Friends,
We are in the last week of our pilgrimage. The official portion of this trip is coming to an end. We are taking final exams in our Acts of the Apostles course and in our Architecture course. I finished buying souvenirs and I am planning my last visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. All of these things are going on in preparation to leave the Holy Land. I am think about my own extended trip to Europe after this. So you can continue to follow my progress a little bit more.
I hope that I am a better man from being on this trip. I have learned much more about the world by coming to its center. Jerusalem is truly the center of the world for Jews first and also for Christians. I recommend to you all to visit the Holy Land someday in the not too distant future. I assure that I have never feared for my safety on this trip neither in Israel nor in the West Bank. Politically, this land is in turmoil, and it is such a said story especially for the Christians here. 40% of the Christian population since the second Intifada have left mostly because of the lack of jobs. This is something that we ought not hide from. We should be concerned about the problems on the ground here and elsewhere in the world where people suffer, at least because these problems motivate many people to immigrate to our country.
About my faith, I have learned that religion is a “we-thing” (but not a wee thing). Many of my everyday struggles are not merely my struggles. Rather, we all struggle basically no matter what we do. This doesn’t make the struggle less personal. In the Holy Land, history is lived communally. The past is very much alive here. This is very different from our sense of history, which holds in us the sense that each generation, each individual must strive in a way that is not only new, but totally unique in relation to what came before. We are not to be so individualistic, lest we find ourselves isolated.
And if we know our history as these people do, we see that those things which make us different are actually inter-dependant. So we are really so alike to one another as coheirs of the past.
We went to the place where the arch of the covenant stayed for some time after it was abandoned by the Philistines. It's one of my favorite passages in scripture when David start dancing like wild in front of the arc of the covenant. Hey I'm tired so I might of confused a couple passages there. But both of these things came up on our Sunday tour, our cold, rainy Sunday.
Today, some excavations around or under (I'm not sure) the Temple Mount were just begun. This seems controversial amongst the Palestinians. There seems a fear that archaelogical findings could be used as a pretext for seizing the Muslim controlled Temple Mount, where the beautiful Dome of the Rock is as well as the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
God Bless You!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Some Tour companies are better than others
I am lucky not to be on this tour. Free poncho at every stop!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
What's Important
Hi y'all. It's been over a week. So I started to wonder how important this blogging is. What's really important is that a lot of things have been happening to me here, and fast. So it is important for me to have the chance to sum things up for you.
In the last week, we have learned a lot about the city of Jerusalem, both the current city and the city as it was in the past. Knowing the geography here we only help my better understand the scriptures and the life of Christ. Much of what I have experienced I have not the ability to explain. We went to Mt. Zion last week, which is not the same as Mt. Moriah, the Temple Mount. Mt. Zion rest to the West of the ancient city of David. It is higher and therefore where richer people lived. The Upper Room is commemorated here, being the place where Jesus celebrated his Last Supper. Also it commemorates the spot of Pentecost. An upper room was was only in rivh homes, etc. Everything fits together quite nicely.
Beneath the upper room is commemorated the tomb of King David. I understand that it was the crusaders who began this tradition. Supposedly that was where David was thought to be buried at that time. Now this place is a synagogue. So it seems that Catholics and Jews have helped each other commemorate this very site.
Now also significant was our guided tour through the city of David. This is outside today's city walls and south of the Temple Mount. This was an impregnable little outcropping with sharp slopes heading to the valleys below on either side. The Jebusites occupied this city before David wisely made it his capital. David himself was from Bethlehem, but he understood the importance of keeping family and politics apart. We spent most of the day exploring the water system. This is significant in the digging of Hezekiah's tunnel (2 Chron. 32) and the Pool of Siloam (John 9) to which the tunnel directed its water. Hezekiah built this tunnel in order to conceal the source of his water supply from the Assyrian invaders in the 7th c. BCE.
God bless all of you. I don't have much philosophizing in me today except to tell you that I am happy without deserving to be so. That's the best happiness we can get, being happy in spite of misfortune. I found a kipa (yarmulka) for 10 shekels! And I look darn good in it.
In the last week, we have learned a lot about the city of Jerusalem, both the current city and the city as it was in the past. Knowing the geography here we only help my better understand the scriptures and the life of Christ. Much of what I have experienced I have not the ability to explain. We went to Mt. Zion last week, which is not the same as Mt. Moriah, the Temple Mount. Mt. Zion rest to the West of the ancient city of David. It is higher and therefore where richer people lived. The Upper Room is commemorated here, being the place where Jesus celebrated his Last Supper. Also it commemorates the spot of Pentecost. An upper room was was only in rivh homes, etc. Everything fits together quite nicely.
Beneath the upper room is commemorated the tomb of King David. I understand that it was the crusaders who began this tradition. Supposedly that was where David was thought to be buried at that time. Now this place is a synagogue. So it seems that Catholics and Jews have helped each other commemorate this very site.
Now also significant was our guided tour through the city of David. This is outside today's city walls and south of the Temple Mount. This was an impregnable little outcropping with sharp slopes heading to the valleys below on either side. The Jebusites occupied this city before David wisely made it his capital. David himself was from Bethlehem, but he understood the importance of keeping family and politics apart. We spent most of the day exploring the water system. This is significant in the digging of Hezekiah's tunnel (2 Chron. 32) and the Pool of Siloam (John 9) to which the tunnel directed its water. Hezekiah built this tunnel in order to conceal the source of his water supply from the Assyrian invaders in the 7th c. BCE.
God bless all of you. I don't have much philosophizing in me today except to tell you that I am happy without deserving to be so. That's the best happiness we can get, being happy in spite of misfortune. I found a kipa (yarmulka) for 10 shekels! And I look darn good in it.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Yad Vashem
Today we visited many places of Christian importance. We went to Ein Kerem (Ein means "spring" as in a source of water) where there are two distinct Churches. One commemorates the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, six months pregnant. The other Church, not far away, commemorates the birth of John. So, at the first they have in the courtyard the famous text, from Luke the Magnificat, "My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord" displayed in many languages. In the other courtyard is the Benedictus, "Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel". Both of these are found in the first chapter of Luke and make excellent passages for prayer.
After Ein Kerem, we went to Yad Vashem, the Israeli holocaust memorial and museum. We were given an hour and a half to walk through the museum. This was my first time really in any kind of holocaust memorial. This museum did a very good job showing the historical progression of anti-semitism and the Nazi rise to power. They have so many pictures, videos, quotations, and artifacts. I was grateful for this day. The part where I happened to break down was when I got to the section on the Warsaw ghetto. Even though the Jewish population of Warsaw was one third of the total, the Jews were forced into a ghetto which took about 3 percent of the cities land. What spoke to me was seeing and hearing how people in the ghetto turned toward music and the arts. In conditions so dehumanizing, courageous souls on the brink of starvation found hope by nurturing those tender things that make us really human.
I could go on about my experience to day, but I will have to be satisfied with recommending it to you or something like it, like the Holocaust memorial in DC for example.
After Ein Kerem, we went to Yad Vashem, the Israeli holocaust memorial and museum. We were given an hour and a half to walk through the museum. This was my first time really in any kind of holocaust memorial. This museum did a very good job showing the historical progression of anti-semitism and the Nazi rise to power. They have so many pictures, videos, quotations, and artifacts. I was grateful for this day. The part where I happened to break down was when I got to the section on the Warsaw ghetto. Even though the Jewish population of Warsaw was one third of the total, the Jews were forced into a ghetto which took about 3 percent of the cities land. What spoke to me was seeing and hearing how people in the ghetto turned toward music and the arts. In conditions so dehumanizing, courageous souls on the brink of starvation found hope by nurturing those tender things that make us really human.
I could go on about my experience to day, but I will have to be satisfied with recommending it to you or something like it, like the Holocaust memorial in DC for example.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Dome of the Rock
Yes, we visited the Dome of the Rock, or Haram esh-Sharif, as they call it in Arabic. It is an important Muslim shrine which commemorates Mohammad's Ascension to heaven or possibly where Abraham sent Ishmael and his mother away. The shrine sits on the Temple Mount, where Abraham went up to sacrifice Isaac and of course where the Temple used to be.So, I have this nice photo. I mean to point out that I should also have written one whole piece on the Western Wall, obviously to the West of where I am in this shot. I do not mean to favor Islam over Judaism in anyway, as you will see.
Now, our tour guide shocked us all by telling us of his lack of certitude as to why this was built. Some say that the Muslims wanted a point of pride in the heavily Byzantine and Christian city. Clearly this dome stands in a way that puts the dome of the Holy Sepulchre in relief. But the Dome of the Rock is not so much a place of worship as of private veneration. The Temple Mount has the Al-Aqsa Mosque for worship. As you can tell from the photo, the shrine is immaculately kept and gold-plated thanks to the gift of the late King Hussein of Jordan. So too all of the Temple mount is administered and well-maintained by the religious authority of the state of Jordan to this very day.
When I was there with the group, I was struck by how tidy the place was. You understand that what I am about to say comes from a Christian perspective. Yet, I am far more aware of my perspective here. In any case, the Holy Sepulchre is filled with tourists from all over, and I think that they come there for a clear reason, rooted in the historical Passion and Resurrection of Christ. I also took much from being at the Western Wall for the start of Shabbat last Friday evening. It was confusing for me with many many groups all praying in different ways, like the confusion some find at the Holy Sepulchre. But religious Jews go to worship there because they seek to comemorate the Temple.
When I see the Dome of the Rock, to me it sends a message of religious hegemony both by its location and its ostentation. And on the ceramic reads also the famous verse from the Qu'ran inviting Christians to abandon their belief in the Trinity. Now, don't feel sorry for me because I actually had a great day visiting this place. Nevertheless, I thought more about my theology and my relation to other religions. Is supercession all that a new religion can offer an older one? When I envision the resurrection, it will not be the time for the Messiah to vindicate one religion over and against all the others. Rather, all we find their place and the final motivation of human religion and progress. In other words, those who believed will be even further rewarded by finally attaining faith's goal. Is it possible for Judaism, Christianity and Islam to instill such hope in people either directly or in ways that we don't always understand? I hope so.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Understanding Homesickness
Dear Friends,
I want to write this a class of third graders at St. Maria Goretti School in Madison whose teacher is Mrs. Amy Colas. All my other friends can read along.
When I was about eight or nine, I started to take little trips away from my house and away from my parents. Going somewhere new can be a very exciting thing. Even if you are just going to stay over night at a friend's house, you are still discovering something new. Your friend's house has different rules than yours, and they might have different ways of having fun or being sad or even of talking to each other. I started to learn about the world when I was still a young boy.
When people get to be older, we all have to go away from home. People go to college. They find jobs and move away. In my case, I have to travel here in another country. I have found out that people have different rules here, even different laws. They aren't really very different, but I will give you an example. On Friday afternoon, I wanted to get my laundry done. So I started walking to a laundromat. When I got there, I learned that the store had closed at 3pm. Here in Israel, all the shops that are Jewish close at 3pm so that everyone can get ready for the Sabbath day. The language is different here, the food is different, and so is time different!
So, whether a person is young or older, it can be very easy to be homesick. Part of it is because we have to learn things that aren't normal for us. It's easy to just get a little tired of doing new things. Other times we don't feel comfortable with the way we need to do things. Something might not seem right to us or even very good. Remember when Moses led Israel into the desert? They had to eat a strange food there, called manna. They ate manna every day. Eventually, they got sick of eating the same thing and complained to God. They wanted to have some meat for a change, like they had in Egypt.
So I think that one reason for being homesick is that there are changes. What do you think? What else can make a person homesick? What's the best cure for being homesick? One way is probably just to talk about it. I think that we all want to learn new things, and that we will. We just need to know that being homesick is not a bad thing, and it's nobody's fault. It is a feeling that we can get almost anywhere. Thank you for thinking about this with me. I hope that we learned to understand this feeling better.
I want to write this a class of third graders at St. Maria Goretti School in Madison whose teacher is Mrs. Amy Colas. All my other friends can read along.
When I was about eight or nine, I started to take little trips away from my house and away from my parents. Going somewhere new can be a very exciting thing. Even if you are just going to stay over night at a friend's house, you are still discovering something new. Your friend's house has different rules than yours, and they might have different ways of having fun or being sad or even of talking to each other. I started to learn about the world when I was still a young boy.
When people get to be older, we all have to go away from home. People go to college. They find jobs and move away. In my case, I have to travel here in another country. I have found out that people have different rules here, even different laws. They aren't really very different, but I will give you an example. On Friday afternoon, I wanted to get my laundry done. So I started walking to a laundromat. When I got there, I learned that the store had closed at 3pm. Here in Israel, all the shops that are Jewish close at 3pm so that everyone can get ready for the Sabbath day. The language is different here, the food is different, and so is time different!
So, whether a person is young or older, it can be very easy to be homesick. Part of it is because we have to learn things that aren't normal for us. It's easy to just get a little tired of doing new things. Other times we don't feel comfortable with the way we need to do things. Something might not seem right to us or even very good. Remember when Moses led Israel into the desert? They had to eat a strange food there, called manna. They ate manna every day. Eventually, they got sick of eating the same thing and complained to God. They wanted to have some meat for a change, like they had in Egypt.
So I think that one reason for being homesick is that there are changes. What do you think? What else can make a person homesick? What's the best cure for being homesick? One way is probably just to talk about it. I think that we all want to learn new things, and that we will. We just need to know that being homesick is not a bad thing, and it's nobody's fault. It is a feeling that we can get almost anywhere. Thank you for thinking about this with me. I hope that we learned to understand this feeling better.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Hello again. We are kept very busy since our arrival here. Not only do we take classes. We have tours in various parts of the Old City and speakers as well who come to lecture to us about important things about Israel, her people, her politics and her religions and their relation to one another.
Where do we stay? We are located at the Notre Dame Center, which is just outside the Old City. It was built by the French toward the end of the 19th as a house for French pilgrims. After the government of the Ottoman Turks began to disintegrate, certain European powers were able to acheive concessions for these kind of pilgrim houses. Shortly after the house was built, a "New Gate" for Jerusalem was built, which is only 125 years old.
One of our speakers described Jerusalem as a time warp. The people here tend to deal with history in terms millenia or at least centuries. This is one of the reasons why there was much trial and error in renovating the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The place where Christ died, was buried, and rose is perhaps the most deeply venerated sight in Christendom, if not the most frequently. During the 1930s, the time of the British mandate government, leaders of the Catholics, Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, and Ethiopians all got together for a plan to make renovations. But the disputes of hundreds or sometimes thousands years were still very much alive, and they were unable to arrange a settlement. In the 1950s, the met again with similar results. Yet the third time there were able to agree on renovation. Fortunately the roof did not collapse in the meantime.
The situation is that the Church cannot merely be a completely unified place of worship. The site of the crucifixtion, Golgotha, is especially venerated. There is a stone that is believed to be where Jesus was laid after he was taken down from the cross. Finally, the main dome of the church draws your attention not to an ordinary altar, but to a smaller chapel. Inside of this chapel is tomb of Jesus Christ, richly adorned with icon and stone. The main apse or the Church is the Greek Orthodox section. There are several other areas in the sprawling structure and caves around the church that are no doubt reserved and dedicated for different people and purposes.
So, when one goes to this Church hidden in the Christian Quarter, there is the danger of being scandalized by all the disorder and disorganization one seems to finds there. I have been there twice, and surely it is not a comfortable parish Church. Rather, for me it is like entering into another world, heaven on Earth. There are so may people and places that I do not yet know there. Yet, the one thing that I do know hightens my senses. Jesus risen from the dead is still alive in the chanting or in every footfall of that holy place.
Last thing. When I was waiting my turn to go into the sepulchre, a women behind me announced that she was Muslim and wanted to know what she was to do in the shrine. She confessed that she was Muslim but she believed in Jesus. I realized that she and I were both walking through one of the most profound and challenging declarations of faith; that of faith in the resurrection. So this is why we are Christian. We believe that Jesus Christ died and rose, reconciling us to God.
I hope to have many more visits to the sepulchre, just 1/2 mile from our hotel. If any other good things come of it, I will be perhaps urged to tell you.
Where do we stay? We are located at the Notre Dame Center, which is just outside the Old City. It was built by the French toward the end of the 19th as a house for French pilgrims. After the government of the Ottoman Turks began to disintegrate, certain European powers were able to acheive concessions for these kind of pilgrim houses. Shortly after the house was built, a "New Gate" for Jerusalem was built, which is only 125 years old.
One of our speakers described Jerusalem as a time warp. The people here tend to deal with history in terms millenia or at least centuries. This is one of the reasons why there was much trial and error in renovating the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The place where Christ died, was buried, and rose is perhaps the most deeply venerated sight in Christendom, if not the most frequently. During the 1930s, the time of the British mandate government, leaders of the Catholics, Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, and Ethiopians all got together for a plan to make renovations. But the disputes of hundreds or sometimes thousands years were still very much alive, and they were unable to arrange a settlement. In the 1950s, the met again with similar results. Yet the third time there were able to agree on renovation. Fortunately the roof did not collapse in the meantime.
The situation is that the Church cannot merely be a completely unified place of worship. The site of the crucifixtion, Golgotha, is especially venerated. There is a stone that is believed to be where Jesus was laid after he was taken down from the cross. Finally, the main dome of the church draws your attention not to an ordinary altar, but to a smaller chapel. Inside of this chapel is tomb of Jesus Christ, richly adorned with icon and stone. The main apse or the Church is the Greek Orthodox section. There are several other areas in the sprawling structure and caves around the church that are no doubt reserved and dedicated for different people and purposes.
So, when one goes to this Church hidden in the Christian Quarter, there is the danger of being scandalized by all the disorder and disorganization one seems to finds there. I have been there twice, and surely it is not a comfortable parish Church. Rather, for me it is like entering into another world, heaven on Earth. There are so may people and places that I do not yet know there. Yet, the one thing that I do know hightens my senses. Jesus risen from the dead is still alive in the chanting or in every footfall of that holy place.
Last thing. When I was waiting my turn to go into the sepulchre, a women behind me announced that she was Muslim and wanted to know what she was to do in the shrine. She confessed that she was Muslim but she believed in Jesus. I realized that she and I were both walking through one of the most profound and challenging declarations of faith; that of faith in the resurrection. So this is why we are Christian. We believe that Jesus Christ died and rose, reconciling us to God.
I hope to have many more visits to the sepulchre, just 1/2 mile from our hotel. If any other good things come of it, I will be perhaps urged to tell you.
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