the sto R y is t R ue

iB e C a M e a M e MB er OF PCJH L a S t summer after having been a member of University Presbyterian Church in Seattle for nearly 40 years. My wife Maribeth and I were blessed to be able to join the trip to the Holy Land last fall. My personal and professional travels have taken me all over the world, but never to the Middle east, so this trip was a new and exciting experience for both of us.

Having read and heard Bible stories throughout my life, I assumed I would have a sense of the place and its geography. I was so wrong. despite being the birthplace of humanity and history, the Holy Land is a remarkably small place, quite unlike the expansive areas we enjoy here in the West. It is also a place riddled with conflict… more so, perhaps than any other place on earth.

the ‘smallness’ and conflict are particularly evident in Jerusalem. the events of Christ’s passion all occurred within a space about a third the size of the town of Jackson and we easily walked the short distances between the various sites of historic importance, through the ever-present signs of conflict.

the Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and armenian. Jews and Muslims have been fighting over it for centuries, and over that time, they have each controlled it at one point or another. Currently, the Jews are in control and that fact is made clear to all. during our walk through the via delarosa we witnessed armed brigades of young IdF soldiers on patrol and heard accounts of armed conflict between Muslims and Jews at checkpoints we had passed through. despite Jewish control, the Muslim quarter is the largest, centered on the dome of the rock, a glistening gold structure with an iconic view of the Jerusalem skyline. It’s the oldest existing Muslim monument in the world, and sits adjacent the al-aqsa Mosque, which is considered by Muslims to be the place where the Prophet then in Jerusalem, we walked the steps of Jesus, emmanuel, the Lamb of God, who was and is with us, in humanity, humility and passion. Places those steps took us included the Garden of Gethsemane, the via delorosa and the Garden tomb. But the place that was most moving for me was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built in 336 ad over one of the places Jesus was thought to have been crucified and buried and includes a shrine thought to enclose the His tomb. there was a line of people from around the world waiting to enter, kneel and pray before His tomb and sing songs in praise. We did those sacred things as well. But the part of that experience which was most moving for me was listening to the songs. One of the unique and fitting attributes of the church is its incredible reverberation where words and music reverberate throughout the sanctuary for six seconds or more. I think it’s fitting because the tomb wasn’t the end. His story continues to reverberate throughout history. the story is true. God was here. Believe it. ✝

Mohammed had his encounter with God.

Jerusalem is a place where people encounter God. I did as well… but without any urge to fight about it. andre, our tour guide said, “People here just need to grow up”. either that, or better know the God of the Bible, who lived, loved and died for us on the same ground they continue fighting over.

Prior to Jerusalem, we visited Bethlehem, where we learned shepherds there would raise and tend their flocks and take the ‘spotless’ lambs to Jerusalem to sell for sacrifice at the temple, a practice that continued to the end of the last century. that sounded familiar to me.