Christmas 2014 Meditation Twelve

Sea of Galilee
John 21:1-19

This is the last day of Christmas and the last day of our journey in the Holy Land. I decided to end with a post-resurrection story. We are at the Sea of Galilee again, except this time the disciples are on a boat. When all else fails, go fishing. Except they didn't catch anything all night. That is until a stranger showed up on the shore.

Imagine fishing all night and not catching anything. I would be really tired and annoyed. Then as you're heading back to shore to get some rest a stranger appears on the shore. Maybe that's not so odd, but the stranger telling you to throw the net off the right side of the boat is a bit strange. Would you have dropped the net in the water? I wonder what made the disciples follow the strangers command/suggestion. Was it a latch ditch effort? "Why not give it a try, we've got nothing to lose?"

Now imagine having so many fish that seven strong men can't pull the nets into the boat. That's quite a catch! Given the lack of refrigeration, the disciples may have been wondering what they were going to do with all that fish. I wonder if anyone was thinking of throwing a party. You wouldn't want to waste the fish so you may as well celebrate the miracle.

Suddenly, one of the disciples recognizes Jesus and tells Peter. Upon hearing this, Peter is so excited that he jumps in the water (after putting some clothes on). Peter leaves his friends behind to struggle with the fish and boat in his rush to see Jesus. But Jesus sends him to the boat to get some of the fish. The Lord, their leader and teacher, fixes them breakfast. That is highly unusual, especially at the time. 

It must have been quite a blow to Peter to have Jesus question his love. There he was so excited to see his Lord that he swam to shore to get to him faster and Jesus questions his loyalty. Not once, but three times. To add insult to injury, Jesus uses the exact same words each time. "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Simon gets exacerbated and hurt by Jesus' persistent questioning. Peter finally says, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!"

But Jesus' response to Peter saying, "I love you" is not the same. First he says, "Feed my lambs." Then he says, "Take care of my sheep." And lastly, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger, you tied your own belt and went where you wanted. But when you are old, you will put out your hands and someone else will tie you and take you where you don't want to go."

They seem very similar. We usually consider feeding someone as part of taking care of someone. And lambs are just young sheep. Jesus starts with with "feed my lambs". To feed literally means supply nourishment to someone. So Jesus is really saying "supply nourishment to my young sheep." How is Peter to supply nourishment and what is the nourishment? Who are Jesus' young sheep? 

Maybe the nourishment is the Good News, the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The young sheep are all those who haven't heard or accepted the Good News. How is Peter, or us, to supply this nourishment? I think we should follow Peter's lead and share our story of how Jesus changed our lives. Isn't that what Peter and all the disciples did as recorded in the The Acts of the Apostles?

Next, Jesus tells Peter to "take care of my sheep."  The lambs have grown to sheep. Now the sheep know the Good News but they still need to be taken care of by Peter, and us. How do we take care of them? Perhaps we are to "disciple" them. What does that mean? That we means we care for their well-being. We care for their families. We celebrate their joy and share in their grief. Most of all we continue to be their friends.

Jesus returns to feeding the sheep. Again, we are to supply nourishment. We must continue to share the story. We need to offer places and times to study the Bible; to dig deep into the story and find its meaning for us. We must offer opportunities for the sheep to share their own story. They must give them a chance to practice their faith. That is the job of the Church, which was built on Peter. 

So there it is, Jesus' instructions to the Church. How are we doing? 

Christ Church, Nazareth

Emmanuel Church, Ramla

Christmas 2014 Meditation Eleven

Statue in Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem
Mark 15:22-16:8

Today we come to the end of Jesus' life and ministry as well as his resurrection. One thing I did not realize until I was in the Holy Land is that as Jesus hung on the cross he could see his burial site. All of this is enclosed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher or as our guide called it the Church of the Resurrection. I like this name better because the main event is not Jesus' death or burial but His resurrection.

Many Christians refer to themselves as Easter People, which focuses on the true miracle that is Jesus' rising from the dead. While I agree that Jesus had to die on the cross, a cruel and inhumane way to die, the point is Him defeating death. If the tomb hadn't been empty Jesus' death would have just been another death by Roman hands. He would have just died and faded into history as a noted teacher. Most people would not know His name, His miracles or His lessons.

Found under Sisters of Nazareth
(closest thing I have to empty tomb)

But when the women went to prepare Jesus' body the tomb was empty. As they approached the tomb wondering who would roll away the stone they must have been shocked to see the stone already rolled to the side. I wonder what they were thinking as they entered the tomb; I would have been scared probably holding onto the other women. But they didn't let the fear stop them, they went in to see what had happened. At the sight of the man in white robes I might have fainted, there is only so much surprise the human body can withstand while sad and afraid!

Mark does not use the word angel, but this is reminiscent of the angel that visited Mary and the angels that visited the shepherds. The greeting is the same, "Do not be afraid." But instead of announcing the upcoming pregnancy or the birth of the Messiah this angel announces that Jesus has risen. This is another birth announcement of sorts, but this is more startling. A man died, was laid to rest and then rose again; leaving his tomb empty! Talk about the impossible!

Mark tells us that the women left shaking with fear. They ran away and didn't tell anyone what they saw because they were afraid. I don't blame them, I'm not sure I would have even entered the tomb. But what a difference in response than the shepherds who told everyone what they heard and saw. You can see how the news of Jesus' birth was spread, but what about his resurrection? In some of the earliest manuscripts Mark leaves us wondering how the news spread. He stops with the women running away and silent.

But the news did spread, however it happened. Jesus is one of the most recognized persons in history. What makes His story remarkable is His resurrection. Sure he was a great teacher and a miracle-worker but there have been many throughout history. What makes Jesus so special? Why did Jesus turn the world upside down? Because He died a horrible death and rose again. He defeated death! There is no one in history who can make that claim.

With that miracle of death and resurrection comes a unique respectability. People all over the world, throughout time have been affected by this one life. Many people have turned their lives around; defeated addiction, turned from crime, stopped lying or cheating. Many people have gone willingly to their death because of their faith in Jesus. Many have given everything they had away and served others in the name of Jesus. All of these people have one thing in common, they have chosen to live a life worthy of Jesus' sacrifice. They have accepted his gift of life over death.

This leads me to question the life I live. Have I accepted the gift and turned my life around? Am I living a life worthy of Jesus' sacrifice? I don't know, but I pray that I am living the life Jesus died for me to live. I pray that my service to God and others will be worthy of the gift I have received. Are you living a life worthy of Jesus' sacrifice?

View of Jerusalem from Mount Scopus

 

Christmas 2014 Meditation Ten

Gethsemane
Matthew 26:36-56

We are nearing the end of the Christmas season, so I'm jumping to the end of Jesus' life and ministry. This means we must go to Jerusalem. I'm entering the story with Jesus already in Jerusalem; he has had his triumphant entrance, eaten the Passover meal with his disciples and sent Judas to do quickly what he must do. Jesus takes his disciples to Gethsemane, meaning olive press, after telling them that they will all fall in their faith.  

Jesus leaves most of the disciples to pray, but takes Peter and Zebedee's two sons a little further. Matthew tells us that Jesus began to feel sad and anxious. He actually says to the disciples, "I'm very sad. It's as if I'm dying. Stay here and keep alert with me." Then Jesus goes a little further away.

The disciples must have been confused and scared to see their leader in such a state, plus they had been on the move with little rest for a long time. They did what any human would do, they fell asleep. Yes, I'm sure I would have been sleeping too, not very comfortably, but fear and tiredness help to make it possible to sleep anywhere.

Relief outside the Church of All Nations

I want to focus on Jesus in this situation. I think we see his human and divine side again, just like at the beginning of his ministry. The divine side allows Jesus to know what is coming, but the human side has him in agony. The human side makes Jesus say, "My Father, if it's possible, take this cup of suffering away from me." After all what human wants to be tortured and put to death on a cross? This was such a cruel way to die that eventually the Romans stopped using crucification as the method of carrying out death sentences. We humans tend to take the path of least resistance. We really don't like pain and we don't willingly go into situations that we know will cause us harm.

The divine side of Jesus allows him to say, "However - not what I want but what you want." That is total obedience! Jesus is willing to give his entire self over to God. I don't think any human is capable of doing that, we are too selfish. Jesus reinforces his willingness when he says, "My Father, if it's not possible that this cup be taken away unless I drink it, then let it be what you want." Jesus leaves no room to question his intentions, he will fulfill God's plan for him.

I was able to enter the Church of All Nations where the Rock of Agony is located. I knelt at the rock and touched it. I prayed that I would leave my agony there and receive strength from Jesus to obey God. I don't have much agony compared to what Jesus went through or what many other people must live through. It's so small in comparison, but we all have pain and sorrow of one kind or another.

I couldn't stay at the rock, I was overwhelmed with the sorrow, agony, and tears it held. Many people over the centuries have laid their agony down there to rest with Jesus. I felt a certain freedom by doing this, but I have found that I didn't really leave it all there. I think this is common for all of us, we can't quite let go completely. I envision this like a parent struggling with a child to let go of the security blanket. The child keeps hold of a corner and refuses to let go while the parent tries to reason with the child. The child can't take the blanket to school because it could get lost, it will be safe at home with the parent. The child says, "But I need it. I don't know what will happen at school and it will give me courage." The parent says, "It's okay, trust me. You will make new friends and have lots of fun at school. I'll take care of your blanket." As an adult we understand the need to leave the blanket behind, but the child just knows the fear of uncertainty.

The same can be said of all of us; God is telling us, "I'll take care of that pain or worry. Without the weight of this you will have freedom." Our response is, "That's great, please help. But I've got to keep a watch on the situation. If I don't have this to worry about, what will I do with my time? What is this freedom like, what must I do with it?" Freedom is a scary; it is an unknown place that comes with responsibility that we can't quite understand. 

Faith is one of my spiritual gifts, thus I usually trust that everything will work out. I'm not a person who worries a lot, but I still have those situations that I must contemplate, talk about and worry about endlessly. I can't just ignore my son's health issues, but obsessing about them changes nothing. While I was in the Holy Land, my husband took Nate (my son) to two doctor's appointments. My husband, Dave, is a very capable and intelligent man yet I questioned everything that he told me about the appointments. I was half a world away and there was no imminent danger to Nate's health, but there I was asking questions as if Dave couldn't understand the issues or what the doctor's were saying couldn't possibly be right. Not that I have any medical knowledge, not that I was there to hear what they said, not that I could do anything from half a world away, but I had to worry, complain and obsess. I even tried to leave it at the Rock of Agony; but I wouldn't let go. Why? Because if I let go I might not be in control. Well, that is an illusion since I'm clearly not in control of Nate's body and it's reaction to certain foods. Even with God saying, "It's okay, I'll take care of this. I'll keep your son safe and healthy" I couldn't let go. 

Well, part of my New Year's Resolution is to let go. Maybe the better way to say it is to recognize that I'm not in control so I might as well let Jesus take on the agony. I am only human, thus I can't drink the cup that Jesus drank. But Jesus is human and understands my pain and He is divine so he can drink that cup of pain and agony for all of us.

The Church of All Nations

Christmas 2014 Meditation Nine

Church of the First Feeding of the Multitude at Tabgha (Feeding of the 5,000)
Matthew 14:13-21

Today we are by the Sea of Galilee again. We are looking at one of the most famous stories in the New Testament, the Feeding of the 5,000. It is also the only miracle that appears in all four Gospels. Our guide, Iyad, referred to this story as the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes. I like this title for the story, it gives me a different perspective.

I have always thought the miracle was feeding of so many people, but now I think the miracle is the multiplication of food. I wonder if the disciples thought about all the times God had increased supplies in the past. There are a few stories that immediately come to mind. Elijah and the widow from Zaraphath. She only had enough flour and olive oil to make one last meal for her son and herself but the jar of flour and jug of oil never ran out (1 Kings 17:10:16). Elisha fed one hundred people with twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain, with leftovers (2 Kings 4:42-44). Then of course, the miracle of the oil that is celebrated during Chanukah. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, but the oil did not run out for the eight days that it took to make a new supply of oil for the menorah.

This is a miracle of God taking what little we have and making it abundant. The miracle is we offer our meager supplies, talents, gifts and abilities and God increases it. Just like the loaves and fishes, jar of flour and jug of oil, and the candle oil our gifts are not sufficient to sustain us or those we serve. But if we trust God and start using our gifts, they will be increased so that there is leftovers.

I often fail to use my gifts because I don't think I have enough. What if the widow of Zaraphath said, "Sorry, I don't trust you. There isn't enough?" What if Elisha's servant didn't pass out the food because there wasn't enough? What if the disciples told Jesus he was crazy and sent all the people away instead of handing out the loaves and fishes?

How many people would not have witnessed the miracle? How many lives would not have been touched by Jesus? At least 5,000 men plus women and children; that's a lot of people! So what does this mean for us? We must trust God to increase our gifts. It's not up to us to decide if what we have is enough, it's up to us to use our gifts as God asks us and trust Him to increase them. If we follow Jesus and obey God, our gifts will always be more than enough.

Christmas 2014 Meditation Eight

Mount of Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-12

Today we return to the Sea of Galilee. Jesus taught many lessons, but one of the most known is the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus saw the crowds and went up the mountainside, sat down and began to teach. Today it is hard to imagine how Jesus could be heard without a microphone and some speakers, but the mountain and sea acted as amplifiers for him. Fr. Earle King, our group's leader, demonstrated this by standing on the mountainside, reciting the Beatitudes while we were all by the sea. We heard every word.

So much has been said about these saying already by much more qualified people than me. So let me insert the Beatitudes (NIV) and ask some questions:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Standing on the side of the road with the Sea of Galilee behind me and the mountain in front of me I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be there to hear Jesus say those words. I'm not really comforted by these words and I wonder if Jesus' listeners felt the same discomfort. Or were they comforted? Are we too far removed from first century Israel to fully appreciate and understand these words?

I don't think I'm poor in spirit; I don't mourn and I'm definitely not meek. These are attributes that are due to circumstance or personality. I will mourn at times in my life, but I don't think I will ever be poor in spirit or meek. Does this mean that the kingdom of heaven isn't mine? What will I inherit, since I won't be inheriting the earth?

I am challenged to answer the call to "hunger and thirst for righteousness", to be merciful, pure in heart and a peacemaker. With God's grace, I can become these things and they are all interconnected. But how do I live that out? There are so many places and times of unrighteousness, which cause do I fight for? What does it mean to be merciful? Must I show mercy to everyone, even those who are unrighteous? I am human so I'm depending on Jesus' sacrifice and grace to be pure in heart. I think that being a peacemaker is necessary to find justice and righteousness, but I don't know how to do that!

I live in a time and place in which I am not persecuted for righteousness, I am not persecuted because of Jesus. For many Christians around the world today this is a reality. But does that mean I do not share in the reward in heaven? Or must I put myself in a situation to be persecuted? Is endangering my life and leaving my family really part of God's plan?

I have more questions than answers, but I do know that Israeli occupation of Palestine is unjust and violent. I stood at the heart of our common faith; Jewish, Christian and Muslim. I walked along the paths that each tradition claim as their own, but I only saw one way. It is the way of peace and the path must be shared. There will be no peace if the Israeli government continues to oppress the Palestinians, Christian and Muslim alike. There will be no peace as long as the Palestinians respond to the oppression with violence. 

I fell in love with the Holy Land and it's people. I feel a yearning to go back, a yearning to see peace in Jerusalem and beyond. Is this my call to "hunger and thirst for righteousness?" Where will this lead me? I'm curiously straining to see how I will be filled; but also cautiously holding back, fearing the unknown. How does this passage comfort you or challenge you?

View of Sea of Galilee from Mount of Beatitudes

If you are interested in learning more about the conflict and how you can help, please visit the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem website. Some good books on the subject are The General's Son by Miko Peled and The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan.

If you are interested in a pilgrimage, Fr. Earle King will be leading another one next November 6-16, 2015. Please visit the St. Martin's, Grand Island website for more information.  Iyad Qumri, our guide, will lead this group as well. He is a great guide with a lot of knowledge, both historical and biblical. Please visit his website for more information about him.