Back in Jerusalem

I am back in Jerusalem The conference finished Friday night at @ 9 PM. On Saturday, we did some sight seeing around Bethlehem and travelled to Jerusalem I did not have a connection to the hotels internet until about an hour ago today (Monday) so I have been unable to update you. Today, we did an educational tour about the lifetime of Jesus, visiting evidence from some of the challenges to Jesus teaching and authority: Herod's palace called Masada and the and the Herodians and the Essenes from Qumran. It was a full but instructive day. In the picture, I am standing at the Garden of Gethsemen, where we spent a quiet time in meditation.

Hebron

Today we took a field trip to Hebron, where Abraham lived and was buried. This city of roughly 200,000 people, over 90% of whom are Muslim, is in deep conflict because of the impact of 400 Jewish settlers. According to Israeli law, the Palestinian Authority has direct control over the city of Hebron. However, in the past years, Jewish settelers have bought property and are developing Jewish neighborhoods in the midst of old hebron, near the tomb of Abraham. Hebron is the only Palestinian city that has Israeli settlers living in the heart of its built up area, side-by-side with Palestinians.Somehow, the Israeli government hasn't removed the settlers but, instead, is at pains to protect them. There are hundreds of soldiers stationed in Hebron to protect the settlers. The settlers houses rise up and over the old market. In order to protect the people in the market from falling debris thrown by settlers at people in the market, fencing material was stretched from roof top to roof top.

It was distressing to see the level of hostility in Hebron. How could the sitation be allowed to develop?

Systemic Evil

We have been doing a lot of talking about systemic evil. Systemic evil occurs when life is organized so that conflict and hurt between people are difficult to avoid. A simple example: flying overseas, we had spent many hours in the same seat. We wanted to get out of the seat and stretch our legs. Getting out and back into our seat was difficult because the man in the aisle seat in the row in front of us tipped his seat all the way back so he could sleep. His seat back encroached into the space we used to slide across and get out of the airplane; each of us bemped into his seat back - in fact it was unavoidable. The man was angry that we woke him up and snapped at us to be more respectful of his seat. I apologized but also felt unfairly accused. You see, the problem wasn't my lack of respect or the man's sleeping that was the problem. The problem was that the airplane had set the seats closely together and allowed them to tip back into each other's space. If the man used the freedom that the airline afforded him, he would interfere with our freedom to move in and out of our seats easily.
Israel responded to the rise of terror by putting up a wall which they call a security fence. But it has created a situation where Palestinians feel imprisoned in their own towns. If they attend school on the other side of the fence, they have to spend up to an hour in an inspection line. It is a situation that creates tension and hatred. For Christians, this wall creates a situation of pain which challenges them to be a better person, exhibit the life of Christ.

Pictures worth a thousand words?

Fine dining

Here is lunch at Peter's Place in Taybeh. Peter's place is a 4th century house that has been refurbished and turned into a restaurant. Peter was an architect who worked on reconstruction for the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, refurbishing churches such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the picture with me is Pastor David Adams from Grand Rapids, Michigan. To the left, we are about to dig into the salads. On the right is a quarter chicken, with traditional Palestinian spices, served on flatbread with almonds and pine nuts. It was so full of flavor - and delightfully filling!

Building Bridges

Tuesday morning, I was awed at the power and personal strength it may take to make one step toward meeting another person. Especially if that person is your enemy.
Labeeb is a Palestinian Christian who, one day, was travelling outside of the country. On the airplane, he sat next to a Jewish army officer. For many Palestinians, soldiers are deeply resented; they are the occupying force. Almost everyone has a story of a soldier holding them at gunpoint for no real reason other than the soldiers suspicion. Despite this animosity, Labeeb struck up a conversation with the man and learned something of his life.
And his hurts. The officer had lost a son more than 15 years ago in a skirmish in Gaza. As the conversation continued, the officer asked Labeeb for a favor: "would you bring me a stone from the place whee my son was killed?" Israeli's use stones to remember, to honor the dead; they leave them at graves as silent markers of honor and remembrance. As I listened to this request, I expected Labeeb to refuse. How could Labeeb help one who was a leader of the occupying force honor his son who was killed in a raid on his fellow Palestinians.
Yet, on his next trip to Gaza, Labeeb went to the place where the officer said his son was killed and picked up a hand sized stone. He bought a beautifully decorated box, found in many Judaica stores, and placed the rough stone inside the box. Then, he planned a trip to the officers home and, presented him this gift in honor of his son. When the man opened the box, he burst into tears and cried for a son he lost over 15 years ago. Over tea, Labeeb listened again as the man shared his pain and love for his lost son.
I wonder of the impact this act of kindness might have had on the Jewish Army officer. For one you might fear, a stranger, to show this act of compassion must leave a deep and lasting memory that may change his heart. But Labeeb did it because he wasn't about resentment and biterness, hatred or violence, but because he wanted to be a man of peace, a witness to the Prince of Peace, born right here in Bethlehem.

Christ at the Checkpoint begins

On Monday evening we participated in the opening ceremonies at Christ at the Checkpoint. The evening was filled with introductions and short welcoming speeches. The most significant speech was by Dr. Salaam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. Dr. Fayyad described the steps that had been taken toward developing the infrastructure of the Territories. To me, a most significant statement he made was that the PA had accepted the idea of a two state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. While the conference is not about politics nor about government negotiations, Dr. Fayyad set the political context in which the Palestinian Christian church are ministering.

The keynote address was given by Dr. Bishara Awad, President of Bethlehem Bible College. President Awad described the aims and purposes of the conference: for evangelical churches in North America and Europe to meet with Christians from the Middle East, to encourage the Middle Eastern Christians who face isolation, for evangelical Christians to think through what it means to be like Christ in a situation of conflict, and to pray for and support one another in being faithful to Christ's mission. There is a live stream of the presentations at http://www.christatthecheckpoint.com/

Taybeh

Monday, we drove up to Taybeh. Taybeh is a Christian village in the West Bank struggling for survival. We met Maria, wife of the mayor of Taybeh, a business woman with a Ph.D. in early childhood education. She welcomed us into her home and told the story of the village. Taybeh has a long history as biblical Ephram. In the northern Judean hills, the village has a wonderful view of the region - from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem hills. Yet, Taybeh has 50% unemployment. Many who would find work in or near Jerusalem can't because of regulations that severely limit their travel. Such a difficult and painful situation.
Pastor Phil Leo wrote a blog on Taybeh that you may appreciate, too. Check out www.blogginginbethlehem2012.blogspot.com

Church of the Nativity

We went to the Church of the Nativity in the morning. Services were being held at adjoining St. Catherine’s church, but they were in Arabic. There was a ceremony of consecration at the grotto marking Christ’s birth, so we couldn't make our planned visit. However, I was moved to see hundreds of Christians, speaking languages I didn't understand, joining to worship Christ.

I love the entrance to the ancient church. It has been walled up. You must bow to gain access. It seems fitting for us who worship the king of kings.

Hospitality

For lunch, our companion David knew a restaurant owner down
the street who was a Christian. His name was Michael. Full of the Spirit of Christ, he embraced each of us as brothers in the Lord. Over lunch, hearing his testimony of faith and love for the Lord, we learned a lot of what it was like for him to live outhis faith in this place. He loves
Bethlehem, the town of our savior’s birth. Michael shines the light of Christ to the people with whom he comes into contact. And he is painfully distressed with the difficult
relations between Israel and the people of the West Bank, longing for a way
toward peace. We prayed for Christ as prince of peace to work his peace here. And I thanked God for the delightful warmth and hospitality Michael showed, making strangers into friends.

Alexandar Hotel

We made it to Bethlehem and are staying in the Alexandar Hotel. It is a very nice hotel, recently remodeled. It has a lovely lobby and comfortable rooms. The host, Joseph, is warm and inviting. A great place to relax and meet with other travellers. Joseph displays great eastern hospitality - he brought us to a neighboring business for delicious falafel for dinner. Mmmm, delicious.

Welcome to Tel Aviv!

We made it! We are happy to have made it to Tel Aviv - it went really well! We zipped through the airport and through customs in faster time than ever. The sign says, in Hebrew, welcome to Israel. It was nice to be welcomed as we headed to Bethlehem.

On our way

Travel to Tel Aviv is remarkably comfortable and easy. Pastor Phil and I flew Air France/Delta from O'Hare; it was a quiet and comfortable as we waited to board. Turns out that there were connections to our flight that got delayed because of the inclement weather. Due to the delays, our flight had 40 open seats. Phil and I had a short row to ourselves! Wonderfully comfortable!

Our connection was through Paris. We made the trip in good time and could make a nice connection. Here I am waiting to board at Charles DeGaulle - on our way to Tel Aviv. It is amazing how safe and comfortable travel is today. What a blessing from God!

Packing up

Getting ready to go might be the most stressful part of our trip. Since we are travelling out of the country, I wanted to make sure our Skype was up to date and find out how to get phone service. There are some notes and leaflets from previous trips - as well as a few shekels. I piled everything on my desk - camera, mp3 player, power converter, passport, copies of the itinerary. Did I mention camera? I came down with a sinus infection at the last minute and had to get medicine - and that is on my desk, too. Soon all this stuff will find its place in my bag and we will be ready to go! What a relief to finally be on our way!