Our weekend was mostly a time of relaxation, making transitions, and worshipping with our friends the Azars. Saturday we took the Azars to a Chinese Restaurant, as Pastor Barhoum Azar was flying out to a conference in Switzerland in the middle of the night.
Sunday, we went to the Old City early to eat knafer, an Arab pastry with goat cheese topped with a crunchy lemon and sugar glaze. Yum! Nahila and the children were the Altar Guild preparing for worship while Tim donned vestments to assist Bishop Younan (substituting for Pastor Barhoum) with Communion. Kari was invited to lead the intercessions, extemporaneously, in English. Nahila taught Tim how to say “The blood of Christ, shed for you” in Arabic and was complimented by at least one parishioner for his pronunciation. The acoustics in the Church of the Redeemer are splendid, and we recognized most of the hymn tunes and the shape of the liturgy. Our joke is that we heard the best sermon we’ve ever heard—in Arabic. What a privilege and special honor to worship with our brothers and sisters in the Old City of Jerusalem.
During Coffee Hour we met up with the English-speaking congregation after their worship and chatted with Mark Brown of the ELCJ-HL who helped Bethany at Augusta Victoria Hospital. We also saw Pastor John and Suzanne Stendahl from The Lutheran Church of the Newtons. John completed his own time at Tantur during the month of June and assured Tim of high-speed wireless connection.
Nahila led us through the marketplace to find all sorts of wonderful things. Gabe got a chess set, Kari and Bethany got dresses, and Tim did, too (a one-piece lounging outfit worn by many Arabs). We stocked up on spices and found some gifts. Nahila was the supreme bargainer. One shopkeeper who knew her said to us: “don’t worry about the price. Nahila will squeeze me like a lemon!”
Back at the Azars, Tim and Kari packed for Tantur, and Kim drove us over in the Azars’ car. The Institute is within walking distance of their house, right across Hebron Road. That’s convenient!
Sunday night we had orientation to the program, and met our fellow scholars—Roman Catholic priests from England and Canada, Anglican priests from England, a professor from Rhode Island, a priest from Portland, Maine, and a few others. We have heard many good things about the Lutheran influence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and feel proud to be Lutheran!
Today was a full day on the bus, getting an overview of the city. We toured the Old City in the morning and saw many sites, including the very impressive Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site where Jesus was buried (and rose!).
In the afternoon, we went all around Jerusalem to see its environs. We got to the desert below sea level, where it was very hot. A young man came on a donkey offering us rides, as Bedouins use burros and herd goats and sheep in that region. We saw a Greek Orthodox Monastery, St. George in the distance and learned about the gift of monasticism as a way to remind the early church of the Christian’s call to holy living.
On our way back from the desert we stopped in the town of Bethany and saw the Chapel by the site where Jesus visited with his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. We can’t wait to tell our Bethany all about it!
We saw Bethesda, where in the gospels the man wished someone could take him into the pool and Jesus told him to take up his mat. We saw the site dedicated to Mary’s mother Anne (according to legend).
And we finished our afternoon at the overlook on the Mount of Olives, where we saw the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Dominus Flevit, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, and the Church of All Nations, to name a few of the places we’ve seen and explored. Now that we’ve had an overview, we will have a chance to explore in depth when we have time to ourselves.
The next two days we will be learning at Tantur, tomorrow about the geography of the Holy Land, and the next day about the meaning of pilgrimage, before our next excursion as a group.
We have been praying together each afternoon at 5:30 pm, and eating our meals together.
Kari and I are staying at a double room, with a sitting room and a bedroom, and a terrace overlooking Bethlehem.
We find this time with Christian brothers and sister one which is increasing our devotion for the place where Jesus lived, but more importantly for the ways that experiencing this place deepens our sense God’s presence in the world, a very broken world at that.
All the news of violence means security is stepped up in the streets, but does not affect us directly. We pray along with Bishop Hanson that diplomatic means can bring an end to the kidnapping and retaliation between Hamas and the Israelis.
It is so good to be here and beginning our exploration in earnest of how people of faith continue to give witness to Christ in this land.
Christ the King Lutheran Church, 3 Lutheran Drive, Nashua, NH 03063 (603) 882-6142
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