserve from all Palestinians [a] big applause.
Naik Ateek wrote that ‘The only way to peace is through the door of justice’. Omar Haramy has summed up Jan’s contribution to putting that aspiration into practice:
‘Jan lived her faith through action, compassion, and solidarity. Her witness and dedication will continue to inspire us for years to come. As Scripture reminds us: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” [2 Timothy 4:7]
On behalf of all of us at Sabeel in Jerusalem, please accept our heartfelt condolences on the passing of Jan Davies. We give thanks for her life, her steadfast friendship, and her unwavering commitment to justice, peace, and the Palestinian cause. She made a profound impact on our work and touched the lives of many within our community.
We will share this news with the [worldwide] Sabeel community through our Wave of Prayer….
May her memory be a blessing [and] may her memory be eternal.’
My brothers and sisters, those remarkable tributes remind us just why we are in church this morning: In spite of our sense of loss, this is not a time for sadness; it is a time for celebration, a time to thank God for all that Janet did, for the ways in which she touched so many lives in so many places, and in her unassuming way forged lifelong friendships.
Jan was a highly effective networker. She brought activists and scholars to this country to enlarge our understanding of Palestine/Israel – people of the distinction of Don Wagner, and Professor Marc Ellis, from Texas, whose Lent address in Liverpool Parish Church, and later a lecture in a packed Chichester Cathedral, were searing in their fierce indignation and radical solutions.
Yes, Jan was the ‘meanwhile person’ par excellence. She never gave up. I thank God that others have taken up the torch and will continue to do so, inspired by her example.
Jesus’s ‘Sermon on the Mount’ did not end with the Beatitudes. He added two of the homely examples that he often used so effectively, to ram home his message.
“You are the salt of the earth (he said) but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?’
‘You are the light of the world …… Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’ [Matthew 5:13-16]
Jan never lost her saltiness, and she was a beacon of light for all who long to see justice and peace prevail, on earth as in heaven.
Thanks be to God. Amen.