new jerusalem?

Today we leave Jerusalem and the Middle East. When I arrived in Tel Aviv three weeks ago, I became the first member of my family to come to this land since my uncle fought for Palestine with the Iraqi Army in 1949. I heard that when one of my cousins was told I was coming here he replied, “But our family doesn’t go to Israel.”

But I have always wanted to see this place. Jerusalem is unlike any other place in the world. Arabs and Jews, Christians and Muslims, tourists, pilgrims and locals… all crowded on top of each other in the birthplace of the three major monotheistic religions. A city of three faiths divided into four distinct quarters, overflowing with conflict, mistrust and self-interest.

Extreme wealth next to extreme poverty. Sounds of shouts for violence and prayers of hope for peace on the same hills. This city is a microcosm of the troubles of the entire world. But the hope preached by the faiths which were born or lay claim here seem to have given up, and instead have marked their territory and are content to simply hold on.

Jerusalem was the city where God dwelled as he tested the patriarchs and spoke through the prophets, and through Christ he moved from the Temple to the world. But somehow the inhabitants of and visitors to Jerusalem seem to keep trying to find ways to put God back into a box.

The Scriptures are full of God trying to get his people in this land to look past themselves and to be his witnesses to the rest of the world, even going as far as to tell them to get out of the city because they were doing no good staying here. If Jerusalem is a microcosm of the world, and the place where God orchestrated the redemption of humanity, then we must keep asking ourselves what the New Jerusalem is supposed to look like, and who are we to be as its citizens.

I wish I could write more about this now, but we have to head for the airport in an hour. I am sure I’ll be processing through this last month in the Middle East for a while… and I’ll be posting some stories and reflections in the next week that I did not have the time to write while I was here.

Until then… Salaam, Shalom, Peace.

Pray for peace in Jerusalem.
May all who love this city prosper.
O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
“May you have peace.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
Psalm 122:6-9