revkidd

[revkidd]

“Thoughts and Prayers” are not enough.

The readings for Sunday (7/28/2019)

Thank God for the guy who will ask the stupid question!

Can you imagine the scene, surrounded by disciples and bystanders, even scribes and pharisees, and you have been wandering around for months with Jesus.  He seemingly prays often, according to Luke anyway they go off and pray, sometimes together sometimes by himself.  You would think this was remedial information by now. But never the less he asks any way, thank God. “Lord, teach us to pray.”  This brave question has provided a blueprint of prayer for two millennia of Christians since.  

Jesus offers us what we have come to know as “the Lord’s Prayer.”  While all prayer is different, and there are as many ways to pray as there are pray-ers there is something essential about this prayer, this is why we still say it.  There is a kind of form or essence to this prayer that shows us what all prayer strives to accomplish.  

The first thing I notice is that it is relational, there is no flowery introduction, just “Father.” Jesus is not praying to some far-off deity, some anonymous force of the universe, he is praying to one whom he knows and one whom he knows listens with an ear of love.  No justification is required, no argument to be heard, he is simply talking to his parent who loves him.

Then Jesus names the things he needs: food “daily bread”, forgiveness, and safety “lead me not into the time of trial.”  These are some of the basic needs for human beings to live and flourish.  Building blocks for life, community and peace. Then of course come the more complicated bits, the parts that demand something of us.  “Let your kingdom come, on earth as in heaven,” and “forgive us…as we forgive others.”

Prayer, real prayer, necessarily leads us from relationship with the divine into relationship with others. This work may start out between me and God, but it never stays there, it can’t.  God desires relationship; with and for us, and with and for the world.  Prayer issues out in more compassion, more relationship, more action, simply more.  This is why Jesus’ instruction to pray for our enemies was so revolutionary.

We are not God’s local reporting bureaus. God does not need us to tell him where the pain and suffering and need is in the world. God is already there. Where there is trauma God is already walking with the victims, where there is pain God is already working for healing. God is already at work, and through prayer we discover how to be connected to that work.

When we pray for someone who is sick, we are committing to care for them. When we pray for those in pain we commit to comfort them. When we pray for those in trouble, and in distress we are committing to work for their safety, freedom and justice. When we pray for those who have died we witness to the eternal life promised in the resurrection.  Prayer is necessarily tied up with the love God has for the world, it is tied up in the redemption and reconciliation God desires for us all. The Good News here of course, is that when we go to God with our own pain, and sadness and trauma, God is already there as well. It is the first step toward accepting the grace and love and relationship that God offers us.  Our healing is also wrapped up in the healing of the world.

This is very different than the way we talk about prayer most of the time in our culture.  Often prayer is treated like a heavenly lottery ticket, we buy ours, say our prayers and hope we win! Or we talk about it like a cosmic economic transaction: if we put our time in, are on our best behavior, and say our prayers, then we will get what we want from God. Not surprisingly, these approaches don’t bring us the desired outcome. If you think prayer is some kind of magic to bend the universe to your will, then prayer will disappoint you.

Even more troubling, is the way we use prayer to signal virtue in situations where we have no intention of acting.  It has become popular in the face of the all too common tragedies and traumas of modern life, to invoke the trope of “Thoughts and Prayers.”  We say to each other, that our “thoughts and prayers are with you” when we want to sound compassionate, without the hard work that accompanies it. Recently in the wake of one of these all too common events I saw a meme that said “Thoughts and Prayers are NOT enough.” We are complicit in teaching the world that our prayers are meaningless and our faith has no hope.  

In our reading from Luke today, we didn’t just get a model prayer, we also got a weird parable, one that informs how we understand the prayer Jesus taught. It is about a neighbor who needs help to meet the needs of an unexpected guest.  It is a parable about how prayer works, about how our grumpy neighbor will help us (though grudgingly) if we ask persistently, shamelessly. And if that old grump will help, how much more will God who loves us give us what we need.  

It is not instruction to pester God into submission, but is instead a reminder that the generosity we give and receive in this life is a reflection of the one who is all compassion, and gift. Sometimes we are the late night emergency, and sometimes we are the one who has to get out of bed and help. Sometimes we are the desperate plea for help, and sometimes we are the answer to someone’s prayer.  If we can give good gifts to each other, broken and selfish as we are, how much more does God desire to give us precisely what we need.

I believe now is the time to rediscover shameless prayer:

I don’t know how we solve our culture’s deadly addiction to violence.

I don’t know how we repair the damage we have done to creation with our carelessness.

I don’t know how we fix the epidemics of poverty or homelessness or drug addiction.

I don’t know how we overcome the generational sin of racism.

I don’t know how we transcend the polarization and tribalism in our public life.

But what I do know, is that we cannot be paralyzed by the magnitude of these and the many other challenges we face.  We don’t have to be.

We must pray, really pray, and listen, and see. I will warn you, when I have done this I rarely like the things I discover. They usually require me to hear someone I’d rather ignore, or see someone it was easier to dismiss, to forgive someone, to serve someone, to become a more committed follower of Jesus on the way of Love. It is not easy, but it is holy.  

Prayer is not a passive request, it is a call to live in the reality of God’s love for us and for our neighbor.  It is where we speak to the one who has loved us our whole life and who will love us forever. It is an opportunity to bring the deep needs of our lives to light, and to have them met with grace and love and calling.  Prayer is an opportunity to take a first step into the kingdom of God even when we don’t know how.

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

This is where God is calling the church, to prayer, and through it to action on behalf of the world we love.

[revkidd]

Day 14: Sabbath in Nazareth

This morning we had an easy start, with some free time until Church at 10am. We attended Christ Church Anglican in Nazareth this morning. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East has congregations, schools and hospitals in Israel/Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.  It is a remarkable diocese, who is a force for peace, reconciliation and ecumenical cooperation in this Holy and troubled land and wider region.

One of the most interesting and moving things for me throughout this trip has been the opportunity to worship with the Anglican congregations in the Holy Land.  Last Sunday, Pentecost Sunday at the Cathedral, was crazy!  This Sunday at Christ Church in Nazareth was more like a normal Church Sunday.  The priest and congregation adapted to having a bunch of anglos in their midst.  In this diocese, they simply have people pray in whatever language they are comfortable, so it is not uncommon in a service to hear a collect or the lords prayer, or any other prayer of the congregation in 3-4 different languages at one time.  It sounds like it would be discordant, or muddy, but miraculously it isn't.  I feel like this must have been what it sounded like at Pentecost.  

One particular moment caught me off guard however, when we arrived at the Kyrie suddenly the whole cacophony of sound transformed into one unified voice as we cried to our lord for mercy in one greek speaking voice.  It was powerful.  The priest preached his Trinity Sunday sermon to his congregation then summarized for us in English.  He said “ The persons of the Trinity are bound together by the love they have for one another.  We should remember, that though we feel like we are separate and we get lonely, we should remember that the love that binds them together minds us too.  This is why the command of God is to love out neighbor, and love ourslelves, so we can mirror the love God already has brought into the world.”  

Well done Father, you nailed it.

After service we adjourned to a scene I know well, a parish hall full of folks drinking coffee and sharing their lives together.  It made me remember fondly the beautiful faithful people who I knew would be doing the same thing at my parish in a few hours.  It is wonderful how much worship and life in the Church transcends culture.  The kids ate too many of the biscuits, and they worried about the coffee running out. Felt like home. 

We spent the rest of the day basically in a bus, making our way back to Jerusalem.  We drove up the Jordan Valley from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea then turned west toward Jerusalem. This is a route (on one side of the river or the other) that Jesus would have taken with his disciples at least twice.  These days this area is a highly guarded border between Jordan and Israel.  Lord have mercy indeed.

Tomorrow we make our way up to the Mount of Olives to visit some of the Holy Week Churches we missed last week.  Then we wrap up tomorrow with a visit to Emmaus. 

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Day 13: Galilee

Today is the day I have been waiting for the whole trip. Jerusalem is a beautiful city, and the sights and sounds of this trip have been amazing in so many ways. But the seashore in Galilee is the place I have imagined in my minds eye since I first began hearing stories about Jesus. And despite all that expectation and build up, it did not disappoint!

We woke up early as is our custom and set off right after breakfast. We drove down from Nazareth through the Jezreel valley to the Sea of Galilee. Our first visit was to Capernaum, the town in which Jesus lived (Matt. 4:13.)  This is where he met and recruited his first disciples (Peter, James, Andrew, John and Matthew the tax collector.)  The city sits right on the seashore, on the border between two regions of the roman province. It was largely only ruins after the Byzantine period until the Franciscans and Greek Orthodox returned and bought the site in the mid 1800′s.  The early buildings were largely built out of black basalt rocks, giving the city a very different look from the others we have seen, where most of the buildings are build from white or tan limestone.  

There are remains of second century synagogue (built in white stone) over the earlier one built out of the black, where Jesus taught on the Sabbath and riled up the pharisees.  Capernaum is also where Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law, and tradition holds that Peter’s house became the meeting place of the Christian community (it is just a few houses down from the synagogue.) There are remains of the house, along with evidence it was expanded several times (so the young Christian community had room to meet!) Then there is an octagonal byzantine structure eventually built around the house in the 4-5th century.  

While the archeology is interesting and tells us about how the Christian community grew in Capernaum over the centuries, I wanted to see the water. The first thing that struck me about the sea, is that it is actually quite small.  You can see for several miles, over to the other side.  Capernaum is situated at the northern end of the sea (it really is a great big freshwater lake.)  Looking south over the water, the Gentile eastern shore stretches out, with the Golon Heights looming up above. This was the ancient region of Bashan (with their fat cows.)  The area where the Garasene demoniac, and the herd of swine are recognizable in the distance.  Along the Western shore Tiberias, the large roman town, can be seen.  Today several boats were making their way too and fro across the glassy surface.  Here in one scene, Jew, Gentile and Roman are all knit together  into one story.  

After Capernaum we traversed around the sea to visit Tagba, the site of the miracle of Loaves and fishes, AKA the feeding of the 5000. An amazing Byzantine era mosaic is preserved there featuring a beautiful scene  flora and fauna of the time.  Then we continued around to Mensa Christi, where my favorite story of the New Testament purportedly took place.  This is where Jesus appears to the disciples after his Ressurection. Here Peter has the opportunity to reconcile with Jesus after denying him three times during the trial and crucifixion. Jesus asks him three times if he loves him, and he replies that he does, so Jesus tells him “feed my sheep.”  It is a beautiful picture of forgiveness after failure, and grace to begin anew.  I had the chance there to finally put my feet in the water, and imagine what it might have been like to see to see Jesus waiting on the shore. 

We then headed up the mountain a bit to the church of the Beatitudes. Here we had a great lunch (St. Peter fish fresh from the Sea of Galilee.) And an opportunity to spend some quiet time after lunch.  The panoramic view of the place allowed a chance to imagine hearing these iconic words of Jesus by people spread out across this high flat space over looking the water. 

In his reflection our group leader offered a thought that became my focus for the day. “The God of Jesus, not only saves and delivers, but also blesses.”  We pondered the blessings of the beatitudes, and how God sanctifies the real life of ordinary people.  We matter to God not just when we need to be bailed out of a mess, or when we are ready to praise God for the high and holy in our lives.  But in the everyday mess of making peace with our neighbor, in the daily routine of hunger and thirst. In our grief and pain, but also in our mundane activity, the blessings of God remain, in fact they abound.  The beauty and wonder of God persist in our presence, of only we take time to notice. 

Tomorrow we celebrate Trinity Sunday with the Anglican Church in Nazareth.  After a festive time of fellowship we will make our way back to Jerusalem through the Jordan Valley and resume our place at the College. Only a few more days now, the experience is drawing to a close.  I am so very thankful for all that has come before.  But as a tropical storm makes its way toward my home and family, I am feeling all the more eager to make my way back home.  

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Day 12: Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

This is a question asked by Nathaniel in the first chapter of John when Phillip tells him they have found “him of whom Moses and the Prophets wrote.” (John 1:43-46)  How could the one they were waiting for come from such a tiny and unimportant town on the outskirts of the Jezreel Vally, mostly known for the series of caves where brigands would hide from the authorities? What an unexpected place to find a savior.

We woke today to find a surprise waiting for us.  It turns out that the guest house (Run by the Nazarite Sisters) is actually built over a phenomenal archeological site.  After breakfast the Mother Superior took us down to give us a look.  In the Byzantine Era (304th Century) There were three churches in Nazareth, all reportedly on or near holy sites of pilgrimage.  One was at the Well/or Spring in the city where the Angel reportedly first appeared to Mary. The second was at Mary’s home where she accepted her holy mission to bring the savior into the world by replying with the Magnificat. The third church was built at the site of Joseph’s home, where Jesus was nurtured and grew up. Of course these Byzantine buildings were destroyed after the fall of the Byzantine empire in this region, then recaptured and rebuilt by the crusaders around 1000.  When the crusaders were forced out of the land they were destroyed again.  

When Christians finally regained access to the land several hundred years later during the late Ottoman Empire only two of those sites were able to be located. The Roman Catholic Church built at the site of Mary’s home and the Greek Orthodox built at the site of the well.  The location of the purported childhood home of Jesus was lost to history.  Then in 1850 after the sisters bought this land in the old city of Nazareth for the site of their school, they made a discovery while digging the foundation. Below their site was a first century home, complete with additional caves. Adjacent to this home were the remains of a byzantine church, and crusader walls. Around the home was a first century tomb along with crusader tombs as well. The sisters site, because it was found most recently, and because visits are not open to the general public without and appointment with the Mother Superior, is the most well preserved and least destroyed of the three.  

After our experience here at home, we visited the other two sites in Nazareth as well.  Each of the churches and archeological sites offered a slightly different experience, but each forced us to encounter the particular human stuff of incarnation. Jesus, lived, and ate and was thirsty. He needed water from the well like everyone else.  He had a home and parents and likely a job prior to beginning his ministry.  These real sights and sounds and smells drag Jesus out of the mythical realm of spiritual teacher of old and place him in a place and time and physical space that demands we confront our misgivings. The incarnation pushes our buttons.  But it also located Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a time and place, and if we believe Jesus is who says, that time and place is here and now as well.  

It is something to ponder the incredible bravery of a young woman asked to be the Theotokos (the God bearer) and as I grow older and experience the intense fear and beautiful joy of parenthood, I understand more deeply the sacrifice and commitment Mary made. The same brave girl who stood at the well, was the same powerful woman standing at the foot of the cross, I'm sure both proud and devestated. The first disciple, the original apostle, and the icon of Christian faith and sacrifice; Mary has slowly worked her way into my heart.  It was nice to spend most of a day immersed in her story.

We spent the afternoon on Mt. Tabor, the reported site of the Transfiguration.  The grounds and view from the Church there allowed for a fruitful time of contemplation and reflection as we begin to wrap up this journey through the storied places of our saviors life.  Tomorrow we set off for the Sea of Galilee.

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Day 11: The walls (always) come tumbling down.

Today we left Jerusalem to head north to Galilee. But instead of going straight up, we took a little detour over to the coast to visit Caesarea Maritima.  Jesus never visited Caesarea as far as we know, but it was the seat of power for another character from the New Testament, Pontious Pilate.  Built by Herod to assist (and honor) his Roman benefactors, it was quite an engineering marvel. He built a manmade breakwater that created a deepwater port that could accommodate trade from all over the empire.  He built an opulent city to go along with it, complete with Roman bath houses and temples.  We toured the remains of this city which became the Roman Capitol of Palestine when they eventually imposed direct rule after Herod’s children proved ineffective.   

It is easy to see why one would want to build here, I mean in addition to the monetary and political games Herod was playing.  It is beautiful!  I put my feet in the Mediterranean Sea today for the first time.  The water was so blue and clear that you could see the ruins of this ancient roman city out in the distance.

After Herod and the Romans faded into history, the various Muslim and Crusader Kingdoms all controlled and fortified the port city. The remains of their battlements and walls still loom around the broken and faded columns and mosaics.  The remains of their theater and hippodrome sit adjacent to the beaches enjoyed by families and children. 

What struck me today though, was that each of these cultures and empires built grand cities and high walls, and none of them ultimately worked.  Each of them failed eventually.  The engineering savants of the Roman Empire that built an aqueduct to bring water from 20 miles away at Mount Carmel could not build big or strong enough walls to keep the rest of the world at bay.  The great crusader gates and battlements that dot the land along the sea could not save them.  At some point, all walls come tumbling down.

When we finished at the seashore we worked our way up the mountainside to Mount Carmel where we visited the monastery that looks out over the end of the world.  It is set at the place where the prophet Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). 

From the overlook on Mt. Carmel we can see in the distance many things, but among them is the ancient once fortified city of Meggido, and the valley that stretches out between them, Armageddon. (Har = Hill of, so Armageddon is Hill of Megiddo.) It is a beautiful place with this panoramic view, you can understand why it would capture the writer of Revelation’s imagination.

 We eventually took our bus the rest of the way to Nazareth where we will be staying for the next three days. I am excited to explore the region fo Galilee which was such a part of the story of Jesus.

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Day 10: The Via Dolarosa

This morning we set off walking into the Old City for one of the most ancient and storied prayer practices in the Christian tradition.  We walked the path of Jesus on the Via Dolarosa.  St. George’s prepared a Stations of the Cross service for us to use as we made our pilgrimage from the Antonia Fortress where it was once believed that Pilate condemned Jesus, to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which encompasses the site of the crucifixion and the tomb where Jesus was laid.  

This path was established in the era of the crusaders about a thousand years ago.  It may or may not follow the exact path, but that really isn’t the point.  It was an opportunity to remember the final days of Jesus life, and the sacrifice he bore willingly for the world.  I was struck by how ordinary the journey was. In my heart and in this liturgy we were remembering these incredible events, but the path wasn’t through some set apart holy route.  We walked down regular streets, in front of shops and by folks out buying the day’s groceries, or just going to work.  The life of this incredible city buzzed around us, all while we went through this discipline of prayer.

We carried a small cross with us, we took turns bearing it, and reading the passages at each station.  The final stations took place on the roof of the Church of the Ressurection. Then when we were finished we went inside of this huge (confusing) complex of chapels and altars and anterooms.  

The Church itself has a complicated history.  In Jesus day, it was a rock quarry, right outside the gate of the city.  Shortly after Jesus time another wall was built to enclose the growing metropolis (making it inside the city.) Then the Romans filled in the Rock Quarry and to impede early Christian veneration of the site, built a temple to Venus on the place.  In the 300s when Constantine converted he ordered, under the direction of his mother, for them to tear down the temple and dig.  They reportedly found the sites and in order to accommodate pilgrims cut out the rock around the tomb and preserved a big chunk of the Calvary (rock) hill.  A later Muslim ruler of the city (Hakim) had the church pulled down and ordered the tomb and surrounding sites to be obliterated, reducing the site to rubble and rocks. This was one of the things that lunched the crusades.

In the Byzantine era and since, a new series of churches have been built over what was left of the tomb and the rock of Calvary.  We visited them today, and prayed in the (not so) quiet place where Jesus gave his ultimate sacrifice.  I don’t mind that the Stations Walk and even the Church of the Ressurection were so noisy and full of bustle.  I think in fact that might be the way it should be.  The work of Jesus does not happen in a secluded garden (as much as I happen to like them.) It happens in the loud, complicated, messiness of life.  Jesus comes to us in the ordinary, in the mundane, and reminds us that all of it is a gift.  Each and every difficult and strange and confusing circumstance is a place that Jesus meets us with his healing, forgiving grace.  Right there in the falafel line, we are redeemed.  

It was a busy day after the Via Dolarosa.  Some friends and I went for a walk on the Ramparts of the Wall and visited a few other places, St. Peter’s Galicantu (where he denied Jesus 3 times - it is full of roosters.) We also visited the Dormition Abbey where Mary’s house and tomb are venerated.  It was a busy day and by the end of it my watch said I had walked over 19,000 steps!! I earned the sweet nap I took this afternoon before evening prayer.  :>)

Tomorrow we head north to Nazareth and Galilee.  I am eager to see what awaits us up there.

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Day 9: The Mysteries in the Mountains

Once again we set off deep into the Judean Wilderness, right up to the edge of the Dead Sea.  We visited two ancient and interesting sites today, both of which is seems ceased to function around 68 BCE when the Romans came into the area to quell the second Jewish revolt.  

We began and Herod’s mountain fortress Masada. This vast complex is set on top of a huge secluded mountain. This mountain is separated from the rest which surround it by a large rift, likely from a prehistoric earthquake. It has a flat top, on which Herod created a nearly impregnable fortress.  The only access up into Masada was by a treacherous foot path called the “snake path” because of it’s shape.  This fortress is compete with a Palace and VIP guest quarters as well as water cisterns and food stores enough to keep many people supplied for many months.  

After the time of Herod when the Jewish revolt was raging throughout the country, Rome arrived with 10,000 soldiers and surrounded Masada, one of the final strongholds of the Zaccari.  The remains of their camps are still visible.  They established 7 camps around the Fortress, with one on a nearby mountain high enough to observe the troop movements in the fort.  They built an earthen ramp from a nearby hill and using a battering ram they breached the walls. When they finally made their way into the fort, the residents had all been killed or killed themselves so as to avoid the indignity of capture and slavery.

The remains of the fort, and the Roman camps were very interesting.  The fortress and palaces offered amazing views of the region, with a commanding view of the Dead Sea.

After Masada we drove down the coastline to Qumran.  This was a completely different community, in an adjacent part of the land.  Qumran was a community of separatist Jews who searched for a more pure form of their religion than what was being offered in the temple.  They produced many manuscripts, perhaps serving as a scribal outpost of sorts.  These documents produced by the community were stored, or perhaps hidden from the Romans, in a series of caves in clay jars.  

There they stayed when the community vanished after 68 BCE until they were discovered by beduin sheep herders. These “Dead Sea Scrolls” offer us a great insight into the community that lived at Qumran as well as a glimpse at the diversity that existed in Judaism during the time of Jesus.  The people of this community are thought to be Essenes, and perhaps were an influence of John the Baptist with his particular perspective on the Temple regime.  We saw many of their works in the Israel Museum on Sunday.

Once we finished our time in the Wilderness, we decided to go for a cool float in the Dead Sea.  It took some nerve to get into the somewhat milky grey water, but once in the cool water I was confirmed in my decision. It is true that in the incredibly salty water, the buoyancy of the human body is remarkable.  I felt a little like a fishing cork, bobbing up and down in the water, unable to sink. It was a hot day, but to interact with the stories and texts of the these mysterious communities was well worth it.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers for me and for all my brother and sister pilgrims.

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Day 8: A Day with the Samaritans

Today we reached the halfway point of this journey.  This time next week I will be making my preparations to leave, and likely trying to fit one more thing into my suitcase.  I already know it will take me months to process all I have already seen. Today was no exception. This experience has lived up to and exceeded all my expectations, and several of my favorite bits are still to come.

Today we lit out after breakfast back into the occupied territory of the West Bank.  We travelled to Nablus or as it was known in Old Testament times Shechem.  It was the place the Israelites set up their religious practices when they first came into the land, long before David captured Jerusalem. Eventually when religious life shifted to Jerusalem, some resisted believing that they should continue to worship God on the mountain he chose (Mt. Gerizim.) These people became known as the Samaritans.  This dispute reached it’s zenith when the Maccabean Commander John Hyrcanus destroyed their temple in 110 BCE. But they persist to this day worshiping in their way on their mountain.

Of course most of us only know of the Samaritans because of an encounter Jesus had with a Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well (an ancient site for people to meet their future spouses, but that’s another story.) This story of grace, and faith, and forgiveness is captured in John 4. We read this passage under some trees in the courtyard of a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church which has the well preserved in a room under it’s altar.  We took turns lifting water from this ancient well and spoke with the elderly priest who looks after the church (and paints beautiful icons.). He is under constant threat by extremist jewish forces who want to force the Christians to relinquish this site that they have held since the 4th century.  His predecessor was killed in 1979, and he has survived several attempts on his life, the most recent one a few months ago. We spent time hearing from him about his experience as a Christian in the occupied territory. 

The art and icons in the church were breathtaking, I saw several huge original icons whose designs I recognized from seeing copies. The giant icon of Jesus in the center of the dome at the crossing of the church was particularly striking.  

We next went up the mountain to meet a Samaritan Priest who explained the history of his people to us, as well as graciously showed us around his synagogue and the place where they continue to offer sacrifice according to the levitical laws and rules found in the Torah.  Just a few weeks ago they sacrificed, and cooked in pits, 50 sheep for passover (each family brings one to share and eat.) It was interesting to see how the process was set up, it is likely the only way to get a real glimpse into what the ancient temple in Jerusalem was like before it was destroyed.  Their setup is not elaborate or beautifully decorated like the temple would have been, but it was set up according to Leviticus, and it seemed thoroughly efficient.

[revkidd]

Pentecost in Jerusalem

[revkidd]

Day 7: Pentecost in Jerusalem

Today was an incredibly busy day! A few of us got up early to try and get to see the Temple Mount.  It is tightly controlled and often requires a long line and tickets, but we heard that during Ramadan we could go between 7:30 and 11.  It is a sensitive site so our regular tour would not be going, but several of us felt it was a must see, so we decided to hike up before Church.  I am glad to say, that though there were a few determined Jewish youths who were seemingly pushing some boundaries, once we got up on the mount it was profoundly peaceful.  

The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque are as impressive up close as they are from a distance.  The dome was built in the late 600′s on the site traditionally associated with the Second temple, and the rock from which it gets its name is where Mohammed is believed to have ascended to heaven (third holiest site in the Muslim faith), as well as where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac.  It is a great example of how three faiths all inhabit the same small spaces in this city.  We toured the grounds, then made our way for some breakfast before Church.

When we returned to St. Georges we found the place overrun with people! Christians from all over the area had flocked in for the Pentecost celebration.  It was a beautiful service with singing, and a sermon by the Most Rev. Suheil Salman Dawani, Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. He challenged us to remember that the Holy Spirit is a rejection of the status quo, that this spirit from God is an invitation to dream outside the lines of what we believe is acceptable or possible for the people of God.  The gift of the Holy Spirit is permission to grow beyond our perceived boundaries of race or class or ethnicity or political situation, or anything else that the world tells us limits our potential.  It was a powerful message in a region where we are always told that peace is impossible, that nervous coexistence is the best we can hope for, that reconciliation is a pipe dream. I was honored to be in that number.

After lunch we returned to the Israel Museum where we were able to take in their various fine collections of antiquities including the Dead Sea Scrolls and a model of the the City of Jerusalem from the 1st century.  They also have huge exhibits of archeological finds from various residents of the Land spanning from Pre-History to the Ottoman period.  We only scratched the surface in the 3 hours we had to tour the collections.  I dutifully spent some time studying the city model that is much loved by Mother Clelie who has spoken about it often. It truly does give you a good sense of how the city was organized and how its’ shape plays into the various biblical narratives we all know.  

I am looking forward to another week of wonderful experiences, but despite the hectic schedule and grand sights, I miss my family.  Thank you all who are keeping them and me in your prayers as I am away and make this pilgrimage.  

Peace+

Stephen

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The Western (wailing) Wall and the Pool of Bethsaida, Jerusalem

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Day 6: A different kind of wall

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! How pleasant it is to honor him with praise! The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:1-3)

This morning we didn't catch a bus, but instead took a walk through the Old City of Jerusalem. It is the Sabbath, so there plenty of others on foot along side of us.  We walked through the Muslim quarter until we reached the western wall of the ancient temple platform.  This wall is of course the Holiest site for Jews in the world.  It is the closest they have been able to get to being physically in the Temple since the year 70 AD.  when the Romans destroyed it following the Jewish Revolt.  We took time to experience the Shabbat prayers with our brothers and sisters, and even took some time to pray ourselves. Many of us putting our own prayers into the cracks of the wall.

As you look up the wall there are many apparent  layers of time and effort. Hasmonean stone work, followed by Herod’s efforts, followed by Islamic repair and Crusader rampart all stacked upon each other to achieve the impressive structure we see. Down below it was a frenetic scene of Orthodox Jews with their distinctive habits, and many others of various sorts and conditions, singing, shouting, praying, reading in no particular organized way.  It was beautiful to hear the several languages going up at once, for us tomorrow is Pentecost but this as a very good beginning.  Decorated Torah scrolls were carried back and forth, reverenced and kissed, and all manner of praise and proclamation accompanied their delivery to various points.

But obvious in the din of sight and sound was a clear sense of a people with a purpose. These were those who had been welcomed into their reclaimed homeland, and were being knit together into one people once again.  Indeed the “exiles” were gathered together in prayer.  It was a privilege to pray with them this morning in this holy space, sanctified by their prayers and devotions as much as by proximity to the ancient temple site.

When we finished at the wall we made our way acrid the Christian Quarter along the Via Dolarosa  to St. Anne’s Church (the site where Mary’s birth is commemorated) and where the pool of Bethsaida once stood. Bethsaida is the site where, in John 5:1-18, Jesus encounters a man who had been sick for 38 years, and asks him “Do you want to be made well?” Ironically the man does not answer him, but instead tells Jesus why he hasn’t been able to get into the healing baths. Jesus tells him to “stand up and take your mat and walk,” where he immediately gets in trouble for carrying his mat on the sabbath.  This of course leads to a row with the pharisees.  

The passage that stuck with me today was “Do you desire to be healed?”  It occurs to me that so often in the most intractable of issues both spiritually and personally this ought to be the first question we ask ourselves and others.  Because too often, while we may not like the status quo, we are not actually interested in the sacrifice it would take to be truly healed.  We get comfortable in our outrage, and identify with our angry tribes so much that to truly be healed would cost too much.  It is much easier to stay cynical and partisan in a way that precludes real listening, empathy or forgiveness.  It was a powerful realization for me, and something I am sure I will continue to ponder.

The pool as it existed was persisted for hundreds of years after Jesus time, though eventually being replaced in Roman times.  A series of churches were then built on the site to commemorate the healing, which are also ruins now as well.  The current church in the complex is a beautiful crusader era church, with incredible acoustics. Our group took a moment to sing the doxology in the space to experience the effect.  Down below is a cave chapel dedicated to birth of the Virgin Mary with some beautiful art.  

Our afternoon outing got cut short as the Israel museum closed early, so we had some unexpected free time this afternoon.  Then I got the opportunity to lead Evensong, which I enjoyed very much in the acoustical bounty of the Cathedral Chapel. Tomorrow is the Feast of Pentecost with the Christians of Jerusalem at the Cathedral.  I am very much looking forward to service tomorrow.  As I did today I will continue to keep my friends back home at St. Mark’s in my prayers, knowing we pray together though we are a great distance apart.  Happy Pentecost!!!

Peace+

Stephen

[revkidd]

Doing my best Zacchaeus impression in Jericho, where Jesus met a wee man in a tree and forgave him. We were not allowed to climb. (I asked.)

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The Jordan River, where Jesus was Baptized

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St. George of Koziba Monastery in the Wadi Qelt, deep in the Judean Wilderness.

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Day 5: Into the Wilderness

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” (Mark 1:9-13)

We rose early today to beat the heat.  It was over hundred for the first time today, and down where we were going it would be even hotter.  We did the story of Jesus backwards.  We went into the wilderness first, then the Jordan.  On the drive out we again had to go through security checkpoints to enter Zone B as I explained yesterday.  Then we traveled a long road into the mountains.  There were occasional settlements, both Israeli and Palestinian, as well as tiny beduin outposts.  It looked like one or two families pushed up high into the arid hills.  We saw them out on the hillside tending their flocks of goats and sheep. In that little has changed since the time of Jesus (except the satellite dishes on the tents.) :>)

Our first stop was at St. George of Koziba Monastery in the Wadi Qelt. Founded in the 5th century at a cave where they believed that Elijah was fed by ravens, it is a striking site to see this beautiful monastery clinging to a cliff face in this deep gorge.  The Wadi is a deep valley that cuts through the high ridges of the wilderness, it stretches from Jerusalem to Jericho, creating a path that eventually became the Roman road, complete with a still functioning aqueduct. It’s steep high walls and winding path form the backdrop of Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan. We spent some time up on a high place overlooking the Monastery and the numerous hermit caves for a time of reflection and quiet.

I was struck by the great deal of effort expended by the hermits to get any from the distractions and temptations of worldly life. But as shown in the experience of Jesus, and in the writings of desert fathers like St. Anthony and others, out in the desert the temptations actually become more pronounced and difficult, not easier to bear or avoid.  I love remote places. I love the simplicity of wilderness, or desert or in more recent years open water.  It is dangerous and beautiful, exciting and captivating, but it is not home.  It seems clear that temptations are not best tackled in solitude, we can’t ever get far enough out to escape our own brokenness. Instead they must be confronted in our homes and in our hearts, and in the faces of our neighbor.  

When we finished our prayers and meditation, we continued down below sea level to the bank of the Jordan River.  We passed through mine fields established during the War in 1967, the site of Jesus’ Baptism was not accessible from the Israeli side until the mid 2000′s, it has always been accessible from Jordan.  Thankfully there is a gap cleared in the mines now big enough to put a gift shop and a visitors center. :>)

The Jordan was surprising in a few ways, first it was incredibly MUDDY. It caused some interesting baptismal theology to be discussed.  One person said, “I don’t know how you would wash anything off in that water, but you could definitely be buried in it!!” Secondly, it was cool.  It is not a fast moving river, and it is shallow at this point (which is why it has been the place to cross for millennia) so I expected it to be warm. It wasn't.  I stepped in and enjoyed the cool water as we reaffirmed out baptismal vows. This site has been visited by pilgrims for centuries, there are ruins of a byzantine church from the 4th century across from where we stood, and a spring near it where legend contends John baptized Jesus.  A huge white dove did descend, but it didn’t land on me or anybody else, it just seemed thirsty. 

From the Jordan we continued over to the cities of Jericho for lunch. There are three: the ancient “walls came tumbling down” one, the city of the New Testament by (another) Palace of Herod and the Roman Road, and the bustling modern city. We visited all three, in the newest Jericho there stands one of the last remaining sycamore trees in the Holy Land, but we were not allowed to climb it! This region is famous for its’ “Hebron Glass” so we stopped in a shop to take a look.  

After a delicious lunch we made our way back to Jerusalem.  Seven police/military checkpoints popped up while we were gone. It seems the end of Ramadan is near and they were worried the Friday prayers in the Mosque today might encourage violence in the wake of the recent protests.   Some of my new friends and fellow course members walked down into the old city after dinner, we went all the way to western wall where the Jewish Shabat prayers were well underway.  All seems quiet for now.  

[revkidd]

The Herodian Hill Fort and Palace outside Bethlehem.