Today has been another full day. Despite the temperature rising to 42 degrees at lunch time it really has been a superb day in which parts of the Gospel have been brought to life.
The morning started well at 5:45 with a few of us watching the sun rise before a delightful swim in the Sea of Galilee, which was still warm! Morning Prayer followed with a number of us missing the shade of the Tantur garden, although the view was stunning sitting on the terrace looking over the lake (‘cause it isn’t really a sea! – boring, I like it being the sea!). Following an excellent breakfast (Certainly on a par with Tantur), we headed out on our travels.
The first stop was Tabgha – and the Church with remembers the Feeding of the Multitude (Mt13:1-9). This was a simple modern church built on the site of a much more ancient one. The floor was covered with the most beautiful, playful mosaics of animals, birds and plants. The most famous one is that of the loaves and fishes, although my particular favourites were the ones of the goose (so gooselike! And the bird and the rock badger – purely because we saw loads of them in the Wadi Qelt).
Next stop was the church of the Primacy of Saint Peter. This church commemorates the last appearance of Jesus to the disciples before his ascension. Here we heard the reading of this appearance from John 21:1-23. It is a story means a great deal to me, speaking of the love and forgiveness of Jesus to his friend who has let him down so badly. That love which sees deep into our hearts, knows our weaknesses and uncertainties, experiences the pain that our failures bring, yet offers forgiveness and continued love has in many ways and at many times been the thread that has kept me connected to my God, even when many other threads have seemed to be cut. Having spent some time in quiet, with an enormous sense of being held and cherished, I went out to walk on the beach where (maybe) Jesus cooked fish for his friend’s breakfast. To stand in the warm water and look onto the beach it was so possible to imagine seeing Jesus standing there, but much harder to imagine what each of his friends might have felt at seeing him! Yet he met them where they were, offering them reassurance, forgiveness and love.
From this special place we moved on to Capernaum. This town is known from the Gospels as the centre of Jesus’ preaching and teaching work. A great deal of excavation has revealed a large synagogue with two main layers, the most recent from the forth century, but beneath that an earlier one dating back to the first century. As well as this, streets, a waterfront and houses have be discovered including one place which seems to have had three incarnations – a octagonal 5th century house, a 4th century sacred house with graffiti written by pilgrims praising God, beneath this seems to have been a 1st century house which is strongly thought to be Peter’s house, where Jesus spent time and may have even lived. This house is protected by a fantastic modern Church (the cynic in me thought of flying saucers! Oops sorry – v. irreverent!!) . Inside however it is beautifully proportioned, open and light, making the most of modern architecture, the links to Christian history and identity and the beauty of the local environment to make a joyful worshiping space.
As is the nature of this type of day (lots to see in a limited time) it wasn’t long before we had to move on. This account does make it seem more rushed than it was. At each stop we read relevant pieces of scripture, we were given time to pray together and to spend time in silence reflecting. Looking around time is not extensive but was a lot less pressured than many groups seem to get, where the order of the day feels more like ticking boxes rather than appreciating a little of the significance and relevance of each sight.
Our next stop was at the church which commemorates the Sermon on the Mount. This was one that many of our group found very moving. Maybe it was the heat, which was rising fast, the crowds or hurrying pilgrims (as above) or that when I finally found somewhere to sit quietly the ants found me and filled my shoes (brave creatures!) but I struggled to really appreciate this one. Ah well – another time maybe!
From here we moved on to a real treat – a trip across the Sea of Galilee on a lovely wooden boat, which was encouragingly was called ‘Noah’!! As the only passengers our group were free to wander from side to side, and pose for a group photo. Mid way we stopped and I read the account of the Stilling of the Storm – Mark 4:35 to the end. (“Would you like to use the microphone to make yourself heard” - Well what do you think?!) Even on a calm summers day cool air can be drawn onto the water from the surrounding hills causing a storm to rise up. Fortunately today was not one of those days and we reached the other side safely. From here the boating theme continued as we went to see a 1st century boat which was discovered and painstakingly rescued from the mud in the sea. The process took many years, amazing skill, a few hungry fish to eat out the worms and bacteria before huge quantities of chemicals insured its preservation. An enormous job but well worth it. It was quiet incredible to see the type of boat which Jesus and his disciples would have been in. Personally in their shoes I would have been right there with the disciples, panicking hard – it was a very little boat to hold 13 grown men and whether a storm!
This blog has gone on far too long and by that stage it was beginning to feel like our morning had too. Fortunately for us the next stop was a restaurant where we were fed Peter’s fish (as of the ones which occasionally have coins in their mouths – Matthew 17:24-27!). We found no coins but the fish was very good indeed.
After lunch a trip right around the lake / Sea in our lovely cool coach followed. One brief stop to look at the excavations at Kursi, one possible side of the healing of the Gerasene demoniac. Once again the extreme heat got the better of me and my only thought on the matter (not based on any Biblical or historical truth) is that if it was a hot as today, the pigs would have been a whole lot happier in the water!!
This was very much in my mind as we headed back to the hotel and within 10 minutes of arriving I was happily swimming. Having been told that it was about 8 miles across I began to try and work out how many laps of our little cordoned of bit of the Sea I would have to swim to do the equivalent distance. This calculation took a great deal of thought, so long that I ended up swimming and 1000 metres which doing it!! Shame that at this rate I would have to do the same for the next eleven days! Even with a proposed general strike which may close the airport (don’t panic – popular opinion is that it is all about brinkmanship and very unlikely to happen) I don’t think that I will swim quiet that far. I am however planning to get up early and swim in the morning to that’s all for tonight.
Hope you haven’t gone to sleep reading this! J
Helen xxx
Thursday, July 26, 2007
A little bit of luxury
I am writing this sat on my balcony of the Ron Beach Hotel, Tiberius, overlooking the
Sea of Galilee. The heat of the sun has dropped just a little; the air is warm with just a faint breeze. Whilst waiting for the MS Word programme to load I flicked through the music stored on my laptop – Chris de Burgh – Love Songs, first track ‘Here is Your Paradise’ seemed to fit the bill. Over by the pool the last few families are finishing up their playing before going in for dinner. I wish my family was here. They would love it so much. The track changes – ‘Missing you’. Yep- that about sums it up. This is the most wonderful land – but it would be so much better with them here. We have to come back here together!
A wooden pleasure boat is running along the lake in front of me. On the far side the lake the Golan Heights are part obscured in the heat haze. Earlier as we swam, amongst the little fishes (Peter’s?), the haze cleared for a few moments and the colours in the hills glowed.
Swimming is delightful. The pool is on the warm side and got a tad crowded (with all of us lot in). The sea was cooler, wonderfully not salty or chlorinated. It has a gravel beach and a cordoned off area in which to swim. The plan is to get up early and swim before Morning Prayer which is at 7 a.m.
(Later)
The hotel is air conditioned the bedrooms especially well. It is necessary as being below sea level the temperatures are in the high forties. Even this evening walking into town the air was still and extremely warm. The town is a real seaside resort which would make Blackpool look classy. A group of us walked up to have a look, found an Internet cafe and wandered back to chat and play silly games.
The rest of the day has been a bit of a blur for me. A late night last night (blogging) and a very early start this morning, plus the heat left me with little enthusiasm for yet more stones and a nagging headache.
Our main objective was to travel north but with some stops on the way. First we went to Caesarea Maritima , Herod the Great fantastic building project to build a complete new city for himself on the coast. We saw a huge theatre, a amphitheatre, his seaside swimming pool and what remains of the harbour for which he (or his underlings) developed concrete which would harden underwater! We also saw a may well be the hall in which Paul was tried before Aggripa (Acts 25:23).
Next we moved a little up the coast to see part of the huge Aqueduct which Herod built to supply water to his city. While we were there we grabbed the opportunity to have a quick paddle in the sea. Being more used to the chilly waters off Devon and Cornwall it felt really lovely and a little strange to paddle in warm water. Unfortunately and to the amusement of those taking photos from the safety of the beach I had not accounted for the waves! Ah well in these temperatures you soon dry.
Sadly we could not stay on the beach. All too soon we where chivvied onto the bus and off we went to Mount Carmel, the probable site where Elijah battled and prevailed against the prophets of Ba’al. Mercifully breezy the views from here would have been great although they were obscured by the ever present haze.
The next stop was Megiddo, an important trading fort over many centuries and for some the real or symbolic Armageddon referred to in the Book of Revelation. Despite stopping for lunch by this stage I was really not able to take in any more. Everyone seemed to be struggling and eventually we admitted defeat and headed for Tiberius and the hotel.
Hopefully with a good night’s sleep and plenty of fluids tomorrow will be a more manageable day. Thank goodness for the air conditioning and the sea!
Sea of Galilee. The heat of the sun has dropped just a little; the air is warm with just a faint breeze. Whilst waiting for the MS Word programme to load I flicked through the music stored on my laptop – Chris de Burgh – Love Songs, first track ‘Here is Your Paradise’ seemed to fit the bill. Over by the pool the last few families are finishing up their playing before going in for dinner. I wish my family was here. They would love it so much. The track changes – ‘Missing you’. Yep- that about sums it up. This is the most wonderful land – but it would be so much better with them here. We have to come back here together!
A wooden pleasure boat is running along the lake in front of me. On the far side the lake the Golan Heights are part obscured in the heat haze. Earlier as we swam, amongst the little fishes (Peter’s?), the haze cleared for a few moments and the colours in the hills glowed.
Swimming is delightful. The pool is on the warm side and got a tad crowded (with all of us lot in). The sea was cooler, wonderfully not salty or chlorinated. It has a gravel beach and a cordoned off area in which to swim. The plan is to get up early and swim before Morning Prayer which is at 7 a.m.
(Later)
The hotel is air conditioned the bedrooms especially well. It is necessary as being below sea level the temperatures are in the high forties. Even this evening walking into town the air was still and extremely warm. The town is a real seaside resort which would make Blackpool look classy. A group of us walked up to have a look, found an Internet cafe and wandered back to chat and play silly games.
The rest of the day has been a bit of a blur for me. A late night last night (blogging) and a very early start this morning, plus the heat left me with little enthusiasm for yet more stones and a nagging headache.
Our main objective was to travel north but with some stops on the way. First we went to Caesarea Maritima , Herod the Great fantastic building project to build a complete new city for himself on the coast. We saw a huge theatre, a amphitheatre, his seaside swimming pool and what remains of the harbour for which he (or his underlings) developed concrete which would harden underwater! We also saw a may well be the hall in which Paul was tried before Aggripa (Acts 25:23).
Next we moved a little up the coast to see part of the huge Aqueduct which Herod built to supply water to his city. While we were there we grabbed the opportunity to have a quick paddle in the sea. Being more used to the chilly waters off Devon and Cornwall it felt really lovely and a little strange to paddle in warm water. Unfortunately and to the amusement of those taking photos from the safety of the beach I had not accounted for the waves! Ah well in these temperatures you soon dry.
Sadly we could not stay on the beach. All too soon we where chivvied onto the bus and off we went to Mount Carmel, the probable site where Elijah battled and prevailed against the prophets of Ba’al. Mercifully breezy the views from here would have been great although they were obscured by the ever present haze.
The next stop was Megiddo, an important trading fort over many centuries and for some the real or symbolic Armageddon referred to in the Book of Revelation. Despite stopping for lunch by this stage I was really not able to take in any more. Everyone seemed to be struggling and eventually we admitted defeat and headed for Tiberius and the hotel.
Hopefully with a good night’s sleep and plenty of fluids tomorrow will be a more manageable day. Thank goodness for the air conditioning and the sea!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
From Jersusalem to Jericho
This will have to be a brief post as it is late and tomorrow we leave at 7 am to head up to Galilee via Caesarea Maritima (http://www.bibleplaces.com/caesarea.htm), a little light paddling in the Med, Megiddo (http://www.bibleplaces.com/megiddo.htm) and Mount Carmel (http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtcarmel.htm).
Today has been a real day to remember. We walked the Jerusalem to Jericho road.
Now two brief points of clarification:-
1. We didn't actually walk all the way from Jerusalem to Jericho - actually we walked down the Wadi Qelt from St. George's monastery (having looked around at some wonderful relics - skulls, bones and a uncorrupted body and been given some refreshments!) into the outskirts of Jericho where our wonderful bus driver (Samir) reversed up a very narrow road for about half a mile to rescue us.
2. To call it a 'road' is overstating things considerably!! A path, sometimes as narrow as 1' 6'' wide, but generally about 4' wide would be more accurate. Add to this some steep inclines and descents, plenty of rocks and stones and a small piece of cliff climbing which needed some very generous pulling and shoving from two of my fellow travellers (thanks David and Sam) and you get the idea.
Having said all that (and yes Mum I did arrive back safe and sound - just - although for the state of my trousers - see left!) this was the most incredible experience. The walk took about 1 and 3/4 hours in total. For the first half of this time we walked in near silence, and yet as before the air was full of sound. Bird song, familiar yet beautifully different was all around, water rushed down from springs and along the bottom of the canyon (30 - 60 feet below us) and the sound of running feet as a local Bedouin who attached himself to our group raced backwards and forwards, springing off rocks to help the less sure (your truly amongst them) over more tricky bits.
This was no easy stroll, the temperature was somewhere in the very high 30's, and I was very glad of all the water I was carrying, the large hat, and plenty of sunscreen. It is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Especially when I read that wonderful parable of Jesus - The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010%20:25-37&version=31). This truly came to life. The roughness and loneliness of the road for us was a challenge but an adventure, for a solitary traveller it would have been desperate. Even I surrounded by friends felt my heart lift at Jericho came into view between the hills.
There were plenty of large boulders to hide bandits (though I admire their stamina it that heat - getting a regular job would attract me far more!). Further more if I had a picture of a wide road where the priest and Levite could walk by almost not noticing the victim then this was mistake;
the narrowness of the path with cliff falling away bellow and rising up above would have meant that the only way to past would have been practically to climb over him, or at least pass very close to his side (even allowing for erosion over time).
This was a road that Jesus and his listeners would have known well. The final revelation was to realise what it would have meant for the Samaritan to lift a wounded, semi-unconscious man onto a donkey, in that heat, on that path and continue on with him down to Jericho. Quite apart from the well documented sacrifice to his social, financial and political state this man took a huge risk with his own safety. In a beautiful but dangerous place like this, the command 'Go and do likewise' takes on a whole new meaning.
For us today on reaching the air conditioned bus, to be driven to a restaurant where we were able to eat our sandwiches supplemented by well appreciated ice-cream, we felt a sense of achievement. But deeper down in mine and many other peoples minds was the realisation that our future ministries may really call us to love and not count the cost! This will be a far greater challenge, but one which I am sure in faith we will be equipped.
Tomorrow as I said we are off up to Galilee for what promises to be a full, interesting and exciting four days before we return home on Sunday. We have been warned that internet access though available at the hotel may be very expensive. So if you don't hear from me on this blog - Don't panic (Mum - in particular :-) !!) I will be typing but it may have to wait til I get home to upload.
So ta, ta for now.
Good bye to Jerusalam and our wonderful hosts at Tantur (I will be back!).
Galillee here I come.
Helen xxx
Today has been a real day to remember. We walked the Jerusalem to Jericho road.
Now two brief points of clarification:-
1. We didn't actually walk all the way from Jerusalem to Jericho - actually we walked down the Wadi Qelt from St. George's monastery (having looked around at some wonderful relics - skulls, bones and a uncorrupted body and been given some refreshments!) into the outskirts of Jericho where our wonderful bus driver (Samir) reversed up a very narrow road for about half a mile to rescue us.
2. To call it a 'road' is overstating things considerably!! A path, sometimes as narrow as 1' 6'' wide, but generally about 4' wide would be more accurate. Add to this some steep inclines and descents, plenty of rocks and stones and a small piece of cliff climbing which needed some very generous pulling and shoving from two of my fellow travellers (thanks David and Sam) and you get the idea.
Having said all that (and yes Mum I did arrive back safe and sound - just - although for the state of my trousers - see left!) this was the most incredible experience. The walk took about 1 and 3/4 hours in total. For the first half of this time we walked in near silence, and yet as before the air was full of sound. Bird song, familiar yet beautifully different was all around, water rushed down from springs and along the bottom of the canyon (30 - 60 feet below us) and the sound of running feet as a local Bedouin who attached himself to our group raced backwards and forwards, springing off rocks to help the less sure (your truly amongst them) over more tricky bits.
This was no easy stroll, the temperature was somewhere in the very high 30's, and I was very glad of all the water I was carrying, the large hat, and plenty of sunscreen. It is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Especially when I read that wonderful parable of Jesus - The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010%20:25-37&version=31). This truly came to life. The roughness and loneliness of the road for us was a challenge but an adventure, for a solitary traveller it would have been desperate. Even I surrounded by friends felt my heart lift at Jericho came into view between the hills.
There were plenty of large boulders to hide bandits (though I admire their stamina it that heat - getting a regular job would attract me far more!). Further more if I had a picture of a wide road where the priest and Levite could walk by almost not noticing the victim then this was mistake;
the narrowness of the path with cliff falling away bellow and rising up above would have meant that the only way to past would have been practically to climb over him, or at least pass very close to his side (even allowing for erosion over time).
This was a road that Jesus and his listeners would have known well. The final revelation was to realise what it would have meant for the Samaritan to lift a wounded, semi-unconscious man onto a donkey, in that heat, on that path and continue on with him down to Jericho. Quite apart from the well documented sacrifice to his social, financial and political state this man took a huge risk with his own safety. In a beautiful but dangerous place like this, the command 'Go and do likewise' takes on a whole new meaning.
For us today on reaching the air conditioned bus, to be driven to a restaurant where we were able to eat our sandwiches supplemented by well appreciated ice-cream, we felt a sense of achievement. But deeper down in mine and many other peoples minds was the realisation that our future ministries may really call us to love and not count the cost! This will be a far greater challenge, but one which I am sure in faith we will be equipped.
Tomorrow as I said we are off up to Galilee for what promises to be a full, interesting and exciting four days before we return home on Sunday. We have been warned that internet access though available at the hotel may be very expensive. So if you don't hear from me on this blog - Don't panic (Mum - in particular :-) !!) I will be typing but it may have to wait til I get home to upload.
So ta, ta for now.
Good bye to Jerusalam and our wonderful hosts at Tantur (I will be back!).
Galillee here I come.
Helen xxx
Sharing Worship
One of the many joys of this trip has been sharing in worship with people of different traditions and experiences. This has happened during a number of ways during my time at Tantur.
Every morning (apart from Sunday) has begun with Morning Prayer said in the garden at Tantur. At this early hour (sometimes as early as 6a.m.!) the sun is up but the real heat of the day is still to build. Prayer has been led by a different person from the British Trust for Tantur group (of which I am a member). The prayer has followed the Anglican Common Worship form with its mix of prayers, psalms, canticles and readings. You would expect that this would not leave much space for variation but as each person has led it has been wonderful to feel the warmth and strength of their particular tradition and personality shining through.
Each evening we return to Tantur and a 5:30 pm we meet in the chapel for Evening Worship. This the ‘British Trust group’ share with the other residents of Tantur – people from America, Australia, Italy and a number of other countries who have come together to study and experience the Holy Land for a whole month. Many of this group are already ordained into a range of Churches. The service is much more open to each pair leading to bring the richness of their own tradition to worship. We have followed the Lutheran rite for evening worship, Roman Catholic prayers from the Carmelite Order; we have spent time in silent meditation around a visual interpretation of the conflict in this land; we have been invited to express our prayer visually using paint and coloured pens. We have journeyed out from the Chapel onto the roof area to overlook and pray for Bethlehem and we have said Anglican Evening Prayer, amongst others which I may well have forgotten. As you can see this has been an enormously rich and spiritually rewarding experience. Despite our many differences which we have discussed at some length over meals and the occasional evening beer, we have come together with a common desire to praise God and pray for his people.
This unity of purpose was particularly illustrated last week when those of us in the ‘British Trust group’ came together for a memorial service for the brother of Jones, one of our number. His brother Beverley had tragically died of Malaria over the weekend which was left untreated due to the doctors and nurses being on strike in their home country of Zambia. We came together on the same day of the funeral, prayed, thanked God for his life and held Jones and his wider family up to the comforting care of God. In speaking of Beverley, Jones gave us a picture of a strong, caring brother whose encouragement for Jones to play the guitar led him to attend church regularly where he could borrow a guitar to play and it time to be ordained and become an Archdeacon and bishop’s assistant in Zambia. At this moment divisions took second place behind our care for Jones, our trust in the Resurrection hope and our need for the strengthening love of God.
Further afield
Sorry that this seems to have become such a long posting. There is so much to tell!!
Four other experiences must be briefly mentioned.
On the first Sunday we visited the Carmelite Church of Abu Gosh, one of several proposed sites of the post Easter appearance of Jesus at Emmaus. Although in French, this Catholic Mass was reasonably easy to follow (even with my most basic level French!). Is was also stunningly beautiful, sung in Plain Chant the only accompaniment being that of a harp (played by one of the Nuns) and flute (played by one of the monks). To see a short video containing some of the singing from Abu Gosh click on 'The Calling Voice' - left.
Last Friday some of us were lucky enough to be able to attend a Shabbat eve service at Kehilat Kol Haneshama (http://www.kolhaneshama.org.il/english/index.asp). This is a Progressive Jewish synagogue / community centre (hence ‘Kehilat’). We were met and told about the work of the synagogue which is very active in the local community and in encouraging both equality and moves towards peace. The service then began and we were encourage to take part. I will endeavour to copy the introduction of the service book and its instructions concerning prayer. I feel it expresses things that any praying person would do well to hear. The service was great. The congregation of about 300 had almost every age from babies to the elderly well represented. The singing was wonderful, traditional Jewish melodies clearly deep from the heart, with some which reminded me of the music of Taize and some modern choruses. Prayers and some of the songs were translated as well as being written down in Latin letters alongside the Hebrew so we were able to join in with some of them. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. This synagogue is unusual in Jerusalem – most being much more orthodox. It was a great way to hear about a more modern interpretation of the Jewish tradition and to see it in action.
This Sunday Jonah (my fellow Cuddesdonite traveller) and I went into Bethlehem to the Lutheran Christmas Church (http://www.bethlehemchristmaslutheran.org/). We attended a service of the Word with a Baptism of a little Palestinian boy. The congregation was largely made up Palestinian Christians with on visiting Swedish observer from the World Council of Churches and one other American lady who regularly leads groups to Bethlehem as tourists and as volunteers to work with the needy in the community. The service was in Arabic apart from the baptism which was in German. Once again we were able to take part in the service due to some excellent translations. It was wonderful to be able to worship together and to be made to feel so welcomed by this people who are suffering through being a double minority – they are Palestinians in Israel and they are Christian amongst Palestinians. After the service we went into their Church hall for coffee and excellent cake. With the Sunday School display on the wall, the parents chatting and cooing over the newly baptised baby and the children chasing around we could have been anywhere rather than in a town besieged by a 24 foot concrete and barbed wire covered wall celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace!
Well that is my round up of sharing worship in and around Tantur. To end with maybe the oldest written prayer, and a beautiful blessing - why not click on 'The Lord Bless you and Keep you' - left.
Thanks for reading.
Helen x
Every morning (apart from Sunday) has begun with Morning Prayer said in the garden at Tantur. At this early hour (sometimes as early as 6a.m.!) the sun is up but the real heat of the day is still to build. Prayer has been led by a different person from the British Trust for Tantur group (of which I am a member). The prayer has followed the Anglican Common Worship form with its mix of prayers, psalms, canticles and readings. You would expect that this would not leave much space for variation but as each person has led it has been wonderful to feel the warmth and strength of their particular tradition and personality shining through.
Each evening we return to Tantur and a 5:30 pm we meet in the chapel for Evening Worship. This the ‘British Trust group’ share with the other residents of Tantur – people from America, Australia, Italy and a number of other countries who have come together to study and experience the Holy Land for a whole month. Many of this group are already ordained into a range of Churches. The service is much more open to each pair leading to bring the richness of their own tradition to worship. We have followed the Lutheran rite for evening worship, Roman Catholic prayers from the Carmelite Order; we have spent time in silent meditation around a visual interpretation of the conflict in this land; we have been invited to express our prayer visually using paint and coloured pens. We have journeyed out from the Chapel onto the roof area to overlook and pray for Bethlehem and we have said Anglican Evening Prayer, amongst others which I may well have forgotten. As you can see this has been an enormously rich and spiritually rewarding experience. Despite our many differences which we have discussed at some length over meals and the occasional evening beer, we have come together with a common desire to praise God and pray for his people.
This unity of purpose was particularly illustrated last week when those of us in the ‘British Trust group’ came together for a memorial service for the brother of Jones, one of our number. His brother Beverley had tragically died of Malaria over the weekend which was left untreated due to the doctors and nurses being on strike in their home country of Zambia. We came together on the same day of the funeral, prayed, thanked God for his life and held Jones and his wider family up to the comforting care of God. In speaking of Beverley, Jones gave us a picture of a strong, caring brother whose encouragement for Jones to play the guitar led him to attend church regularly where he could borrow a guitar to play and it time to be ordained and become an Archdeacon and bishop’s assistant in Zambia. At this moment divisions took second place behind our care for Jones, our trust in the Resurrection hope and our need for the strengthening love of God.
Further afield
Sorry that this seems to have become such a long posting. There is so much to tell!!
Four other experiences must be briefly mentioned.
On the first Sunday we visited the Carmelite Church of Abu Gosh, one of several proposed sites of the post Easter appearance of Jesus at Emmaus. Although in French, this Catholic Mass was reasonably easy to follow (even with my most basic level French!). Is was also stunningly beautiful, sung in Plain Chant the only accompaniment being that of a harp (played by one of the Nuns) and flute (played by one of the monks). To see a short video containing some of the singing from Abu Gosh click on 'The Calling Voice' - left.
Last Friday some of us were lucky enough to be able to attend a Shabbat eve service at Kehilat Kol Haneshama (http://www.kolhaneshama.org.il/english/index.asp). This is a Progressive Jewish synagogue / community centre (hence ‘Kehilat’). We were met and told about the work of the synagogue which is very active in the local community and in encouraging both equality and moves towards peace. The service then began and we were encourage to take part. I will endeavour to copy the introduction of the service book and its instructions concerning prayer. I feel it expresses things that any praying person would do well to hear. The service was great. The congregation of about 300 had almost every age from babies to the elderly well represented. The singing was wonderful, traditional Jewish melodies clearly deep from the heart, with some which reminded me of the music of Taize and some modern choruses. Prayers and some of the songs were translated as well as being written down in Latin letters alongside the Hebrew so we were able to join in with some of them. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. This synagogue is unusual in Jerusalem – most being much more orthodox. It was a great way to hear about a more modern interpretation of the Jewish tradition and to see it in action.
This Sunday Jonah (my fellow Cuddesdonite traveller) and I went into Bethlehem to the Lutheran Christmas Church (http://www.bethlehemchristmaslutheran.org/). We attended a service of the Word with a Baptism of a little Palestinian boy. The congregation was largely made up Palestinian Christians with on visiting Swedish observer from the World Council of Churches and one other American lady who regularly leads groups to Bethlehem as tourists and as volunteers to work with the needy in the community. The service was in Arabic apart from the baptism which was in German. Once again we were able to take part in the service due to some excellent translations. It was wonderful to be able to worship together and to be made to feel so welcomed by this people who are suffering through being a double minority – they are Palestinians in Israel and they are Christian amongst Palestinians. After the service we went into their Church hall for coffee and excellent cake. With the Sunday School display on the wall, the parents chatting and cooing over the newly baptised baby and the children chasing around we could have been anywhere rather than in a town besieged by a 24 foot concrete and barbed wire covered wall celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace!
Well that is my round up of sharing worship in and around Tantur. To end with maybe the oldest written prayer, and a beautiful blessing - why not click on 'The Lord Bless you and Keep you' - left.
Thanks for reading.
Helen x
Monday, July 23, 2007
OK - catching up time.
Well the time of reckoning is truly here. Time to try and piece together what I have been doing over the last few days.
It's not that I can't be bothered to blog about all that I am seeing and doing; its just that there is so much of it and also this computer room, though very wonderful, is a cross between my mum's oven on baking day (without the nice smells) and the fiery furnaces of hell (especially when the Internet crashes just as people are in the middle of downloading emails from their loved ones)! Also, as you may have guessed from yesterday's post (what do you mean you haven't read it??) a lot of what I have been experiencing has given me much food for thought - and what better way to digest such, as with a nice cool beer, sitting out on the patio, listening to the Call to Prayer (in Quadraphonic sound from the various mosques around Tantur), setting the world to rights and playing silly games! Oops and you thought I was studying!!
OK enough self revelation, here we go.
- By the way - I will be putting links into this bit where you can look at some excellent pictures (not mine - they tend to just look like more piles of stones) and some brief information about each site. Then if you are interested you can look. I can then spend my time recounting my impressions - ok? Good.
Friday saw us heading out into the desert for a mammoth history lesson spanning over 5000 years.
Firstly Tel Arad (http://www.bibleplaces.com/arad.htm) a desert city and fort which has been populated since 3000BCE. It was amazing, but if I am honest, a little mind boggling. Amazing partly that anyone would want to live in a place like this. But clearly they did, repeatedly over many centuries. Not only that, in a time when the only place of worship in Judaism was in Jerusalem, a sacrificial alter and even a Holy of Holies have been found.
Next we moved on to Mamshit (http://www.bibleplaces.com/mampsis.htm), a major trading centre in the Nabatean, Roman and Byzantin periods (no I don't know when that was either - try Googling it!). We saw a market street, bright wall paintings (of a somewhat dubious nature) and a beautiful mosaic in a 4th Century church. Although the most recent bit of the site it was that which I enjoyed seeing most here. I seemed more within my grasp - the colours were so clear that is wasn't hard to imagine people gathering to worship Christ in this place - in different ways maybe, but experiencing the same faith as Christians do today!
We were next taken from this site on foot further out into the desert. Although we only went a matter of 15 / 20 minutes from the road, we could have been days or weeks from any other human beings - as it was for the Patriarchs wandinging these places. We sat under a ledge in silence for 4 or 5 minutes. This empty place was of course full of sound and life. Birds flying and singing, a lizzard which sat behind some of us sitting and watched, the breeze (so longed for) whispered. It was the most beautiful and profound experience.
4 minutes - incredible, but
4 hours? 4 days? 40 days? - unimagimable. That would test and prove reliance on God to the ultimate.
We heard readings from the Hebrew scriptures which refer to God's people's experience of the wilderness. I include them here both for your interest, but mostly for my memory and future reference.
I Kings 19:3-19 - Elijiah going into the wilderness in despair and being met and strengthened by God - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019:3-19&version=31
Isaiah 32:13-16 - his vision of the desert becoming a fertile field. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2032:13-16;&version=31;
Psalm 107 :33 - 40 - The fertile land becoming a desert and then being restored. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Psalm%20107%20:33%20-%2040;&version=31;
Isaiah 40: 3-8 - A voice of one calling:"In the desert . . . . . . http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2040%20:3-8;&version=31;
Psalm 69 :1-4, 15-16 - the other side of the wilderness, when sudden rains flood down the ravine and ingulf all in their path (rather like the UK at the moment!) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2069%20:1-%2016;&version=31;
Jeremiah 2 : 6 - a vivid description - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%202%20:%206;&version=31;
Psalm 23 - writen by a man who knew the wilderness experience from his boyhood, the valley of death was clear in his memory. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023;&version=31;
Well there was yet more that day! - Tel Beer Sheva - http://www.bibleplaces.com/beersheba.htm but as I have to be up at 5 am to venture out into the wilderness once more - I will leave you to look at that for yourselves.
Goodnight. H x
It's not that I can't be bothered to blog about all that I am seeing and doing; its just that there is so much of it and also this computer room, though very wonderful, is a cross between my mum's oven on baking day (without the nice smells) and the fiery furnaces of hell (especially when the Internet crashes just as people are in the middle of downloading emails from their loved ones)! Also, as you may have guessed from yesterday's post (what do you mean you haven't read it??) a lot of what I have been experiencing has given me much food for thought - and what better way to digest such, as with a nice cool beer, sitting out on the patio, listening to the Call to Prayer (in Quadraphonic sound from the various mosques around Tantur), setting the world to rights and playing silly games! Oops and you thought I was studying!!
OK enough self revelation, here we go.
- By the way - I will be putting links into this bit where you can look at some excellent pictures (not mine - they tend to just look like more piles of stones) and some brief information about each site. Then if you are interested you can look. I can then spend my time recounting my impressions - ok? Good.
Friday saw us heading out into the desert for a mammoth history lesson spanning over 5000 years.
Firstly Tel Arad (http://www.bibleplaces.com/arad.htm) a desert city and fort which has been populated since 3000BCE. It was amazing, but if I am honest, a little mind boggling. Amazing partly that anyone would want to live in a place like this. But clearly they did, repeatedly over many centuries. Not only that, in a time when the only place of worship in Judaism was in Jerusalem, a sacrificial alter and even a Holy of Holies have been found.
Next we moved on to Mamshit (http://www.bibleplaces.com/mampsis.htm), a major trading centre in the Nabatean, Roman and Byzantin periods (no I don't know when that was either - try Googling it!). We saw a market street, bright wall paintings (of a somewhat dubious nature) and a beautiful mosaic in a 4th Century church. Although the most recent bit of the site it was that which I enjoyed seeing most here. I seemed more within my grasp - the colours were so clear that is wasn't hard to imagine people gathering to worship Christ in this place - in different ways maybe, but experiencing the same faith as Christians do today!
We were next taken from this site on foot further out into the desert. Although we only went a matter of 15 / 20 minutes from the road, we could have been days or weeks from any other human beings - as it was for the Patriarchs wandinging these places. We sat under a ledge in silence for 4 or 5 minutes. This empty place was of course full of sound and life. Birds flying and singing, a lizzard which sat behind some of us sitting and watched, the breeze (so longed for) whispered. It was the most beautiful and profound experience.
4 minutes - incredible, but
4 hours? 4 days? 40 days? - unimagimable. That would test and prove reliance on God to the ultimate.
We heard readings from the Hebrew scriptures which refer to God's people's experience of the wilderness. I include them here both for your interest, but mostly for my memory and future reference.
I Kings 19:3-19 - Elijiah going into the wilderness in despair and being met and strengthened by God - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019:3-19&version=31
Isaiah 32:13-16 - his vision of the desert becoming a fertile field. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2032:13-16;&version=31;
Psalm 107 :33 - 40 - The fertile land becoming a desert and then being restored. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Psalm%20107%20:33%20-%2040;&version=31;
Isaiah 40: 3-8 - A voice of one calling:"In the desert . . . . . . http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2040%20:3-8;&version=31;
Psalm 69 :1-4, 15-16 - the other side of the wilderness, when sudden rains flood down the ravine and ingulf all in their path (rather like the UK at the moment!) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2069%20:1-%2016;&version=31;
Jeremiah 2 : 6 - a vivid description - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%202%20:%206;&version=31;
Psalm 23 - writen by a man who knew the wilderness experience from his boyhood, the valley of death was clear in his memory. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023;&version=31;
Well there was yet more that day! - Tel Beer Sheva - http://www.bibleplaces.com/beersheba.htm but as I have to be up at 5 am to venture out into the wilderness once more - I will leave you to look at that for yourselves.
Goodnight. H x
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Things arrive at the right time
A good friend recommended this site to me. http://www.sacredspace.ie/ It seems very simple and very good.
It gives prayers and a reading for each day. It encourages you to take time to do these important things.
The text for today was Mary and Martha - it spoke to me just when and what I needed to hear.
I am in the middle of an amazing experience. Seeing and learning about so many things, many of them conflicting with each other. My response is to race around and see more. It is almost too overwhelming to try and think about all the information that is coming in.
Yet in the middle of it all is a still centre - sort of God space. 'Still' maybe isn't the best word. God isn't still, as in inactive.
It's a bit like the pool that forms at the bottom of a waterfall. Ideas get swept down; the light, easy ones spill out and bob off downstream; the heavier ones roll round and round in the flowing water of prayer, bits of scripture, love, my history and experience. They bump against each other - knocking off corners changing as the interaction and the contact forms them. Then eventually they emerge, mostly unnoticed, sometime useful and occasionally beautiful (for me anyway) and worth sticking in a pocket to pull out and remember on another occasion.
What has this to do with Mary and Martha? - Well it just reminded me that to sit at the feet of Christ is just as important a use of my time, as rushing around seeing things and collecting experiences.
OK, so I know that is obvious and I have heard as many hundred sermons to that effect (and I will probably preach a fair few in the future), but it was what I needed to hear right now, so I though I would share it with you.
Another friend commented that my trip here seemed a lot about sight seeing. Yes it has been, but it has also been about so much more.
It has been about absorbing the fact that people with vehemently differing views about the conflict out here (Jews, Palestinians, Muslims, Christians etc.), are all people of good will and not the media stereotypes.
It's been about walking in the city where Jesus walked, accepting that it is nothing like it was then, but that through the prayers of the many people who come here (however strange their customs) because of his life and death and resurrection, he is still here.
It is also a lot about trying to reconcile this huge scar across the Holy Land (the 'Security Barrier'), which treats people like criminals and cattle, and the fact that I can only reach a partial understanding (however awful it clearly is) because I have never lost a child at the hands of a bomb and am unlikely ever to do so.
As you see there are many, many heavy things in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, and the water keeps on flowing. So just to say that I am sorry I haven't been very good at keeping up to date over the last few days. (I will try to catch up a little.) I am still here and like Martha I am learning that sometimes I need to sit with my Lord, learn from Him and let things work their way out.
Thanks for your patience. Helen. x
It gives prayers and a reading for each day. It encourages you to take time to do these important things.
The text for today was Mary and Martha - it spoke to me just when and what I needed to hear.
I am in the middle of an amazing experience. Seeing and learning about so many things, many of them conflicting with each other. My response is to race around and see more. It is almost too overwhelming to try and think about all the information that is coming in.
Yet in the middle of it all is a still centre - sort of God space. 'Still' maybe isn't the best word. God isn't still, as in inactive.
It's a bit like the pool that forms at the bottom of a waterfall. Ideas get swept down; the light, easy ones spill out and bob off downstream; the heavier ones roll round and round in the flowing water of prayer, bits of scripture, love, my history and experience. They bump against each other - knocking off corners changing as the interaction and the contact forms them. Then eventually they emerge, mostly unnoticed, sometime useful and occasionally beautiful (for me anyway) and worth sticking in a pocket to pull out and remember on another occasion.
What has this to do with Mary and Martha? - Well it just reminded me that to sit at the feet of Christ is just as important a use of my time, as rushing around seeing things and collecting experiences.
OK, so I know that is obvious and I have heard as many hundred sermons to that effect (and I will probably preach a fair few in the future), but it was what I needed to hear right now, so I though I would share it with you.
Another friend commented that my trip here seemed a lot about sight seeing. Yes it has been, but it has also been about so much more.
It has been about absorbing the fact that people with vehemently differing views about the conflict out here (Jews, Palestinians, Muslims, Christians etc.), are all people of good will and not the media stereotypes.
It's been about walking in the city where Jesus walked, accepting that it is nothing like it was then, but that through the prayers of the many people who come here (however strange their customs) because of his life and death and resurrection, he is still here.
It is also a lot about trying to reconcile this huge scar across the Holy Land (the 'Security Barrier'), which treats people like criminals and cattle, and the fact that I can only reach a partial understanding (however awful it clearly is) because I have never lost a child at the hands of a bomb and am unlikely ever to do so.
As you see there are many, many heavy things in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, and the water keeps on flowing. So just to say that I am sorry I haven't been very good at keeping up to date over the last few days. (I will try to catch up a little.) I am still here and like Martha I am learning that sometimes I need to sit with my Lord, learn from Him and let things work their way out.
Thanks for your patience. Helen. x
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Bright threads woven
Silks bright - rising and falling, weaving and tying;
Voices in the market place - shouting, whispering, singing, weeping;
Ingredients in the mixing bowl, flavour, texture, leaven, nutrition;
Colours on the canvas, light, tone, form, life;
Just one?
One thread of silk, one single sound, one taste, one shade?
What genius of creation is that? What everlasting word? What eternal artist? What giver of life giving bread?
Bland, dull, silent and left on the shelf - is this fullness of life?
But here I stand, amongst silks of unimaginable complexity, voices of many lilts and tongues, sweet aroma and pungent smells, more colours and shape than my eyes can comprehend;
And voices of prayer, from minaret, bell tower and Western Wall calling.
Chanting, exalting, sighing, imploring;
Is only one heard?
Is that great weaver of the intricate fabric of life, that eternal word, great sustainer, ultimate artist confined to one place?
Mosque, church, synagogue?
Shut in or shut out?
Present or absent?
Hearing, guiding, holding, challenging.
Flowing, enfolding, waiting, fulfilling.
Until all threads, every voice, all flavour, every colour and shade and light;
Is brought into one - the only, the incarnate, for ever and all eternity.
Voices in the market place - shouting, whispering, singing, weeping;
Ingredients in the mixing bowl, flavour, texture, leaven, nutrition;
Colours on the canvas, light, tone, form, life;
Just one?
One thread of silk, one single sound, one taste, one shade?
What genius of creation is that? What everlasting word? What eternal artist? What giver of life giving bread?
Bland, dull, silent and left on the shelf - is this fullness of life?
But here I stand, amongst silks of unimaginable complexity, voices of many lilts and tongues, sweet aroma and pungent smells, more colours and shape than my eyes can comprehend;
And voices of prayer, from minaret, bell tower and Western Wall calling.
Chanting, exalting, sighing, imploring;
Is only one heard?
Is that great weaver of the intricate fabric of life, that eternal word, great sustainer, ultimate artist confined to one place?
Mosque, church, synagogue?
Shut in or shut out?
Present or absent?
Hearing, guiding, holding, challenging.
Flowing, enfolding, waiting, fulfilling.
Until all threads, every voice, all flavour, every colour and shade and light;
Is brought into one - the only, the incarnate, for ever and all eternity.
A day in the desert
Today has been about travelling into the desert in more ways than one. I heard last night that my two year old daughter Lydia had to be taken into hospital with a Chicken pox which had led to a secondary infection sending her temperature up far too high. All this has been added to by a decided reluctance on her part to take any of the prescribed medicine, meaning that more direct action was needed. For me the feeling of helplessness to relieve the suffering of my little girl, to care for her brothers and to help my wonderful husband (who has forgone sleep and had to deal with a very strong willed, very poorly child) was acute. I so much wanted to be by their sides, but like so many thrust into the desert of need and fear, I had to turn in prayer to God and rely on the huge kindness of his people here at Tantur, and at home (thanks Sharon and especially Ron). A fairly sleepless night later and a lot of prayer brought me to this morning and the longed for news that she was improving. This continued through the day and this evening she came home (where she will stay as long as she takes her medicine!). Thank you to all who prayed and to those who’s skill and care have aided her start to recovery.
So here in Israel, just a little distracted, after a 6 am morning prayer and breakfast, I travelled 411 metres below sea level along the banks of the Dead Sea.
We went first to Massada – the incredible Herodian hill fortress where over 800 Zealots resisted the Romans for three years before, in the face of defeat, choosing collective suicide rather than slavery at the hands of Rome. None of my photos come close to capturing the awesome proportions of this place. I felt like at once I was on the top and at the bottom of the world. The magnitude of the engineering achievement is overwhelming, none the less huge in the courage of decision made by the Zealots. I heard about the young Jews who walk up to the top of Massada (we caught the cable car) on many mornings, to pray at one of the oldest Synagogues in the country. They are inspired by this place and its dreadful history to seek a land where Jews can live in freedom and peace. I pray that this might be achieved without that privilege being denied to others in this land. ,
Next we went on to En Gedi, for a spot of lunch and a swim (or rather bob) in the Dead Sea. I can truly say this was a most odd experience. Not altogether unpleasant but in almost 40 degrees Celsius and 30% salinity I was not keen to stay in too long. I think I shall put this down as one of those experiences to do once in a lifetime!
A brief stop off to see the spring which feeds En Gedi – a real stream in the desert, before moving on to Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. I must admit that by this stage lack of sleep, a fair bit of worry and a full and very hot day left me less than receptive to what our excellent guide Allan was saying. This will need to be something to read up on before we go and see the real scrolls in the Israel Museum tomorrow.
Despite the tiredness, it was impossible not to be impressed by the sheer beauty and ruggedness of the landscape of this area. It is clear why it inspired so much of the writing of Old and New Testament, and formed much of the identity of their people. I now have a far clearer idea of what draws people to the desert in search of purity and truth. I however was very glad to get back to Tantur and have a shower!
So here in Israel, just a little distracted, after a 6 am morning prayer and breakfast, I travelled 411 metres below sea level along the banks of the Dead Sea.
We went first to Massada – the incredible Herodian hill fortress where over 800 Zealots resisted the Romans for three years before, in the face of defeat, choosing collective suicide rather than slavery at the hands of Rome. None of my photos come close to capturing the awesome proportions of this place. I felt like at once I was on the top and at the bottom of the world. The magnitude of the engineering achievement is overwhelming, none the less huge in the courage of decision made by the Zealots. I heard about the young Jews who walk up to the top of Massada (we caught the cable car) on many mornings, to pray at one of the oldest Synagogues in the country. They are inspired by this place and its dreadful history to seek a land where Jews can live in freedom and peace. I pray that this might be achieved without that privilege being denied to others in this land. ,
Next we went on to En Gedi, for a spot of lunch and a swim (or rather bob) in the Dead Sea. I can truly say this was a most odd experience. Not altogether unpleasant but in almost 40 degrees Celsius and 30% salinity I was not keen to stay in too long. I think I shall put this down as one of those experiences to do once in a lifetime!
A brief stop off to see the spring which feeds En Gedi – a real stream in the desert, before moving on to Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. I must admit that by this stage lack of sleep, a fair bit of worry and a full and very hot day left me less than receptive to what our excellent guide Allan was saying. This will need to be something to read up on before we go and see the real scrolls in the Israel Museum tomorrow.
Despite the tiredness, it was impossible not to be impressed by the sheer beauty and ruggedness of the landscape of this area. It is clear why it inspired so much of the writing of Old and New Testament, and formed much of the identity of their people. I now have a far clearer idea of what draws people to the desert in search of purity and truth. I however was very glad to get back to Tantur and have a shower!
More foot pictures
Monday afternoon saw us continuing our mammoth foot tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Archaeological Park is dedicated to revealing the discoveries made of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Here we heard from a virtual pilgrim about the experience of coming up to the Temple. The sense of excitement at the significance and sheer vastness of this holy place was easy to catch. We sat on the steps leading up the South gate of the Temple. These have been excavated and are as they would have been during the 1st century BCE, they are the same steps that Jesus would have climbed up on his visits to the Temple. We saw the porticos where the money changing may have taken place, the corner stone where the Shofa (the ram’s horn) would have been blown to signify the start of the Sabbath and a pile of huge stones, which fell from the wall of the temple when it was sacked by the Romans in 70 CE. It was a privilege to walk around a place which is so significant for the Jewish people and which has been so beautifully excavated and displayed (Israel certainly know how to do museums). In this place, with the Dome of the Rock watching over, it is hard to avoid the fact that each of the three great faiths have a claim on this place. Watching over all of it though, is a God who is greater than any of our sites, our religions, even our memories.
Later in the afternoon we moved back again in time and onto mount Zion. Looking over the Kidron Valley we were show the place where possibly David looked out of his palace over the roofs which stepped down the valley side below him and spied Bathsheba.
Then for a spot of paddling, as we walked down the tunnels created by Hezekiah to bring water into the city. This amazing feat of engineering brings water 538 metres from Gihon pool into the city. The water is between need and shin height (not hip height as it suggests in the guide book!) Torches at the ready we waded and paddled along the tunnel for about 35 minutes. Although dark the base of the tunnel was smooth and it was gloriously cool. The flowing water and the skill in creating the tunnel seemed to be a real symbol of hope for the possibility of a renewed life force in this drought ridden land.
We came out of the tunnel at the site of the Pool of Siloam (cf. John 9) – this has been newly discovered (2005) and once again makes clear that although much is known about this city, it still holds many more secrets of its multi threaded past.
Later in the afternoon we moved back again in time and onto mount Zion. Looking over the Kidron Valley we were show the place where possibly David looked out of his palace over the roofs which stepped down the valley side below him and spied Bathsheba.
Then for a spot of paddling, as we walked down the tunnels created by Hezekiah to bring water into the city. This amazing feat of engineering brings water 538 metres from Gihon pool into the city. The water is between need and shin height (not hip height as it suggests in the guide book!) Torches at the ready we waded and paddled along the tunnel for about 35 minutes. Although dark the base of the tunnel was smooth and it was gloriously cool. The flowing water and the skill in creating the tunnel seemed to be a real symbol of hope for the possibility of a renewed life force in this drought ridden land.
We came out of the tunnel at the site of the Pool of Siloam (cf. John 9) – this has been newly discovered (2005) and once again makes clear that although much is known about this city, it still holds many more secrets of its multi threaded past.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A Most Amazing Day
Today has been a day full of stones and realising that some times it is appropriate to take pictures of one’s feet (this was a revelation to me as I normally do it by mistake!) We began the morning (leaving at 7:30 am – after prayers and breakfast) in the Old City of Jerusalem beside the Western Wall. The plaza in front of the Wall was busy with Jews coming to fulfil their morning prayers, with their families running and playing, with tourists (doing what tourists do – be guided, take photos, try to absorb the sights and atmosphere and generally get in the way!). All of this was observed by the tourist police who went around handing out shawls, asking “I’m sure you would like to cover up?” to the immodestly dressed; and the young army recruits who almost pass a tourists apart from their uniform and guns!
After watching for a while we were gathered and with our Jewish (with a strong USA accent) guide Alan, we headed into the tunnels under the Western Wall of the Herodian temple. We were shown amazing models of the building of the Temple, but the most stunning was the real thing - a 40 foot long, 600 tonne stone, beautifully dressed (cut), which had be added to the Temple before the time of Christ and which (unsurprisingly) despite several attempts none of the various invading armies since had been able to shift.
As we walked on we came upon a number of women – deep in fervent prayer. They are not permitted to pray at the main section of the Western Wall, but have been allowed by both Jewish and Muslim religious authorities (both whom have a say in the access to the Wall at this point) to pray here. Many therefore come down into this more ancient and private place to offer their prayers. It was a deep privilege to share this sacred space with them, before as quietly and unobtrusively as possible, we moved on.
Next came a foot-photo moment as we walked on over paving stones which would have been part of one of the main streets close to the Temple in the 1st century BCE.
We walked on past colonnades from the same period and through a disused aqueduct which used to supply water to the Temple. All of this, many tens of feet below the Muslim Quarter of the city, which exists built over the ruins and wonderfully saved bits from ancient times.
Walking out into the daylight a short while later, I felt exhilarated at actually being able to see and touch a tiny part of such an important and complex history. Knowing a little of the various conquests of this city, I did not realise that anything concrete (excuse the pun) from the time of Christ still existed. But much more was to come.
We walked for a short while around the Jewish Quarter of the city, watching children playing football and setting up a stall of material raising awareness of the village of Chomesh, an evicted village, climbing up onto the roofs and looking out over the city and seeing a new basketball court being laid in the shadow of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – this is a city of contrasts and crazy juxtapositions.
That is all for tonight (more tomorrow). Despite the amazing technology of their forbears today they sometimes seem to struggle (i.e. the internet regularly tends to collapse around 10.15 pm – just as I am about to upload my thoughts onto this blog. Do you think it is trying to tell me something?)
Ah well – to be continued!
After watching for a while we were gathered and with our Jewish (with a strong USA accent) guide Alan, we headed into the tunnels under the Western Wall of the Herodian temple. We were shown amazing models of the building of the Temple, but the most stunning was the real thing - a 40 foot long, 600 tonne stone, beautifully dressed (cut), which had be added to the Temple before the time of Christ and which (unsurprisingly) despite several attempts none of the various invading armies since had been able to shift.
As we walked on we came upon a number of women – deep in fervent prayer. They are not permitted to pray at the main section of the Western Wall, but have been allowed by both Jewish and Muslim religious authorities (both whom have a say in the access to the Wall at this point) to pray here. Many therefore come down into this more ancient and private place to offer their prayers. It was a deep privilege to share this sacred space with them, before as quietly and unobtrusively as possible, we moved on.
Next came a foot-photo moment as we walked on over paving stones which would have been part of one of the main streets close to the Temple in the 1st century BCE.
We walked on past colonnades from the same period and through a disused aqueduct which used to supply water to the Temple. All of this, many tens of feet below the Muslim Quarter of the city, which exists built over the ruins and wonderfully saved bits from ancient times.
Walking out into the daylight a short while later, I felt exhilarated at actually being able to see and touch a tiny part of such an important and complex history. Knowing a little of the various conquests of this city, I did not realise that anything concrete (excuse the pun) from the time of Christ still existed. But much more was to come.
We walked for a short while around the Jewish Quarter of the city, watching children playing football and setting up a stall of material raising awareness of the village of Chomesh, an evicted village, climbing up onto the roofs and looking out over the city and seeing a new basketball court being laid in the shadow of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – this is a city of contrasts and crazy juxtapositions.
That is all for tonight (more tomorrow). Despite the amazing technology of their forbears today they sometimes seem to struggle (i.e. the internet regularly tends to collapse around 10.15 pm – just as I am about to upload my thoughts onto this blog. Do you think it is trying to tell me something?)
Ah well – to be continued!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Memory and what happens when it fails (continued)
One theme that has continually reoccurred during my time here in Israel has been that of memory. It is fundamental to this area and its many different peoples. Yesterday in a lecture given by Fr. Tom Stransky (former Rector of Tantur) we were told that in this land ‘centuries don’t succeed one another, they coexist’. Any discussion of the present or the future amongst its peoples of whatever faith or political persuasion always at some point contains the words ‘But remember. . . .’ . At this point hurts and losses from many centauries ago are recalled and are as significant as if they had happens two weeks ago.
I became personally aware of this phenomenon earlier this week in a gift shop in Bethlehem. I went to a specific shop to make a purchase for my parents who had met and dealt with the shop owner 14 years ago. I met the owner’s nephew (his uncle was working in the factory that day). As I paid for my purchase I asked whether the man in the photo above the counter was of the shop owner. The nephew said that it was not, it was his father. He went on to tell me about the 12 years old boy in the photo. It was the speaker’s brother. He had been chased and threatened by armed police who thought (wrongly) that he had been throwing stones at the police station. As a result of the shock the boy became ill and died some time later. His father died soon after the child, the speaker suggested of suppressed grief. This tragic (but I suspect not unusual) story was told calmly without further comment, but with the raw pain of a very recent loss. The event happened twelve years ago.
I am not at this point suggesting that the speaker should not have still felt pain, or that a double loss in such an unnecessary way should not continue to cause the family sorrow and indeed anger, it simple seemed to illustrate the particular hold that memory has here. This sense was heightened later on that day when we visited Bethlehem Bible College. We received a lecture from the Principal of the college on the situation in the West Bank and more generally in Israel. We heard aspects of the ancient and more modern history of the area, of conquest and betrayal, of attempts at peace and destruction. The story had an inevitable bias but it was neither that, nor the information given that shocked me, I had heard much of it elsewhere. The pain, which has remained with me since was in the sense of being trapped by the past, just as much as the ‘Security Cordon’ (the Wall) is trapping the Palestinians of the West Bank physically. Even more stark was the impassioned plea to us to go from this place and ask our churches to not forget the plight of Palestinian Christians. Unfavourable comparison was drawn between what they were receiving and the ongoing support which the wider Muslim community is giving to the people inside the West Bank. The greatest pain seemed not to be as a result of what the Israelis were doing rather that the wider Christian world had forgotten those to whom it was being done.
Memory, as such an integral part of the being of this land is causing many problems, but forgetting far from assisting, seems to be causing just as much if not greater pain. I have heard over this last week about projects, not to erase memory but to give it a more helpful, integrated place, through discussion and sharing between the different communities. This is inevitably going to be a long, hard and gradual process. In the meantime please pray for the people of this land. In a land of long memory please remember those who feel forgotten. Pray that they might live in freedom and peace today, that they might be able to build better memories for the future.
I became personally aware of this phenomenon earlier this week in a gift shop in Bethlehem. I went to a specific shop to make a purchase for my parents who had met and dealt with the shop owner 14 years ago. I met the owner’s nephew (his uncle was working in the factory that day). As I paid for my purchase I asked whether the man in the photo above the counter was of the shop owner. The nephew said that it was not, it was his father. He went on to tell me about the 12 years old boy in the photo. It was the speaker’s brother. He had been chased and threatened by armed police who thought (wrongly) that he had been throwing stones at the police station. As a result of the shock the boy became ill and died some time later. His father died soon after the child, the speaker suggested of suppressed grief. This tragic (but I suspect not unusual) story was told calmly without further comment, but with the raw pain of a very recent loss. The event happened twelve years ago.
I am not at this point suggesting that the speaker should not have still felt pain, or that a double loss in such an unnecessary way should not continue to cause the family sorrow and indeed anger, it simple seemed to illustrate the particular hold that memory has here. This sense was heightened later on that day when we visited Bethlehem Bible College. We received a lecture from the Principal of the college on the situation in the West Bank and more generally in Israel. We heard aspects of the ancient and more modern history of the area, of conquest and betrayal, of attempts at peace and destruction. The story had an inevitable bias but it was neither that, nor the information given that shocked me, I had heard much of it elsewhere. The pain, which has remained with me since was in the sense of being trapped by the past, just as much as the ‘Security Cordon’ (the Wall) is trapping the Palestinians of the West Bank physically. Even more stark was the impassioned plea to us to go from this place and ask our churches to not forget the plight of Palestinian Christians. Unfavourable comparison was drawn between what they were receiving and the ongoing support which the wider Muslim community is giving to the people inside the West Bank. The greatest pain seemed not to be as a result of what the Israelis were doing rather that the wider Christian world had forgotten those to whom it was being done.
Memory, as such an integral part of the being of this land is causing many problems, but forgetting far from assisting, seems to be causing just as much if not greater pain. I have heard over this last week about projects, not to erase memory but to give it a more helpful, integrated place, through discussion and sharing between the different communities. This is inevitably going to be a long, hard and gradual process. In the meantime please pray for the people of this land. In a land of long memory please remember those who feel forgotten. Pray that they might live in freedom and peace today, that they might be able to build better memories for the future.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
A little meditation
Amongst a busy programme, in a land where taxis hoot (and constantly make me jump), traders hustle and shout, boarder guards screech faceless, incomprehensible instructions (through smoked glass in Hebrew) the readings for last night's evening prayer (which Jonah and I led)seemed refreshingly appropriate - 1 Samuel 3 - (the calling of Samuel), Luke 20:20 ff (the taxes to Caesar question and answer) and Psalm 130 (just read it, its only short). We picked up the theme of listening and this is a short meditation which I wrote:-
Meditation – Evening Prayer – Tantur
(Having read John 20:20-26)
(Silence)
‘they were stunned by his response and fell silent.’
(Short silence)
Hush! Listen! Did you hear that?
(Silence)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
Lord, here my voice!
(Short silence)
Hush a minute! I can’t hear myself think!
(Silence)
He heard a voice calling, … and he ran to Eli saying "Here I am, you called me!"
(Short silence)
Hush! Listen.
(Silence)
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
(Silence)
Meditation – Evening Prayer – Tantur
(Having read John 20:20-26)
(Silence)
‘they were stunned by his response and fell silent.’
(Short silence)
Hush! Listen! Did you hear that?
(Silence)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
Lord, here my voice!
(Short silence)
Hush a minute! I can’t hear myself think!
(Silence)
He heard a voice calling, … and he ran to Eli saying "Here I am, you called me!"
(Short silence)
Hush! Listen.
(Silence)
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
(Silence)
There you are. It probably make more sense when spoken rather than read. Anyway people seemed to like it, so I thought it would be worth including here amongst my ramblings.
Friday, July 13, 2007
In the Church of All Nations - Gethsemane
A beautiful place, busy with the prayers of pilgrims.
Full of many languages, many stories.
A Mass ending - in words I did not understand, but know.
A stone before the altar, Jesus wept and feared, cried and entrusted.
Agony and acceptance - impossible to comprehend.
People kneeling, praying, weeping, trusting.
For all who are betrayed;
For the times I feel betrayed;
For all I might betray;
For the times I betray you dear Lord -
Hear my prayer,
Have mercy.
Full of many languages, many stories.
A Mass ending - in words I did not understand, but know.
A stone before the altar, Jesus wept and feared, cried and entrusted.
Agony and acceptance - impossible to comprehend.
People kneeling, praying, weeping, trusting.
For all who are betrayed;
For the times I feel betrayed;
For all I might betray;
For the times I betray you dear Lord -
Hear my prayer,
Have mercy.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Looking over Jerusalem - 'Jesus wept'
Day 4
Today has been a very full day, with a series of sights to see in a limited time. Fortunately, and unlike a lot of 'Holy Land tours' we have had a little time to reflect at each stop - not enough at every one maybe, but at some there would never be enough. Each conjures up so many different thoughts and emotions, each makes connections across time (history again - so much connects with that word here) and experience. To collect them all and transmit them will probably take a lifetime, well a lot of sermons anyway!. So rather than make you sit through them all here is a little bit of my reflecting from the church of Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Then some photos and a few brief thoughts about each.
Looking over Jerusalem - 'Jesus wept'
Bright light,
illuminating and disguising detail – to bright to see clearly,
rely on a camera lens,
squint and turn away.
Temple and mosque,
church tower and golden dome.
Pebble covered grave and construction crane.
Building and dying,
hoping and despairing,
pointing to heaven and struggling in the dust.
‘Jesus wept’
Gathering for prayer;
looking for the best snap;
Jubilate Deo drifting on the breeze.
Listening or hearing,
deaf or ignoring.
Birds and grasshoppers;
an insect tickling my wrist,
walking over my page.
Cars, trucks and tour buses.
Time standing still while rushing by.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:they that love thee shall prosper. (Psalm 122)
Today has been a very full day, with a series of sights to see in a limited time. Fortunately, and unlike a lot of 'Holy Land tours' we have had a little time to reflect at each stop - not enough at every one maybe, but at some there would never be enough. Each conjures up so many different thoughts and emotions, each makes connections across time (history again - so much connects with that word here) and experience. To collect them all and transmit them will probably take a lifetime, well a lot of sermons anyway!. So rather than make you sit through them all here is a little bit of my reflecting from the church of Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Then some photos and a few brief thoughts about each.
Looking over Jerusalem - 'Jesus wept'
Bright light,
illuminating and disguising detail – to bright to see clearly,
rely on a camera lens,
squint and turn away.
Temple and mosque,
church tower and golden dome.
Pebble covered grave and construction crane.
Building and dying,
hoping and despairing,
pointing to heaven and struggling in the dust.
‘Jesus wept’
Gathering for prayer;
looking for the best snap;
Jubilate Deo drifting on the breeze.
Listening or hearing,
deaf or ignoring.
Birds and grasshoppers;
an insect tickling my wrist,
walking over my page.
Cars, trucks and tour buses.
Time standing still while rushing by.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:they that love thee shall prosper. (Psalm 122)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Memory and what happens when it lapses
Day 3
Today we visited possibly one of the most remembered towns in the world. ‘Oh Little town . . .’, ‘Once in royal David’s City’ – of course the memory is concentrated around a short period of time, even if Christmas does start at the end of August in most shopping centres in the U.K. But today has been a lot about remembering. It’s been another mixture – shocking, interesting, lovely and very sobering.
First through the wall - grey and stark with a banner by the gate offering Peace be with you! I guess it didn't feel very peaceful to the folk queuing to get out to go to work, in the blazing sun.
Next to the Shepherd’s Fields – not fields like at home, no grass to speak of for a start, but rocky hillsides, baking hot even at 8:15 in the morning (that’s 6:15 in the UK, no - I haven’t acclimatised yet and we had said morning prayer and had breakfast by that stage!! Are you impressed?!). The first church was in a cave, dark, musty and heavily decorated with fairy lights (well it is all about Christmas isn’t it?), did the shepherds huddle here when the angel chorus came? I don't know, but they may well have been somewhere near by.
The second Church was completely circular, light, clear and with a beautiful echo. Not a place for shepherds or sheep, but speaking clearly of wonder, joy and praise.
Then off into Bethlehem – an ironic sign telling us that the Church of the Nativity can be accessed by the escalators!
The church, another melee of competing interests. Lamps and candles in such superfluity that they almost seem to obscure the light! A cave below an upper room which most likely Mary and Joseph would have been offered to allow her some privacy, out of the overfull family space above, and to allow her the ritual time of separation after the birth. With the animals, probably as that was the practice at the time (to keep valuable creatures close at hand and benefit from their warmth).
The 'grotto' itself was hot and airless. Poor Mary in a place like this in the throws of childbirth! Although presumably not overlooked by groups of chanting pilgrims. Was it the place? Who knows, but here people pray and I did to, that this holy moment of incarnation might be made real in my life, that I might enable it in others.
(This is a long post - and is also a day out of date already. I will post this and add some more to it later - or in a later posting. There is so much more to add. - Hope some of it makes sense - please feel free to let me know. Helen. x)
Today we visited possibly one of the most remembered towns in the world. ‘Oh Little town . . .’, ‘Once in royal David’s City’ – of course the memory is concentrated around a short period of time, even if Christmas does start at the end of August in most shopping centres in the U.K. But today has been a lot about remembering. It’s been another mixture – shocking, interesting, lovely and very sobering.
First through the wall - grey and stark with a banner by the gate offering Peace be with you! I guess it didn't feel very peaceful to the folk queuing to get out to go to work, in the blazing sun.
Next to the Shepherd’s Fields – not fields like at home, no grass to speak of for a start, but rocky hillsides, baking hot even at 8:15 in the morning (that’s 6:15 in the UK, no - I haven’t acclimatised yet and we had said morning prayer and had breakfast by that stage!! Are you impressed?!). The first church was in a cave, dark, musty and heavily decorated with fairy lights (well it is all about Christmas isn’t it?), did the shepherds huddle here when the angel chorus came? I don't know, but they may well have been somewhere near by.
The second Church was completely circular, light, clear and with a beautiful echo. Not a place for shepherds or sheep, but speaking clearly of wonder, joy and praise.
Then off into Bethlehem – an ironic sign telling us that the Church of the Nativity can be accessed by the escalators!
The church, another melee of competing interests. Lamps and candles in such superfluity that they almost seem to obscure the light! A cave below an upper room which most likely Mary and Joseph would have been offered to allow her some privacy, out of the overfull family space above, and to allow her the ritual time of separation after the birth. With the animals, probably as that was the practice at the time (to keep valuable creatures close at hand and benefit from their warmth).
The 'grotto' itself was hot and airless. Poor Mary in a place like this in the throws of childbirth! Although presumably not overlooked by groups of chanting pilgrims. Was it the place? Who knows, but here people pray and I did to, that this holy moment of incarnation might be made real in my life, that I might enable it in others.
(This is a long post - and is also a day out of date already. I will post this and add some more to it later - or in a later posting. There is so much more to add. - Hope some of it makes sense - please feel free to let me know. Helen. x)
Monday, July 9, 2007
Jerusalem, Jerusalem
What a day it has been. Wonderful, crazy, bizarre, tough and exciting all in one day!
Waking up here in this beautiful place and saying morning prayer in the garden as the sun got warmer on my back - lovely.
Standing looking out over a city which is so significant to so many people over so many years - wonderful.
Walking on paving stones from the first century (CE) - amazing.
Seeing the conflicting interests in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the possible sight of the Crucifixion and Burial / Resurrection of Jesus Christ) - bizarre.
But feeling the unavoidable sense of the whole place being full of prayer and of God who will not be shut out by our pain and divisions - awesome.
Walking through narrow streets where in one place trinkets and tat are being sold and in another shirts and toilet paper - crazy and exciting.
Not getting lost and managing to catch the right bus home !!!! (thanks Rosemary!) - truly incredible!!
Missing my special, gorgeous family so much and knowing that they are missing me - truly, truly tough. (The photos of me on this site are not because I like having my photo taken - believe me! They are so that my lovely children can see where their mummy is and what she is doing.)
But more than all of this - learning tonight a little about what makes this amazing land tick! Too much to blog about tonight, but more soon. Just to say that it really all does seem to be about Memory and Experience. I kind of took a guess when I chose a title for this blog. Tonight I had it confirmed that it was not just a guess! More about this later.
Enjoy the pictures. Love to all those who care and for whom I care about so much.
Waking up here in this beautiful place and saying morning prayer in the garden as the sun got warmer on my back - lovely.
Standing looking out over a city which is so significant to so many people over so many years - wonderful.
Walking on paving stones from the first century (CE) - amazing.
Seeing the conflicting interests in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the possible sight of the Crucifixion and Burial / Resurrection of Jesus Christ) - bizarre.
But feeling the unavoidable sense of the whole place being full of prayer and of God who will not be shut out by our pain and divisions - awesome.
Walking through narrow streets where in one place trinkets and tat are being sold and in another shirts and toilet paper - crazy and exciting.
Not getting lost and managing to catch the right bus home !!!! (thanks Rosemary!) - truly incredible!!
Missing my special, gorgeous family so much and knowing that they are missing me - truly, truly tough. (The photos of me on this site are not because I like having my photo taken - believe me! They are so that my lovely children can see where their mummy is and what she is doing.)
But more than all of this - learning tonight a little about what makes this amazing land tick! Too much to blog about tonight, but more soon. Just to say that it really all does seem to be about Memory and Experience. I kind of took a guess when I chose a title for this blog. Tonight I had it confirmed that it was not just a guess! More about this later.
Enjoy the pictures. Love to all those who care and for whom I care about so much.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Really here!!
I'm here, I'm really here. Despite loosing a night's sleep (for a trouble free and very comfortable flight), the thrill of arriving here in Israel and especially at Tantur is overwhelming. It is like meeting a long lost relative, so well loved by those who know, and knowing you will love her too the instant you meet. It was as much as I could do not to rush around like a certain four year old, whooping in sheer excitement!!
The warmth (at just after 8 - pleasant not overwhelming), the fragrance of the trees and the colours are wonderful.
My room is dark - in this heat a real bonus - I don't think the sun can sneak in at all so it is manageably cool and on the second floor any breeze around does drift in to refresh.
Worship (Eucharist) was warm and honest. The reading from 2 Kings 5 - the healing of Nehaam and the message to be prepared to be surprised by God, finding Him in unexpected places and people - was so what I needed to hear.
The food simple and tasty with wonderfully sweet, cool watermelon! Wow! Again just exactly what I needed.
Now, I think - a cup of robus tea and a chat with new friends - rich in diversity and in generosity I hope.
Finally a huge thank you to those who have made it possible for me to come here. Your gift is beyond words, but I will do my best of the next three weeks to find some. For now - Thank you. x
The warmth (at just after 8 - pleasant not overwhelming), the fragrance of the trees and the colours are wonderful.
My room is dark - in this heat a real bonus - I don't think the sun can sneak in at all so it is manageably cool and on the second floor any breeze around does drift in to refresh.
Worship (Eucharist) was warm and honest. The reading from 2 Kings 5 - the healing of Nehaam and the message to be prepared to be surprised by God, finding Him in unexpected places and people - was so what I needed to hear.
The food simple and tasty with wonderfully sweet, cool watermelon! Wow! Again just exactly what I needed.
Now, I think - a cup of robus tea and a chat with new friends - rich in diversity and in generosity I hope.
Finally a huge thank you to those who have made it possible for me to come here. Your gift is beyond words, but I will do my best of the next three weeks to find some. For now - Thank you. x
Friday, July 6, 2007
Packing - arrrgghhhh!!!!!!!
Well here I am - with one day to go and in the middle of packing! This has to be my least favourite occupation - EVER!! Thank goodness for lists (even if the do keep going AWOL) and a very patient husband! Will it all fit? Will I be able to move my suitcase? Will they refuse to take my (not inconsiderable) weight and the suitcase?? Who knows! And if I don't go and get on with it they never will!! Bye for now. More later.
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