Contents

Shalom!

1. Temple Mount – and the Divine Presence (Genesis 28.10-22)

Poem – You are here, Lord!

2. En-Gedi – Spring in the Desert (1 Samuel 24)

Poem – Overflow through Me!

3. Megiddo – Open the Gates (Psalm 24)

Poem – Come right in!

4. Carmel – and Standing for the Truth (1 Kings 18.36-39)

Poem – A Life Complete

5. Bethlehem – “born to us” (Luke 2.1-20)

Poem – House of Bread

6. Nazareth – Learning to Trust God (Luke 2.51-52; 4.16-30)

Poem – In His Hands

7. Qumran – preparing the way for the Lord (Matthew 3.1-11)

Poem – Out There

8. Galilee Boat – and Following Jesus (Matthew 4.18-22)

Poem – Following

9. Mount of Beatitudes – True Happiness (Matthew 5.1-12)

Poem – In all Circumstances

10. Capernaum – Miracles of Grace (Mark 2.1-12)

Poem – Make Me New!

11. Aqueduct – and Living Water (John 4.4-26)

Poem – Living Water

12. Bethesda – and Healing (John 5.1-15)

Poem – Wholeness

13. Dead Sea – and the Importance of Giving (Luke 6.37-38)

Poem – Channels of God’s Living Spring

14. Sea of Galilee – Riding the Storm (Luke 8.22-25; Matthew 14.22-33)

Poem – Still My Heart!

15. Kurzi – Casting out Demons (Mark 5.1-20)

Poem – Broken Chains

16. Korazim – the Kingdom has Come Near You (Luke 10.5-15)

Poem – To Live Anew

17. Masada, Yad Vashem – the Quest for Peace (Luke 19.41-44)

Poem – Shalom!

18. Caiaphas’ House – “what pains he had to bear” (Luke 22.54-62)

Poem – Until I Know

19. Via Dolorosa – and the Man of Sorrows (Luke 23.26-43)

Poem – He Chose My Brokenness

20. Garden Tomb – He is Risen! (Luke 24.1-8)

Poem – He is Risen!

21. Joppa – and Dorcas’ Practical Love (Acts 9.36-43)

Poem – Dare to Be…

22. Caesarea – Obeying the Heavenly Vision (Acts 26.19-23)

Poem – Seeing and Living

Shalom!

“Shalom” is a good strong Hebrew word found again and again in the Old Testament. Its simple meaning is “peace” – not so much the absence of human striving or conflict, but in the deeper sense of wholeness and prosperity. It is a greeting heard again and again in the land of Israel.

I was in a small tour group in Israel from 13 to 19 February 2001. Seven days is not long. Even though the land is small (excluding the West Bank, it is about a third the size of Tasmania), there is so much Biblical history crammed into it – so much more to see! Further, the present unrest began in October 2000. Although travel was quite safe in early 2001, there were a number of places, including Bethlehem and Jericho, which we were unable to visit because they were in the Palestinian areas.

These devotional reflections were first shared with Burdekin BlueCare staff later in 2001 and with residents at Blue Haven lodge in Ingham in 2009 and 2010. They were originally prepared in the order of the tour itinerary, then arranged in the present order on my website where there is an account of the tour as well as additional photos.

God meets us with his shalom in our time and place on the basis of what he did all those centuries ago in that holy land. A visit to the holy land is in every way supportive of the Biblical faith we hold and treasure in this land.

Shalom!

Peter J Blackburn,

Allingham, Q

February 2010

© Peter J Blackburn, 2001, 2010

Website: http://www.peterjblackburn.net/israel/index.html

Except where otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, © International Bible Society, 1984.

Temple Mount – and the Divine Presence

Reading: Genesis 28.10-22

On the way to the Western Wall in February 2001, we passed a walkway onto the Temple Mount. A sign indicated “No Entry to Non-Moslems.” While the Dome of the Rock is visible from many spots in Jerusalem, our closest view was the one-in-twenty-five scale model behind the Holyland Hotel.

The “rock” is, according to tradition, Mount Moriah – the place where Abraham took his son Isaac to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham was directed not to harm the lad, and the Lord himself provided the sacrifice (Genesis 22.2-19).

For the Moslems, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (Haram ash-Sharif, “Noble Sanctuary” in Arabic) is the third most holy site after Mecca and Medina. Mohammed is said to have been transported there from Mecca by the angel Gabriel and taken up through the seven heavens to the throne of Allah.

The Dome of the Rock was built between 688 and 691ad. Nearby is the Al Aqsa Mosque, designed to accommodate up to 5000 worshippers at a time.

The main display behind the Holyland Hotel is a one-in-fifty scale model of Jerusalem in the time of Christ. The Temple would have dominated the landscape of Jerusalem even more than the Dome of the Rock does today.

After Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70ad, the foundations were all that remained of the Temple – the Western Wall (formerly called the “Wailing Wall”). Jews still come there to pray and to tuck written prayers into the cracks between the massive stones.

Jews have believed that, even though the Temple is gone, the shekinah or divine Presence, still lingers on in these stones.

Issues relating to the Temple Mount loom large in the present unrest. In October 2000 Ariel Sharon (who later became Prime Minister) entered the Temple Mount with a detachment of troops to investigate unauthorised activities that were suspected to be going on there. That sparked off the present troubles.

Within a couple of weeks of our return, word came that the “mufti” of Jerusalem (appointed by Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority) had declared that the Western Wall has no historical or religious significance to anyone but Moslems – it is nothing more than the foundation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and should be renamed accordingly.

Then a few months later a group of ultra-orthodox Jews held a ceremony in the plaza at the base of the Western Wall to lay the foundation stone of the next Temple. This set off a further wave of unrest.

Not just Jews and Moslems, but many Christians too seem to be looking for the “divine Presence” in the Holy Land. Was that the motivation of Helena, mother of Constantine, when she went to the Holy Land in 325ad to identify sacred sites and have chapels built on them? Certainly, there are present-day Christian tourists whose aim is to make a pilgrimage from place to place and chapel to chapel – in the belief that to be where Jesus had been is to feel his presence and be closer to him.

Jacob and Esau were twins. Esau, as the first-born twin, had extra rights and privileges of inheritance. But Jacob tricked his brother into giving him his birthright (Genesis 25.29-34). Later he posed as Esau, the favourite son, before his near-blind father to receive a special blessing (Genesis 27). Esau was furious with his brother, vowing to kill him after their father Isaac died.

Jacob fled. First night out, he had a strange dream in which he saw a stairway to heaven and angels ascending and descending on it. Above the stairway was the Lord himself with a promise for this foolish young man – “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (28.15). He woke up and thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it... How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven” (vv. 16-17). It appears that Jacob had the idea that the divine presence was back at home, but not out here with him as he fled the anger of his brother.

When Jesus called Nathanael to follow him, he said, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1.51). In other words, through Jesus himself we know the presence of God with us, no matter where we go.

In Jesus’ final commission to his followers, he said, “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28.20). That’s a promise to be trusted – from which to receive strength day by day.

PRAYER: Lord, you are here. We don’t need to go somewhere else to find you. In the midst of our hopes and disappointments, you are here. In spite of our sins and failures, you are here. You are here too for the people we meet, the people we serve. We open our lives to your presence – to receive forgiveness, assurance, courage, hope… In Jesus’ name, Amen.

You are here, Lord!

Like Jacob,

I didn’t know it!

I thought

I wasn’t good enough,

that others

had a just cause,

that God

was somewhere else

with someone else.

Like Jacob,

I had the idea

to do it all myself,

to make it all happen

in my own way,

in my own time…

Like Jacob,

it didn’t occur to me

you might be

right here,

not far away.

But you are here, Lord!

And here I am!

I can’t do it alone –

forgive

my presumption,

my foolishness,

my sin.

You are here, Lord!

And here I am!

Trusting you,

I step out

into this day!

You are here, Lord,

not just for me,

but for those I meet,

for those I serve!

Help me

to remember always

you are here!

into this day!

You are here, Lord,

not just for me,

but for those I meet,

for those I serve!

Help me to remember always

you are here!

En-Gedi – a Spring in the Desert

Reading: 1 Samuel 24

On our last day in Israel we travelled “down” towards the Dead Sea. “Down” is the word – we passed a sign that said “Sea Level” and kept going!

The countryside is dry and inhospitable. Barren rocky mountains dominated our view to the right side of the bus. The very few date plantations must have been dependent on the Jordan River and on careful shepherding of the meagre rainfall.

We stopped briefly at the Nahal David Nature Reserve. From this vantage-point we could see En-Gedi. The “Lonely Planet” guidebook describes this area in these terms, “One of the country’s most attractive oases, En Gedi (Spring of the Kid) is a lush area of freshwater springs, waterfalls, pools and tropical vegetation nestled in the arid desert landscape of the lowest place on earth.”

From the lookout we could see a patch of lush vegetation and a small stream of fresh water cascading down the narrow valley.

In the distance we could make out hikers on the walking tracks that run through the area. With more time we might have joined them!

Our guide had hoped to show us the male ibex here – a species of wild goat with long curved horns. We had to be satisfied with a couple of young females. These and other animals are attracted to and benefit from the spring in the desert.

Archaeology dates human habitation at En Gedi from 3000bc until it stopped in the Byzantine period.

At the end of 1 Samuel 23, we read that David and his loyal supporters were fleeing the anger of Saul and “went up... and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi” (v. 29). Chapter 24 says that Saul and his 3000 men were looking for David and his men near “the Crags of the Wild Goats” (v. 2).

David and his men went to En Gedi for some obvious reasons. There was a continuous water supply. It was a good hide-out with rocks and caves. They were well and truly outnumbered, but would have a good chance of defending themselves.

A spring in the desert – that’s a place of refreshment, a break from the pressures, a time to regain perspective and to refocus life on the Lord…

Imagine what David could have thought when scouts brought warning that Saul and 3000 crack soldiers were almost there…. But when Saul came alone into the cave where they were hiding, David’s men thought it too good to be true – the Lord has given Saul into your hands (v. 4).

True, Saul was “in David’s hands.” What should he do? Being able to do something doesn’t make it right! Saul was his father-in-law. He was also the anointed king. David had been anointed to be the next king, and Saul was intent on killing him.

How would we have reacted? Thankfully, it isn’t our situation! Or is it? Sometimes we imagine we could be very good Christians if it weren’t for someone else! Our much-needed refreshment and renewal seems broken whenever we recall this other person’s words or actions.

We don’t have to react. We can choose not to react. Remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman – “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4.13-14).

That’s not just for you – it’s for others too! So don’t forget the spring in the desert! And, by word and action, remember to offer it to the other person too!

PRAYER: Dear Father, sometimes we feel dry. We come to you to be refreshed and encouraged, but often the memory of someone else intrudes to disturb our peace. Lord, we don’t just want to come for your living water ourselves. Live in us by your Spirit, so that we can become an overflowing spring for others too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Overflow through Me!

In days

of barren

dryness,

I need a spring

to encourage,

refresh,

bring life –

God’s word,

and grace,

and peace.

In a dry

and barren

world,

God’s Spirit

lives

within me

to be a spring,

welling up,

overflowing,

bringing

life for all.

Lord,

fill me –

overflow

through me!

Megiddo – Open the Gates

Reading: Psalm 24

It was when we first looked down on the Valley of Jezreel from Carmel that we saw it – Tell Megiddo. This is where archaeologists have unearthed some twenty levels of occupation throughout the history of the site spanning 4000 to 400bc.

Archaeologists don’t attempt a complete “dig” any more. This would destroy each level and make it impossible for other scholars to come later to check and confirm their work. This site has unearthed remains of a temple from the Chalcolithic period (around the beginning of the third millennium bc).

More significant are the ruins of the fortified “chariot city” built by Solomon in the tenth century bc, the tunnel to the city’s secure water supply dating from the ninth century bc and the public grain silo from the period of Jeroboam (792-752bc).

But the entry to Megiddo is through the gateway. For us this was first through a gateway dating back to Canaanite times before we came to the gateway from the time of Solomon.

The wooden gates themselves, of course, have long since gone. They would be needed at a time of attack or siege. Inside the gateways were spacious rooms. In time of war these would be full of soldiers ready to defend the city if anyone could break down the door. In peace time they were the place where commerce and law were transacted. We notice, for instance, that the husband of the woman of noble character “is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land” (Proverbs 31.23).

Walls and gates can serve a variety of purposes. When East Germany built the Berlin Wall, it was suspected that its purpose was to keep East Germans inside, rather than to keep West Germans and other foreigners out.

The heading of Psalm 24 simply describes it as “Of David. A psalm.” We know nothing of the circumstances in which it was written. Certainly it was a clear acknowledgment that only the Lord can rightfully be called “the King of glory.” David’s true greatness is seen in his willing openness to humble himself before the Lord.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (v. 1). Not only is the Lord the Creator – he continues to be its rightful owner and all people are finally responsible to him.

Reflect on that personally for a moment. Is that the way I look at myself and my possessions – my bit of “the world”? Now think about Australia and Aussies – including questions of land rights and refugees. I don’t want to prejudge any of those major contentious issues, but – what happens to our debates and discussions if we begin with Psalm 24.1? And globally – no, I don’t plan to launch into the issue of “globalisation” either – but globally, what would happen if we could all begin to think of the earth and everything in it belonging to the Lord and that all of us are responsible to him?

The middle section of the Psalm (vv. 3-6) presents criteria of worthiness to be in God’s presence – rightness in motive and action, freedom from idolatry and dishonesty. The words are very probing – they can’t be taken lightly! We think deeply about them and wonder – then who, indeed, may ascend the hill of the Lord? The answer seems to be – those who seek him, who sincerely desire personal contact with him. That’s our hope! God looks at the heart – our intentions, not just our achievements!

But then the grand conclusion (vv. 7-10). It’s not an enemy outside – the King himself is knocking at the gate, seeking admittance.

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle... The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory.”

What do you do when the King comes to the city? You open the gates – you lower your defences, expose all your commercial and legal transactions to him, let him into all the life of the city...

And how do we respond when the King of glory comes to us? Listen to him, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3.20).

It is his world. He has every right to come. He has the right to every part of our life. Yet it is our door. He awaits our invitation. Our part is to open the door to him.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, the world is yours. Our life is yours. Yet we live as if we can simply please ourselves what we do with it – and then blame you when things go wrong! Lord, we aren't worthy to stand in your presence. But you come knocking, wanting to share our life, to forgive our wrongs, to lead us and enable us to be your people. Come in, Lord Jesus! Come in today! Come in forever! Help me to live out your presence and your grace for others. Amen.

Come right in!

Who’s that knocking?

Why that knocking?

Life so busy

presses round me,

have to manage

all this of mine –

don’t have time now!

Go away

for now at least.

Maybe later –

maybe not!

Who’s that knocking?

Why that knocking?

Have you come

to check me out,

find me wanting,

send me packing?

I can’t do it!

I can’t reach it!

Go away

for now at least.

Maybe later –

maybe not!

Who’s that knocking?

Why that knocking?

So persistent,

gentle,

loving.

Come, Lord Jesus,

come right in!

I am yours

and you are mine!

Carmel – and Standing for the Truth

Reading: 1 Kings 18.36-39

On our way from Tel Aviv in the south to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, our bus driver took us to the highest part of the Carmel range.

That was possibly the first correction of our presumed know-ledge of Biblical geography. For years I have been able to draw a reasonable map of Israel on a blackboard. I knew that Mount Carmel was just inland from where the coastline jutted out into the Mediterranean. In fact, Carmel is a whole range which separates the coastal plain from the Valley of Jezreel.

The Valley of Jezreel is a very fertile valley with the river Kishon flowing north-northwest into the Mediterranean Sea. We could look across it to Nazareth in the distance and Mount Tabor on the horizon.

I had never associated the Carmelite order with Mount Carmel. But there, on the summit, is a Carmelite monastery – an excellent vantage-point from which to view the surrounding countryside. The order was founded in the twelfth century ad. Biblically, we associate Carmel with the story of Elijah’s very public confrontation with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18.16-46). In front of the monastery is a large statue of the prophet, sword in hand, ready to despatch one of these prophets.

I hadn’t expected the monastery, wasn’t surprised at the statue, but was somewhat taken aback at seeing the two within the same grounds. We tend not to associate a rigorous stand for the truth with the contemplative life.

Perhaps with an awareness of religious wars elsewhere in the world and at other times – and with our laissez-faire multiculturalism here in Australia – we can find it difficult to justify – let alone identify with – the stand and actions of Elijah. Of all the Old Testament people to appear with Christ on the mount of transfiguration (traditionally believed to be Mount Tabor), we can understand Moses being there, but… Elijah (Matthew 17.3)?

Yet we notice also in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, that Elijah was expected to come before the Messiah arrived (Malachi 4.5-6) – an expectation that caused a lot of speculation about John the Baptist (John 1.21) – a rugged individual with a demeanour like Elijah’s and who called the people to repentance.

But back to Carmel. The worship of the Lord was under threat in the northern kingdom. King Ahab had married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, the priest-king of Tyre and Sidon.

Jezebel was a fanatical devotee of Melqart, the Baal worshipped in Tyre. She was passionately promoting the worship of this Baal in Israel. Ahab built a temple for her and she had 450 prophets of Baal and another 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah. She was organising the systematic slaughter of the prophets and priests of the Lord.

Elijah the prophet of the Lord had emerged from the little-known village of Tishbe on the other side of the Jordan. He prophesied a major drought and promptly went into hiding. Three years later he revealed himself to the king and called for the prophets of Baal and Asherah and all the people to come to Carmel to settle the issue once and for all.

You have a choice before you, Elijah was telling them. “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18.21).

Two altars were set up. Sacrifices were to be prepared and laid on the wood, but no fire was to be set to it. The prophets of Baal prayed and danced and shouted all day, but no answer came. But when Elijah prayed, the Lord answered with fire. The people were persuaded and Elijah took advantage of their enthusiasm to act against the false worship that was corrupting the worship of the Lord. Needless to say, Jezebel was not pleased…

Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8.31-32). But he didn’t promise that our stand for the truth would be warmly accepted. Rather, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5.11-12).

The truth sets us free when we hold to it – live by it – because we are then living in the manner life was meant to be lived.

There was a continuing problem in Elijah’s time, but not just because of Jezebel. The truth that “the Lord – he is God!” needed to be translated into life. In a sense, what happened on Carmel was the easy part.

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7.21). Standing for the truth and being convinced about the truth should lead to living by the truth. Our word for that is “integrity”. Living under God’s grace and lordship is liberating.

PRAYER: Lord, it is so easy for us to be like the Israelites in Elijah’s time – believing in you, yet caught up in modern ideals and ideologies that are far removed from faith in you. We want to live by your truth. We want to be set free by your truth. We bring this day to you – to live moment by moment under your grace and lordship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Life Complete

I want

a life

complete,

fulfilling,

fulfilled.

Surely

I will find it

in some latest thing

recently designed

strongly pressed

on me

by the media.

Surely

I will find it

in some latest idea

propounded

by a modern guru

expounded

in TV soapie

and glossy magazine.

Why do I keep on looking?

Why does the quest go on?

Why is nobody finally

satisfied?

Why do I assume

that the latest gadget or idea

can make me new?

Your way, Lord,

your way alone

can fulfil me!

Your truth, Lord,

your truth alone

can set me free!

Your life, Lord,

your life alone

can make me new!

Bethlehem – “born to us”

Reading: Luke 2.1-20

In February 2001, a road-block prevented all but Palestinians from entering Bethlehem – since the present troubles began in October 2000.

It was a big disappointment not to visit “David’s town” – though later that year the situation deteriorated further as Israelis searched for the assassins of the Tourism Minister.

The best our tour guide could do was take us to a vantage-point south of Bethlehem. There it was, in the distance across a valley, Jerusalem just visible in the far distance. Down there in the valley below we could see a herder looking after his small flock of sheep or goats – we couldn’t make out which. Somehow I have always imagined “out in the fields” in a horizontal sense, not down in the valley.

So this is where David was looking after Jesse’s sheep – while his big brothers met God’s prophet Samuel. But the Lord looks on the heart and David, the youngest, was the one chosen to be king (1 Samuel 9).

In spite of those royal connections, Bethlehem wasn’t highly regarded. Even our Jewish guide comforted our disappointment by telling us, “Really, you haven’t missed much.” Yet the prophet Micah said, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (5.2).

Of course, when the Roman Emperor called a census, directing everyone “to his own town”, every remote connection of King David turned up in Bethlehem. By the time Mary and Joseph arrived, “there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2.7).

Jesus, the Son of God, was of royal line, but who would have suspected it? Born in a stable, laid in a manger – a cattle feeding-trough.

And the message was given to shepherds, “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (v. 11).

“Born to you...” Yes, it happened here in Bethlehem, David’s town (the word means “house of bread”). He was “born to you” – to every one of us – come as our Saviour, Christ the Lord, bringing forgiveness and life and all kinds of new possibilities if only we will receive him and welcome him and believe in him and follow him.

It happened in Bethlehem. And the present pain of that town reminds us of the pain of its inhabitants of two thousand years ago – as Herod tried to eliminate the child of promise (Matthew 2.13-18).

He was born to us. Welcome him! Receive him! Believe in him! Follow him! He is the only hope of the world!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you were born to us. You came because of our brokenness and twisted motives, our selfishness and sin. You lived your life here – and gave your life here for us. We receive you as our Saviour and seek to obey you as our Lord. We want to live our Christmas – and all our life – in the light of your love and grace. Amen.

House of Bread

Bethlehem –

house of bread –

in you was born

to Jesse

a son,

David,

born

to be king.

Bethlehem –

house of bread –

in you was born

to us,

to the world,

a Saviour,

Jesus,

Christ the Lord.

Jesus,

Bread of life,

our world

is tired

and hungry!

We feed ourselves

with selfishness

and violent acts.

We squander

your gifts

on our petty desires

and are hungry still.

Lord Jesus,

feed us now!

Nazareth – Learning to Trust God

Reading: Luke 2.51-52; 4.16-30

Nazareth was a town of little importance to any but those who lived there. When Philip told Nathanael about “Jesus of Nazareth”, he said, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 2.46). To be known as “Jesus of Nazareth” helped to conceal his true identity as the Messiah – born in Bethlehem as the prophets foretold.

Today the grand Church of the Annunciation stands over excavations said to be of Mary’s house. Here the angel Gabriel announced that Mary would bear the very Son of God (Luke 1.30-37). Here “the Word became flesh” and began to “make his dwelling among us” (John 1.14).

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but, because of the hostility of King Herod and his son Archelaus, it was safer back in Nazareth (Matthew 2.22-23).

The years that follow have been called “the silent years.” The visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve gives us only a brief glimpse that he already had a clear understanding that he was uniquely God’s Son. Then the curtain closes and he submits to Joseph and Mary back in Nazareth (Luke 2.41-52).

Of his education and training in the carpentry trade we know nothing. The present “synagogue-church” – maintained by Christian Melkite priests – may well be where Jesus went regularly with the family for worship and instruction in the Scriptures – the reading of the Scriptures was central to what went on in the synagogue.

Some writers in the early centuries tried to satisfy human curiosity about the silent years – inventing stories that suggest he was a little miracle-worker. However, this just doesn’t fit with the response he received later from the people of Nazareth.

The silent years were hidden years. His identity was hidden – waiting for the right time, God’s time.

When the time of opportunity had come, when he returned to announce that the prophecies were now fulfilled in him, his long-time school-mates, friends and neighbours turned against him, tried to get rid of him (Luke 4.16-30).

They wanted a miracle, but what they needed was to trust in God. Matthew says that Jesus “did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13.58).

They weren't the only ones to demand a miracle. When Jesus was dying on the cross, the chief priests taunted him, “Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him” (Matthew 27.42).

Even today there are some who would like to see a “miracle-on-demand.” But they would never be satisfied, even then.

Jesus was uniquely the Son of God, but he is also our example. We too can learn to trust the Father in our own lives – no matter what. We don’t have to live in frustration or panic. God is here with us. His plan and timing are always perfect. We can depend on him.

It’s not a matter of summoning up enough strength or courage or strength to hold onto God, but allowing him to hold us. There are times when we feel too weak to hold on. In his love and peace he holds us.

And we can be a means of bringing God’s love and peace into the lives of others – and God’s healing power and comfort, given in God's way and in God's time.

PRAYER: Father God, you have promised to be with me always. Yet somehow I wish you would do something, show yourself to me in some special way. What’s that, Lord? You mean you’ve already done that? You’re pointing me to the cross! You want me to trust you, accept your love and forgiveness! What about today, Lord? You’ll be with me today! Help me to show your love and peace to someone else today! May your love and peace surround every person I am in contact with today – to bring your healing power and comfort. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In His Hands

Amid the rush

and panic

of an over-busy life,

we need a centre,

a focal-point

of integration,

a source

of strength

and calm.

Sometimes

we know

our lack

of strength

and will

to hold

onto our hope

and trust

in God.

Yet faith

and trust

is letting God

hold us,

for he is strong.

Our life

is always

in his hands.

Qumran – and preparing the way for the Lord

Reading: Matthew 3.1-11

There were a number of groups within Judaism. In the New Testament, only two of them stand out.

The Sadducees were mainly priests and not well liked by the people. They tended to have good relations with the Roman rulers of the land.

The Pharisees were a group that arose from the Jewish resistance movement under the Maccabees. Under the Greek rule of Antiochus Epiphanes, there was strong pressure to impose Greek religion and philosophy on all peoples. In 167bc Antiochus had a pagan altar erected in the Temple in Jerusalem for sacrifices to Zeus. Any books of the Law were destroyed. Possession of or adherence to the Law was punishable by death. The Pharisees were passionate keepers of the Law.

The Jewish historian Josephus and the Alexandrian Jewish philosopher Philo both make reference to another group whom they call the Essenes. Very little was known about them. There are no references to them in the New Testament, nor in later Jewish literature.

Then in 1947 a young Bedouin goatherd sent a sling shot after a straying goat. It landed in a cave and he heard the sound of breaking pottery. On investigation he found a collection of clay jars each of which contained a leather scroll with ancient writing on it. So began the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The ruins at Khirbet Qumran near the northern end of the Dead Sea had been thought to be possibly from an unnamed Roman outpost. But now the discovery of Biblical books, commentaries and other writings made it clear the site had housed a religious community fairly confidently identified as the Essenes.

The discovery of the Scrolls led to some highly speculative books about the origins of Christianity. More serious Bible scholars, however, have found them an important resource – with the oldest copy, for example, of the book of Isaiah – and a source of information about the Essenes. Some have said that they throw light on “first-century non-conformist Judaism” and therefore give us a broader understanding of the com-munities which first received the ministry and teaching of Jesus.

One text is quoted often enough in the Scrolls to suggest it represents how the Qumran community saw themselves – “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God’.” (Isaiah 40.3)

That was also John the Baptist’s text (John 1.23; Matthew 3.3). Did John the Baptist, it has been asked, spend time in the Essene community at Qumran? That’s not impossible. But the Qumran community stayed in isolation from the rest of society as a witness to the right way of living. Their community life included many ritual washings. By contrast, John came out of the wilderness to call people to repent of their sins and to be baptised as a sign of their repentance.

He was preparing the way for the Lord – announcing that someone far greater was coming soon. Jesus, of course, didn’t come as Judge (is that what John had been expecting – as in Luke 3.16-17; Matthew 11.3?) but as Saviour.

How are we to live in our modern-day society, in our community, positively preparing the way for the Lord?

It’s possible to be like the Sadducees – so full of compromise and accommodation to current ideas and ways. Or we might well gain the reputation of the Pharisees – noted for confrontation towards others and confidence in our own rightness (and everyone else’s wrongness!). There are also Christians who are like the Essenes – maintaining purity by withdrawal and minimum contact with society.

We live in days of uncertainty, it is so easy to slip into one of those unhelpful ways of relating to society about us – compromise, confrontation or withdrawal. But God calls us to bring positive faith, hope and love to others by our life and actions. We have come to know that the ultimate answer to life’s perplexities can only be found in the “one greater” to whom John the Baptist gave testimony.

PRAYER: Eternal Lord, this is your world and you love us and all people. But we haven’t got it right. Yet you loved the world so much that you gave your only Son Jesus to be our Saviour, Lord and Friend. Many people are confused and hurting. You call us to live out our lives positively in this world, bringing faith, hope and love to others by our life and actions. Lord, it’s another day. Here we are – send us! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Out There

Some try to live

in a goldfish bowl,

isolated

and insulated

from the sins

and pains

of others,

maintaining

a life of purity

apart from the life of the world.

But I am called

to live

where there are hurts

and disappointments

and unpredictable violence.

I cannot love

in a goldfish bowl,

isolated

and insulated

from life

out there.

The one who calls me

poured out his love

on a cross,

in the full force

of human violence,

in the full power

of divine love.

He calls

that his redeeming

and healing love

will reach through me

to others

out there.

Galilee Boat – and Following Jesus

Reading: Matthew 4.18-22

There was a major drought in Israel in 1986. The level of the Sea of Galilee dropped seriously to its lowest level in memory.

Two brothers from Kibbutz Ginnosar on the western shore were walking alongside the sea one day and happened to see some old wood sticking out of the mud.

They reported what they had seen and experts were brought in. It was soon established that they had found the remains of a very old boat which had been remarkably preserved in the mud. It was dated to have come from the first century ad.

The boat was removed with a great deal of care and placed in a tank of water where it could be further studied and specially treated to prevent further deterioration.

After a nine-and-a-half-year pro-cess the wood was stabilised to a point where the boat could be put on public display in an air-conditioned building in the Yigal Allon Centre supported by a special cradle.

An informative video tells the story of the discovery of the boat and its restoration. Posters indicate the various types of wood used in its construction and repair.

It is not known whether this 27-foot boat was used for fishing, commerce or military purposes. Dubbed by some tourist operators as “the Jesus boat”, there are no good grounds for linking it with Jesus and his disciples, except that it does date from that period.

Jesus was many times in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. It was the practical means of getting from one side of the sea to the other. It also became a floating pulpit when the crowds were too great on the sea shore.

But today’s reading recounts the time when Jesus was walking beside the sea and saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, casting their nets into the lake. Not far away, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were in a boat with their father, preparing their nets – cleaning, mending, folding them ready for casting.

From what we read in John 1.35-42, this wasn’t the first time Peter and Andrew met Jesus. Andrew had evidently been following John the Baptist and was impressed when John said of Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (v. 36) He was keen to share this great discovery with his brother Peter.

At that time, they had begun to “follow” Jesus, but were still fishermen, still maintaining their fishing business.

But now Jesus was calling them to a greater commitment of themselves – their time and their whole lives. “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4.19).

What were their lives to be? What would be involved in being “fishers of men”? Andrew had confidently said to his brother, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1.41) – words given stronger meaning much later when Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16.16).

In Luke 5, it is clear that they have known Jesus for some time now, but were still fishing for a living. After Jesus had finished teaching the people from Simon Peter’s boat, he told Peter, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v. 4).

It has been a hard night’s work with no fish to show for it. Yet Peter agrees to do what Jesus has said. The result – “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken…” (vv. 6-9).

But Jesus reassured them, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” With that, they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him (vv. 10-11).

It would appear that they stilled owned their boats, for they feature later in the gospel story. But from now on, their full-time occupation was learning to be “fishers of men”.

“Follow me,” Jesus says. Be careful who you follow. There are many gurus, ideologues, writers, speakers… vying for our allegiance. Jesus alone is the one who can say, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14.6). Test all other claimants by him.

“Follow me,” Jesus says. Be careful how you follow. Jesus isn’t looking for “fellow-travellers” who admire his life and his teaching. He seeks our whole-hearted commitment. He wants to live his life in us – loving and serving others through us.

Whatever its origin, the Galilee boat is a reminder of what those fishermen-disciples had to leave behind to follow Jesus – and a challenge to consider what may be barriers in our own lives to allowing Jesus to live his life through us.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we’re so busy! We don’t know how we can fit in one more thing! And you come along and say, “Follow me!” But you’re not asking us for “one more thing”, but for everything! So that your life and love and peace can reach out through everything we do to everyone we meet. So here we are, Lord! Take us, cleanse us, heal us, renew us, use us! Amen!

Following

It would be rather hollow

if all I did to follow

was trail along behind him –

if only I could find him!

In love he comes to reach me

because he longs to teach me

to walk my life beside him

his love in me residing.

He always knows to find me

and calls to leave behind me

the idols I’ve been raising –

my idle ways of praising.

He gave a total dying,

expects my self-denying

that in my total giving

I’ll know his inward living.

Come, Lord, you lead me on!

I know I’m not alone –

each day is fresh and new,

I’m walking it with you!

Mount of Beatitudes – True Happiness

Reading: Matthew 5.1-12

Above the north-eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee is the place where Jesus gave that group of sayings we call the Sermon on the Mount. It is a natural grassy amphitheatre. Modern acoustic engineers have tested the area and concluded that a large crowd would have no difficulty hearing what was said.

On the top of the hill is the Church of the Beatitudes. It is eight-sided, each side featuring one of the eight beatitudes.

Nearby is a garden where you can wander thoughtfully and prayerfully. Plaques – in Latin! – again highlight each of these sayings.

These words of Jesus stand in stark contrast to the way most people regard happiness – and how to achieve it.

Many people seem to think the beatitudes should read –

Happy are those who have high self-esteem – they have got it made!

Happy are those who gloss over their mistakes – they will have inner peace!

Happy are the domineering and assertive – they will get their own way!

Happy are those with strong personal ambition – they will achieve their goals!

Happy are the unforgiving – they will get ahead!

Happy are those who know the latest ideas – others will think highly of them!

Happy are those who eliminate all opposition – they will make their mark in the world!

Happy are those who fulfil the expectations of the present age – the world is at their feet!

J.B. Phillips made a similar set of suggestions in the early 1950s – they still seem pertinent all these years later. But these common attitudes aren’t the route to true happiness.

According to Jesus, true happiness comes to those who are “poor in spirit,” the “mourners,” the “meek,” those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” the “merciful,” the “pure in heart,” the “peacemakers,” and the “persecuted.”

We have looked on happiness as such a personal thing. It should centre on us. And what could be so simple, straightforward and logical as that?

So we go about suitably arranging – and re-arranging – our environment and circumstances – so that we will be happy. On this basis, people have assumed that, if they are unhappy, it is because of this wretched washing machine, this wretched leg, this wretched person I am living with… They believe that they will become happy by changing their lot in some way.

Someone asked Rockefeller how much money it would take to make him happy. He replied, “Just a little more! Just a little more!”

It becomes a never-ending quest. Happiness, we assume, must be fun and laughter and expressing our own personalities (“doing our own thing”) – free from suffering, sorrow and hardship. In this quest it is everyone for themselves. In the resulting struggle for the “survival of the fittest” (whether expressed on the international scene or in some local “rat race”), the illusory bubble seems to vanish before us. And what do we do about that? We question our methods, our “system”, but not our basic assumptions – and we keep on trying.

Our problem is that we have made happiness an end in itself, instead of a byproduct of something else. And we model our hopes on those who act out a learned role – with all the right make-up and props and with enough “takes” to look happy and at peace – even when the evidence suggests the “happiness” doesn’t carry over into real life for them. No wonder our quest ends in frustration and anxiety.

So what is true happiness? In John 17.3 Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Jesus was talking about quality life, not just extended life. It centres, not on ourselves, but on God. It is the result of a positive relationship with God. True happiness is found in the fulfilment of our life in relation to God and what he expects of us. It is being part of his Kingdom.

Later in the Sermon on the Mount we hear Jesus telling them not to worry, but “seek first [your heavenly Father’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6.33).

That’s the secret of a happiness which no outward circumstances can take away from us!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you know that sometimes we despair of the circumstances of our life. We fully persuade ourselves that we would be happy – and able to serve you well too! – if only things were different. What’s that, Lord? You want to begin to make us different? You want to begin the change in us? You accepted the cross – who are we to complain? Lord, that we may love you and know your love! We commit ourselves to serve you today. Thanks, Lord! Amen!

In all Circumstances

I can trust God

when the weather is fair.

I can be happy

when happiness reigns.

I can love others

when they are kind.

It’s easy to serve

the cheerfully clean.

But then again –

when things turn nasty,

is God really there?

There’s no shred of hope

in my wrung-out remains!

You’ve got to be joking –

you’ve got to be blind

if you think there’s some joy

when life is so mean!

Now look at the cross –

my sadness he bears!

The happiest Man

is the Lamb that was slain!

He carries my load

so in him I can find

a new way of living,

all wholesome and clean!

You haven’t made promise

all days will be fair.

Yet living with you

all my losses are gain.

Lord, help me to see

past the storm and the wind,

to know love and joy

when living seems lean.

Capernaum – Miracles of Grace

Reading: Mark 2.1-12

Hebrew is the official language in Israel, but mostly you can get by well enough with English. Street and road signs have English as well as Hebrew, in some areas with Arabic too.

You have to think laterally at times, because the English rendering isn’t always consistent – and it may not follow our “traditional” spelling. So you can be following road signs to “Jerusalem”, but come across a sign to “Jerushalayim” – same place. Or you are on your way to “Masada”, but the turn-off from the Dead Sea highway reads “Mezzada.” The person doing the road sign doesn’t consult other English road signs but decides on his own translation!

So too when we were heading to “Capernaum” and the final road sign said, “Kfar Nahum.” That means “village of Nahum” – though not a reference to the Old Testament prophet of that name.

Capernaum comes in for no special mention in the Old Testament, though it was an important city on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee by the time of Christ. There was probably a Roman military post, since a centurion came to Jesus seeking healing for his servant (Matthew 8.5-13). It was in Capernaum that Matthew sat in his tax office when Jesus called him to follow (9.9ff).

In Mark 1.21ff we read about Jesus healing a man in the synagogue at Capernaum on the sabbath day. The present ruined white synagogue was built on the foundation of a black basalt synagogue dating from Jesus’ time.

Not long afterward, Jesus was in Capernaum again. People crowded into a house and pressed around the door to hear him.

In the ruins of Capernaum the layout of streets and houses is clearly visible. Houses were built in groups of four around a central courtyard. The roofs and most of the walls have long since gone.

The practice was to build a flat roof, accessible by steps from the outside. Families would go on the roof on hot nights, and, during the Festival of Booths, actually slept there. Roofs were constructed from beams covered with branches and a thick layer of mud plaster.

Four men had carried their paralysed friend to Jesus, whose reputation as a healer had reached them. When they arrived at the house where Jesus was staying, they couldn’t get anywhere near Jesus. The room was packed and there was no room “even outside the door”. The outer courtyard was packed as well.

So they carried their friend onto the roof and made a hole large enough to lower the man on his mat. That certainly got everyone’s attention. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture the scene from inside. The assembled crowd had come to hear Jesus. They were hanging onto his every word. There was a distracting noise above them. Then dust and bits of mud began to fall until the light of day started to shine into the room. They lowered their friend on his mat into the middle of the room in front of Jesus.

There were five conspicuous men – the man on the mat and the four gazing down through the hole. Those present looked down and looked up. The record tells us that, when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5).

Whose faith? The sick man had presumably consented to be brought to Jesus. But whatever faith he had couldn’t have achieved his healing without the practical action of his four friends.

Perhaps the man had long since given up the hope of a return to good health. Sometimes it can seem easier to “accept” sickness – and to live on the goodwill and hand-outs of others. Evidently, in this case, there were other reasons too. They aren’t spelled out for us – except that this man carried a hidden burden of guilt which needed to be resolved and forgiven if health was to be restored. Jesus didn’t subscribe to the popular view that there was always a direct connection between sin and sickness (John 9.2). In this case, however, there had to be forgiveness before there could be healing.

And Jesus saw “their faith” – and both forgave and healed the man.

Again and again we are dealing with people who have no faith, or else, in spite of some sort of faith, have lost all hope. Faith is so personal, and yet we can believe for people – our confidence that Jesus can bring them help and hope.

Our faith will be expressed in both prayer and action. And the Lord will see our faith and bring his blessing to them. The completeness of that blessing will still depend on the stirring of their faith to receive the miracles of God’s grace. But our faith will be the seed that triggers their faith.

PRAYER: Loving Lord, we believe in you, but don’t always know how to relate our faith to others in this unbelieving world. Sometimes we have to do with people for whom all courage and hope has gone. We think to ourselves, “If only...” for your help and hope are freely offered to all. Help us to believe for others, so that their faith will be stirred and your blessing received. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Make Me New!

Healing?

Don’t bother me!

Across

these many years

all hope

is gone –

leave me alone!

God, you say?

Where’s he been

all these years?

Life

has been hard

to me

and I

have hardened

to it!

Jesus?

That name

has been

on my lips

countless times –

a name to bless,

you say,

and not to curse?

Jesus!

I’m here

at last!

Make me new!

Aqueduct – and Living Water

Reading: John 4.4-26

The Burdekin claims to be “built on liquid gold”, but the secret isn’t the visible Burdekin River – for much of the year a relatively small stream and an expanse of sand. The secret is the water below the sand – the underground water throughout the whole delta region. All the farmer has to do is sink a spear and pump it up – the expensive part that some envious people fail to grasp!

Water is essential to life. It is possible to survive for many days without food, but not many without water. All the cells in our body need to be “topped up” regularly.

They say that “bread is the staff of life.” That’s true – without food we cannot live. But water is “the stuff of life” – without water we will die.

Herod set about building the city of Caesarea in 22bc. He wanted it to be the most grandiose city imaginable. Breakwaters formed a safe harbour. The grand entrance was marked by colossal statues and made safe with a massive oil-fuelled lighthouse. There were a palace, an amphitheatre, a hippodrome, a temple dedicated to Caesar – and an advanced sewerage system!

Such a city needs water. To bring water to Caesarea, the Romans built an aqueduct to bring water from a spring in the Carmel range. It was some seventeen kilometres long and had a fall of one in a thousand – without the benefit of modern laser-levelling technology! The aqueduct is conspicuous on the beach to the north of Caesarea. No city can survive without a water-supply.

It was some distance away that the events in today’s reading took place – just under 50 km “as the crow flies.” Jesus was heading north – from Judaea to Galilee. We are told “he had to go through Samaria.”

Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. With the fall of Samaria in 722bc, the Assyrians had transported people of another race to live in the land so no other country would get the idea of taking over. The Samaritans had added some Jewish beliefs to their own religion and set up a temple on Mt Gerizim in Samaria (“this mountain” in v. 20).

When the people from the southern kingdom of Judah (the “Jews”) were returning from their own period of exile, the Samaritans obstructed their reconstruction work as much as possible. So the Jews of Jesus’ time had no love of the Samaritans and crossed the Jordan rather than go through Samaria when they were travelling between Judaea and Galilee.

This makes it rather striking that Jesus “had to go through Samaria” – for reasons not at all apparent to the disciples until the incident with the woman who came to the well to draw water.

It was midday (“the sixth hour”) – not the usual time to draw water. This woman was avoiding contact with the other women of the village. It was unusual for a Jewish male to ask for water of a woman – and a Samaritan at that.

Jesus was thirsty – he needed a drink. But here was a woman with a deeper need – a need for the “living water” that only Jesus could give, “living water” that would become in her “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (v. 14).

The aqueduct served Caesarea’s need for water for many years. But the city is now ruins – for the lack of “living water.”

Do you ever “run dry”? We all become emotionally and spiritually drained if we fail to “tap in” to the spiritual resources our Lord is offering us – “living water” that becomes “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Do you know someone else who “runs dry”? The “spring of water” is not just for refreshing you. It is given to you so that it will overflow and refresh others too. Are you ready and available for that?

PRAYER: Sometimes, Lord, we are like that woman of Samaria – we have needs we try to hide from others and scarce acknowledge to ourselves. But you see us – you know! And you know that this dryness will never be overcome if we keep trying to live without you. Lord, give us this living water so that we won't get thirsty. Yes, Lord, a spring of it so that others will be refreshed as well! In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living Water

Sometimes

I feel

I give and give

until

dry and empty

I scarce know how to live.

I try to meet

the needs

of others

to fill

emotional

and spiritual void

to bring

comfort

and cheer.

Yet I end up

wrung out

despairing

void of help.

The living water

is at hand –

freely offered,

freely given!

Not another well

to run dry,

but a spring –

welling up

and flowing out.

Yes, Lord!

Your living water,

please!

Bethesda – and Healing

Reading: John 5.1-15

St Anne’s Church is north of the Temple Mount. It is not far from where the Sheep Gate was located. An old tradition names Anne and Joachim as the parents of the virgin Mary.

We went through St Anne’s Church to excavations from the late nineteenth century which led to the discovery of the Pool of Bethesda.

It is hard for us to realise the extent to which the flattening of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70ad changed the face of the city by filling in the hollows and covering significant Biblical sites in metres of rubble. That is certainly what the archaeologists had to face here. And the result, while almost certainly the correct site, doesn’t look at all as it would have in the time of Jesus.

The Pool of Bethesda is described in John 5.2 as being “surrounded by five covered colonnades.” It would have had colonnades on all four sides, with the fifth colonnade across the centre, dividing it into two pools. It is believed that one of the pools was used for washing sheep brought to the Temple for sacrifice.

Our guide explained that the rock is limestone. Water hollows it out. Evidently, water would build up in one of the hollows to a point where it was suddenly released, causing a periodic bubbling spring which the people believed to be caused by an angel. (A footnote in the NIV tells us that “some less important manuscripts” record the belief that an angel stirred up the waters. That is why the people came to seek healing. The Gospel record, however, is not endorsing that popular view.)

What a depressing sight it must have been – “a great number of people... the blind, the lame, the paralysed.” All had heard the story of someone else who had received healing. All had believed the rumour, hoping that they might be the next.

But, of all the people there that day at the pool, Jesus only came to one man. He had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ “ (John 5.6).

We would think of that as an obvious, almost insulting, question. Why else would he be waiting there? Weren’t all the other folk wanting to get well too?

But when we hear the man’s answer, we gain insight into Jesus’ question – “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me” (v. 7). Instead of saying a simple “yes”, he complains that he is never able to get in first.

Years ago we lived in a small country town whose only doctor we found to be very good, though he had a rather abrupt manner. Some of the locals travelled to a neighbouring city an hour away to other doctors. In our doctor’s words, “They go to other doctors when they think they are sick. But if they are really sick, they still come to me!”

At the Pool of Bethesda the people who “thought they were sick” were going away praising the curative power of the bubbling water – they were fit enough to get in first. Meanwhile, those who were “really sick” could never make it.

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked” (vv. 8,9).

The healing occurred on the Sabbath day and the sight of a man carrying his mat through the city attracted the attention of the Jewish authorities. At first the man had no idea who had healed him.

“Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well” (vv. 14,15).

Jesus wasn’t subscribing to the popular view of the time that linked sickness and personal sin. That is clear in Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question about a man born blind (9.2-4). Sickness comes from the general fallenness of humanity and may afflict any of us. However, in many ways our spiritual state can affect our physical condition. This seems to have been the case for this man.

Certainly, he was wrapped up in himself and his problems. He had gone past hope, past openness to healing and change. Jesus was concerned to make him whole – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

“Do you want to get well?” That’s an important question. When we are open to God, he is ready and able to make us whole.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you see past our pretences, our defences... You know the hesitation that centres on ourselves and our problems and fails to recognise your offered grace. Lord, make us whole. And enable us to bring your healing and hope to others. Amen.

Wholeness

“Do you want

to get well?”

he asks.

Afflicted

all these years

with no one

to help me.

The water stirs –

another

gets in first.

These others here –

competitors

together,

losers

together.

Hope has brought us –

despair grips us!

“Get up

and walk!”

I cannot,

yet at his command,

new life

and hope

surge through me.

Now to walk

no more

in selfish

sinfulness

but in his way.

Dead Sea – and the Importance of Giving

Reading: Luke 6.37-38

On our last day in Israel we travelled down to the Dead Sea – with a quick visit to En-Gedi and a visit to Masada on our way down and some time at Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered) on our way back.

The Dead Sea is the lowest land depression in the world – around 400 metres below sea level. It is about 65 km long and is 18 km across at its widest point. The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River are also below sea level. This is all part of what is called the Great Rift Valley which extends right down into Africa.

The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River are fresh water and their heavy use for irrigation by both Israel and Jordan has caused the level of the Dead Sea to drop by about a metre a year in recent times. So at the moment its shape isn’t like the old maps. The smaller southern part of the Dead Sea is separated from the north, now connected only by a small canal.

The Dead Sea is known in Hebrew as Yam HaMelah, Sea of Salt. It is around 30% salt – that’s nearly eight times the salt content of the ocean. It is too salty to sustain life and any fish unfortunate enough to be washed down the Jordan into it immediately die. Scientists have discovered eleven species of bacteria that do manage to survive the environment. For all practical purposes, however, it is true to its name.

As you can imagine, both Israel and Jordan harvest minerals from the Dead Sea. The water of the Dead Sea contains twenty times as much bromine, fifteen times as much magnesium and ten times as much iodine as ordinary sea water. Health resorts have sprung up – and a whole industry to produce health and beauty products from the Dead Sea.

Bathing in the Dead Sea is a unique experience. It is important not to get the water in your eyes – or you will have difficulty opening them. So nobody really tries to “swim” in the usual sense.

Floating on your back is the way to do it. “Back in,” our Israeli guide advised us. She did warn that people carrying too much weight can have a tendency to roll over. But she didn’t tell us we would have difficulty getting vertical again and putting our feet on the bottom.

Sets of showers up the beach enabled us to wash the salt off before we turned into potato crisps!

You may well have heard the comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, but it bears repeating.

The Sea of Galilee receives water and gives out water. The water is fresh. It supports plenty of fish and is a good source of water for irrigation and urban needs. It is alive and life-giving.

On the other hand, the Dead Sea receives water but doesn’t give. Its salt concentrations have long been so high that it cannot support life. It is aptly named the “Dead Sea.”

In our reading, Jesus has given us an important principle for all of life. “Give and it will be given to you,” he says. In case we don’t get the message he adds, “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap” (Luke 6.38).

Is that the principle on which most people base their lives? I suspect not. Some people seem intent on giving as little as they can get away with, but getting as much as they possibly can.

Someone has said that a person wrapped up in him- or herself makes a very small parcel. That’s true, and the evidence of the basic focus of a person’s life tends to be seen in its beauty or ugliness in old age.

Alison had a remarkable grand-mother who died at the age of 94. She married a widower with six children and went on to have ten more of her own. She was loved and respected by many people in both the church and the wider community.

At her eightieth birthday, one of her great-grandchildren came up to her and said, “Great-grandma, when I grow up, I want to be a nice old lady like you!” To which she replied, “Then you’d better begin practising, dearie!”

The prophet Jeremiah spoke this “word of the Lord”, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jer 2.13).

Too often we don’t want “living water” – which refreshes us and flows out to others also. We would rather a tank that is exclusively ours to dip into when we feel like it. But our “tanks” are broken and quite unable to contain and reserve the refreshment we want to keep to ourselves.

God’s living water is for us to receive and to pass on to others. The Sea of Galilee or the Dead Sea – which is it to be?

PRAYER: Lord, we confess that too often we have wanted some kind of “canned spirituality” to carry around instead of coming continually to you, the spring of living water. And then we have tried to keep it all to ourselves. The gift has soured because we have refused to give it to others. Lord, make us able to receive and willing to give. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Channels of God's Living Spring

Whoever

would want

a tank

if they had access

to a spring?

Yet

seeking to control,

to own,

to carry

our supply,

we wonder why

we feel

stale and dead

instead of

alive

and refreshed.

Open

to God

and to others,

let his spring

flow in

and through

and out

to others.

Be refreshed

and cleansed,

renewed

and renewing,

a channel

of God’s

living spring.

Sea of Galilee – Riding the Storm

Reading: Luke 8.22-25; Matthew 14.22-33

Long before the advent of British Petroleum, B.P. was the initials of Baden Powell, founder of the scouting movement – with its motto, “Be Prepared.”

That’s a good Christian motto – not surprising when you remember that Baden Powell was a Christian too. Jesus insisted that we should always be watching, ready, alert… (as in Matthew 24.42; 26.23,41). Unexpected (and totally new) situations will come on us. We may well be surprised, startled… but we don’t need to go into a panic. Or do we…?

The Sea of Galilee is twenty-one kilometres long and thirteen kilometres wide. The Jordan River flows into it, fed by springs near Mount Hermon and, in summer, by melting snow. The Jordan flows out on its journey south to the Dead Sea. On the eastern shore the Golan rises high above it.

The Sea of Galilee is still a productive source of fish, though fish farms help supply the needs of Israel’s growing population. The water is extensively used for irrigation, and there has been concern that the level has been dropping in recent years.

In February 2001 we boarded a modern diesel-powered boat and sailed pleasantly out across the Sea on an overcast but peaceful day. Because of its geography, however, the Sea is subject to sudden squalls – no real problem to our modern boat, but a real danger to a first-century sailing boat.

Our readings today are about two incidents that happened on the Sea of Galilee.

One day Jesus and his disciples got into a boat and set sail for the other side of the lake. Jesus himself, tired out from a demanding day, soon fell sound asleep. A squall came down the lake. The boat was taking water and they were in danger of drowning.

They woke Jesus – “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging water. The storm subsided and all was calm.

Jesus was concerned about their lack of faith in this situation. They were amazed, wondering who their Master really was – even winds and water obey him (Luke 8.22-25).

On another occasion, Jesus had fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. He sent the disciples on ahead of him to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowd and went up into the hills by himself to pray.

By evening he was on the shore alone. The disciples were in the boat – a considerable distance from the land, “buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.”

In the fourth watch (somewhere between three and six in the morning) Jesus went out to them, walking on the water. They were scared stiff, thinking it was a ghost – until they heard the calming words of Jesus, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Reassured, Peter wanted to walk to Jesus on the water. He expected to be able to do it only if Jesus called him to come. He could do it only as he looked to Jesus – not at the wind and the waves.

Once again the disciples were impressed about the identity of Jesus – “truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14.22-33).

In both these incidents we note that four of the disciples of Jesus were professional fishermen. They knew this lake “like the back of their hand” – knew every shoal and bank, had many years of practical experience handling a boat in all weathers. They had done their best – and feared the worst! Yet over and above all their preparedness and skill, they had with them the very Son of God – greater than the wind and waves.

It is important to “be prepared” – to be thoroughly equipped and highly skilled. But – how often we find we have done our best yet fear the worst!

Like those disciples we need to know that, over and above our equipment and skill, is the same Jesus who has promised to be with us always.

Learn to trust in him – his presence, guidance and help in all our calm, unruffled, orderly days. Then we won’t need to panic when the storm breaks. We will safely ride the storm with the one who is Master of the wind and the waves.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you have promised to be with us always. Forgive us when we have thought of you only when we needed an emergency life-line. Forgive us that, in emergencies, we are often in too much of a panic to remember that you are with us. Help us, in the easy times, to know that you are with us to guide and help. Help us to know your peace within so that we can ride the storm when it breaks. We pray this in your name. Amen.

Still My Heart!

Still my heart, Lord!

Still my heart!

When all is calm,

predictable,

ordered…

I can cope.

Within the limits

of my own ability

I am fulfilled.

But with the breaking

of the storm,

when I am taken

beyond my skills,

my plans,

when faced by failure,

disaster,

when confronted

by unexpected

and unwanted

outcomes…

still my heart, Lord!

Still my heart!

O to live in your peace

in good times

and in ill –

to bring

my life

and skill to you,

to know

your presence

and your peace

all day

and every day!

Still my heart, Lord!

Still my heart!

Kurzi – Casting out Demons

Reading: Mark 5.1-20

We were on our way from Capernaum to the Golan Heights. We came towards a memorial of some sort – it was all in Hebrew.

The bus stopped and let us out. Our guide told us the memorial was to Israeli soldiers who had died here in a battle with the Syrians in 1963. Eli, our bus driver, was in the Israeli force fighting right here. She then explained that this is the only spot around the Sea of Galilee where the herd of pigs could have rushed headlong down into the sea.

Marked on the map as Kurzi, there are other remains of interest which we didn’t have time to visit – including the remains of the largest Byzantine monastery in the Holy Land.

Later, on the winding road down from the Golan, we could see across the security fence into Jordan. A town identified as Gadara was pointed out to us. It is on a small stream a distance back from the Sea of Galilee.

The manuscripts give us a number of possible names. Gerasa, Gadara and Gergesa are all possibilities which experts have tried to locate.

It would seem that “the region of the Gerasenes” may cover a fairly wide scope – and especially if the inhabitants weren’t Jews (Jews didn’t keep pigs, v. 11!).

Jesus and his disciples had crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat. They were met by “a man with an evil spirit”.

There are those today who would simply equate his condition with what we would call a mental illness. At the other extreme, there are some who identify different evil spirits for every kind of illness and therefore needing to be cast out. One reviewer has observed in certain popular writers what he calls “the return of the medieval mind.”

Those who have carefully studied the words used about the healing ministry of Jesus have concluded that Jesus saw a difference between mental illness – requiring healing – and demon-possession – needing a spirit to be cast out.

Personally, I have always thought of “demon-possession” as the devil’s work gone wrong. It’s hardly a good advertisement! Of greater concern is the person who is sanely insane – cold and calculating, fully functioning.

This man certainly didn’t come into this last category, though the spirits within him recognised Jesus’ identity as the Son of God and feared his judgment (v. 7).

The demons were cast out and went into a large herd of pigs which “rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned” (v. 13b).

The pig-herders reported “in the town and countryside” what had happened. The people came out to see and were afraid because they saw the man “sitting there, dressed and in his right mind” (v. 15). In an odd way, although the man had been a cause of major anxiety to them over a number of years – they had tried, without success, to subdue him with chains (vv. 3-4) – it was a shock to see him now healed. This healing had economic consequences for them, and they asked Jesus to leave (vv. 16-17).

As Jesus left to go, the healed man wanted to come too, but Jesus told him, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (v. 19).

A number of years ago, I saw a film in which Christian psychiatrists, counsellors and youth workers were expressing their concern about the consequences of young people dabbling in the occult. These professionals were beginning to find cases of demon-possession occurring again in western society. One phrase from the film has stuck in my memory, “If it responds to little blue pills, it’s not demon-possession.”

Perhaps our biggest danger is over-simplification. We live in a fallen world. This has affected the physical well-being of our humanity, and we all share in that brokenness in various ways. Our spiritual state can affect our physical health. It is also possible to be afflicted by “depression” and “oppression” which fall short of outright "possession".

We need to be especially careful not to go around applying labels to people. Jesus, who had perfect knowledge, treated all people with sensitivity and compassion. He had come “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3.8).

Here’s a practical word for us – “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4.7,8).

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you came into this world to destroy the work of evil and to make all things new. Even when evil destroyed you, you won the victory. We thank you and praise you. Help us to be sensitive and caring towards all who are still troubled by the work of the evil one. Enable us to point them to you, that in you they find healing and peace. Amen.

Broken Chains

No chains

could hold his body,

for chains

held his mind,

his emotions,

his will,

his spirit –

chains

of darkness,

of bitterness,

of fear –

oppressed,

possessed.

He had no use

for others,

nor they

for him.

He lived

alone,

unloved

and feared.

Then Jesus came

and saw him

and loved him

and healed him.

His chains

were broken,

oppressed

no more,

possessed

no more.

Lord Jesus,

you see

the chains that bind –

in you

we are set free!

Korazim – the Kingdom is Near You

Reading: Luke 10.5-15

We live in an age of replays. Whether it is a faulty sporting tactic, or a disaster on the road or in the air, or an unexpected medical emergency… we revisit it again and again. What went wrong? Could it have been prevented? What special action will prevent it happening again?

Archaeologists re-visit history. Sometimes they look at ruins and can broadly date the architecture or pottery or coins. They try to piece together the story of what might have happened – and why this site is now deserted. But at other times part, at least, of that history is known.

We visited Korazim – known in our English Bibles as Chorazin or Korazin.

The black basalt ruins are some ten kilometres from Capernaum. Archaeologists judge from the arches that some structures date from the Byzantine period. The ruins of a synagogue are there. A showery day and lack of tourists made it a dismal scene for us.

The historical interpretation informed us that this first-century town probably benefited from an influx of Jews following the exile from Jerusalem in 134ad. By the fourth century the town was deserted and in ruins.

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about what happened in Korazin – but it does say what didn’t happen there!

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He had left Galilee and passed through Samaria. He now sent out seventy-two of his followers. They were an advance party – letting the townspeople know that “the Kingdom of God is near you” (Luke 10.9). In some towns they would be welcome. They were to heal the sick and prepare the way for the coming of Jesus himself.

But other towns wouldn’t welcome them. They were to wipe the dust off their sandals and leave the town with the clear message that, in spite of their rejection, “the Kingdom of God is near” (v. 11).

That had already been their experience in Galilee, and Jesus referred specifically to three of the northern towns who had failed to welcome him – “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths” (vv. 13-15).

Korazin had evidently witnessed very significant miracles (though there is no other reference to these in the New Testament). Tyre and Sidon were wealthy Phoenician cities, noted and condemned for their profligacy and wickedness (Isaiah 23; Jeremiah 25.22; 47.4). Tyre and Sidon would have repented, Jesus is saying, but now Korazin’s refusal to repent means “it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.” It could have been different. The Lord’s desire is that people turn back to him – that they repent (2 Peter 3.9). When Jonah preached judgment in Nineveh, the city repented and the judgment was averted (Jonah 3.10). And for Korazin there was still ample time to make good. But that didn’t happen, and the ruins stand today in mute testimony to the judgment that was foretold.

Are there “action replays” that we need to see – situations where we could and should have acted differently? mistakes from which we need to learn so we won’t repeat them?

Our wrong motives and words and actions from the past can’t be “re-run” differently – unlike some TV commercials! But God does offer us forgiveness and a whole new way of tackling life.

The Kingdom of God is near to us – whether invited, welcomed or otherwise, whether we think of ourselves as religious or not. Whoever we are – or think we are – Jesus came into human history and is alive. The Kingdom is near.

It is plain good sense not to resist and reject till, like Korazin, there is nothing left but God’s judgment. God is offering his love, his forgiveness, his life. We’d be fools to slip up on that!

PRAYER: Loving Lord, there are so many times we would like to “do it again”. But the moment of opportunity has passed us by… something we have said that we can’t unsay… actions – wilful or misjudged – that we can’t undo… unhelpful thoughts and attitudes and relationships that persist and don’t look like changing… And you come near – to offer love, to forgive us, to make us new! Lord Jesus, you are welcome! Come by here! Come in! Amen!

To Live Anew

“Que sera sera”,

the old song said,

“Whatever will be will be.”

Fatalism?

Providence?

Carelessness?

What’s past

is gone,

yet still

with power

to influence

and control.

It doesn’t change,

yet I am changed

and formed

by what has been.

I try to forget

but memories return –

some welcome,

some unwanted.

The Kingdom is near –

the King is here!

The past is forgiven,

the future in his hands.

And at this now –

yes, Lord, at this now –

give grace and strength

to live anew.

Masada, Yad Vashem – the Quest for Peace

Reading: Luke 19.41-44

Those who would understand the tenacity with which the Jews hold onto the land of Israel need to grasp the significance of Masada and Yad Vashem. Masada is the site of the last Jewish resistance to the Romans – it fell in 74AD. Yad Vashem is the memorial to the Jews who died in Nazi death camps in World War II. An estimated 6.7 million Jews, including 1.5 million children, were gassed in an attempt to rid Europe of all Jews.

Masada was a mountain fortress near the Dead sea. The first fortifications were built between 103 and 76bc, as part of the Hasmonean revolt against Greek rule.

The last of the Hasmonean high-priestly kings was executed in 37bc and the pro-Roman Herod the Great began a new era. In 43bc Herod – the Herod of the Christmas story – took over the existing fortifications at Masada and did extensive building there including two splendid palaces. He was “hedging his bets” – in case he fell out with the Romans and in case the Jews got nasty – to provide himself a “way out” in the event of trouble from the Jews or the Romans. However, he died without having to make use of it.

Following the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66ad, a group of Zealots from Galilee captured the lightly-defended Masada and it became a refuge for fleeing Jews. The resistance fighters of Masada had provisions for a long siege.

After suppressing the uprising in Palestine, the Romans turned their attention to Masada. They set up a camp on the high ground west of Masada and built a wall around the mountain to prevent escape. They used Jewish slave labour to build a siege ramp – they knew the de-fenders wouldn’t kill fellow-Jews. When they finally stormed the fortress, it was silent and empty – the defenders had fulfilled a suicide pact rather than be taken by the enemy.

From 74ad to 1948ad the Jews held no part of their land.

The name “Yad Vashem” comes from the Hebrew of Isaiah 56.5 – translated by NIV “a memorial and a name.” It is a memorial to the people and events of the Holocaust. It records the tragic events of persecution, flight and death camps which precipitated the formation of the modern State of Israel.

The memorial covers a large area and is still being extended. School groups and soldiers are brought here to learn the reality of recent Jewish history. The scene pictured here commemorates a Polish Jew who cared for children. When they were taken into the camps he went with them. When they died in the gas chambers, he died there too.

“A land without a people for a people without a land” became the slogan of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century. This slogan failed to take account of the fact that, under Turkish rule, Palestine had become home to a significant Arab population, although one that lacked national identity. In the term to which we Australians have become familiar, it was not terra nullius.

Some Israeli Defence Force units have been sworn in at Masada – together with an oath that “Masada shall not fall again.” This history underlying Masada and Yad Vashem is significant. Understandably the Jews don’t want to forget it – and don’t want the rest of the world to forget it either. But it is one thing to have secured a homeland. It is another to keep it secure. The displacement of so many Palestinians has led to continued unrest and hostility. The issues are so major and numerous that the quest for peace in the area is very complex indeed.

Jesus was approaching Jerusalem (on what we call Palm Sunday). When he saw the city, he wept over it. “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19.42). The very name of Jerusalem includes the Hebrew word shalom, “peace” – still the regular greeting in Israel. Jesus was sad because peace was being offered to them, but they were missing out on the opportunity altogether. Instead of welcoming him as the Prince of Peace, they would have him executed. And up ahead were dark days. Their city and nation would be in ruins.

It happened then – and the Jews are still seeking shalom. In some reflections I wrote on returning to Australia – “The only possible solution seems to lie in a radical change of heart on all sides – quite specifically that Jew and Moslem both come to trust in the one who is the Prince of Peace. That ‘peace process’ was costly – and there will also be costs to both Jew and Moslem in such a change of heart.”

When will we ever learn? Yes, we are seeking peace too – world peace, personal peace… Thankfully, we aren’t facing bullets and bombs, yet we live under high levels of stress.

Jesus is still the Prince of Peace. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11.28-30).

This shalom is sealed with his own blood. The offer stands. Come to him and know “what brings us peace.”

PRAYER: Yes, Lord! We need some peace in the midst of all we face, including pain, disappointment and discouragement. You endured misunderstanding, rejection, suffering,and death… to bring us a peace that can never be taken from us. Lord, we come to you – to trust you, to know your peace. Thanks, Lord! Amen.

Shalom!

Weeping Lord,

you know

this bruised

and broken

world.

You lived here –

and died

a brutal death.

They didn’t know

you came in peace,

nor that in blood

that human hands had shed

you sealed

shalom for all

who would believe.

Weary

and burdened

I come to you

to receive

your gift –

shalom!

Amid

the troubled burdens

that afflict,

teach me

to live

in your shalom!

Caiaphas' House – "what pains he had to bear"

Reading: Luke 22.54-62

We were in Jerusalem and we made our way to the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu (“St Peter at the crowing of the cock”).

This church has been built on the site of what is believed to have been the house of Caiaphas, who was high priest at the time of Jesus’ trial (Matthew 26.57). A large mural behind the altar features Christ before his accusers.

Underneath the building were found store-rooms and a dungeon. A doorway has now been cut through the stone, to make it easy for ordinary people to enter the dungeon. But, looking up, we see the hole in the solid stone roof of the dungeon. It is big enough for a prisoner to be lowered through. Electricity now enables us to see, but for the prisoner of old there was only darkness and no hope of escape.

Was Jesus ever held in this dungeon in the course of his trial by the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin?

The old hymn says,

We may not know, we cannot tell,

what pains he had to bear,

but we believe it was for us

he hung and suffered there.

From there he was taken up the ancient steps to Pilate’s judgment seat.

Beneath the Ecce Homo Convent of the Sisters of Sion, an ancient pavement has been found. For many years it was said to be the actual pavement (lithostrotos) on which Jesus stood before Pilate. It is now acknowledged to be part of Hadrian’s construction of the new Roman city of Aeolis Capitolina a hundred years later.

The paving stones are believed to have come from the Roman Fortress of Antonia which overlooked the Temple area. The marks on the stone are part of a game the soldiers would play with condemned prisoners – “king for a day.”

That’s where Jesus was mocked, flogged and crowned with thorns as “King of the Jews.”

But he endured more than physical pain. One of his closest friends – so full of confidence that he would stand by him, even if it meant death – had followed at a distance. But, when pressed, Peter denied that he knew or was associated with Jesus.

“Just as [Peter] was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly” (Luke 22.60b-62).

“The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter...” Surely, apart from the crucifixion itself and all that implied, this denial by his closest friend must have been the greatest “pain he had to bear” – not the dungeon (if he was ever there), not the scheming of enemies, not the mockery and flogging by the soldiers, not the weakness of Pilate or the fickleness of the crowd... All of these were incidents along the way to the cross on which the victim became the Redeemer – paying the price of sin and praying forgiveness “for they know not what they are doing” (23.34) to be available for all who would believe.

And today he feels most deeply, not our “slip-ups”, but our betrayals, our denials... That’s one reason why “he always lives to intercede for [us]” (Hebrews 7.25b) – so that our lives will clearly and consistently reveal his character and will.

PRAYER: Lord, when you catch our eye, we know we have done it again. In spite of great claims of loyalty and allegiance, we have failed to live out the lives to which you have called us. Help us to know that we can only live on the basis of your forgiving and redeeming grace. Like David, we would say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Enable us to show all those we meet today your character and grace and love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Until I know

The folks about me

need to know him –

seek for peace

and cannot find it,

long for joy

but it eludes them,

think of love...

it comes and goes

but doesn’t stay

to give them strength

and consolation.

I’ve found in him

my love,

my joy,

my peace.

Then why do I

who know deny

my greatest prize,

their greatest need?

Until I know

that I am weak,

I will not know

that he is strong.

Forgive me, Lord!

Teach me

to rely on you,

on you alone,

to depend

on your strength

and grace.

Via Dolorosa – and the Man of Sorrows

Reading: Luke 23.26-43

It was a sabbath day in February 2001 and we followed the Via Dolorosa – the “sorrowful way”. Tradition says that Jesus walked this way from the judgment seat to the cross. The Lonely Planet guidebook disagrees. For a number of good reasons, the route must have been different. Throughout history there are other routes that have made good claim.

Yet here we were. February – no large crowd of pilgrims as would be the case during holy week. Sabbath – Jewish stalls closed, but some trade going on in the Arab quarter.

Our small band of eight were aware of, but didn’t go into, the various little chapels that have been built to mark the “stations of the cross.” We weren’t in pursuit of the “exact spot,” nor did we expect some special blessing from a lingering presence. The Jesus who walked all the way to the cross is alive. We have already known his presence and blessing in Australia.

Yet this is the country, the city, where it happened long ago. The mockery of a trial, the flogging, the presentation of Jesus with crown of thorns and scarlet robe (the Ecce Homo arch – “Here is the man!” John 19.5 – was built in Hadrian’s time, 100 years later), carrying his own cross, the help of Simon of Cyrene, the cruel Roman crucifixion... It happened here.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is said to be built on the spot where the crucifixion took place. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, came on a pilgrimage and attempted to identify various sacred sites. The church with all its lanterns, people queued up to put their hand through a hole and feel the “actual socket” in the rock where the cross stood, a few prostrating themselves to kiss a marble slab on which the body may have been laid, another queue to go into the ornately-preserved tomb... A Coptic chapel is built behind the tomb to allow people to touch the back of the rock. It stands as one of a number of reminders that there have been strong disagreements as various churches have wanted their “bit of the action” in this place.

The prophet Isaiah said of the suffering Servant of the Lord, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering” (Isaiah 53.3a).

Jesus, on that sorrowful way, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23.28). His greatest sorrow wasn’t his own physical pain, but grief at the unbelief that was rejecting him, profound sadness at the consequences that would soon come upon Jerusalem and its inhabitants (19.42-44).

To quote Isaiah again, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53.4-6).

The “man of sorrows” was carrying our sorrows. He grieves at our unbelief. He offers to gather us into his grace.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you came for us because you love us and grieve over our brokenness and unbelief. You understand suffering and grief. You took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. Help us to trust in you, to rest in you, and in you to find hope and rest and peace. Amen.

He Chose My Brokenness

He chose

my brokenness

to make me whole.

He chose

my sorrow

to give me joy.

He chose

my sinfulness

to pay the price

so I could be forgiven.

He chose me

to be

an object

of his love,

a member

of his family.

So great

his love!

So great

his gift!

He lives

to give

himself

to live

within me,

to live

and love

through me

that others

may know

his love

and life.

Garden Tomb – He is Risen!

Reading: Luke 24.1-8

In 1883 General Charles Gordon was on service in the Middle East. He was unsatisfied with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the site of Golgotha, believing that it couldn’t be the actual place where the crucifixion and burial of Jesus had taken place.

One day he saw a rock formation which seemed to match the description of “the place called the Skull” (Luke 23.33). Excavating in the vicinity he came across some ancient tombs and concluded that he had indeed found the true site.

The land was bought by British interests in the early 1900s and it is a British guide who presents to visitors the credibility of the site. Although archaeology doesn’t agree with Gordon (dating the tomb some four hundred years later), “the Garden Tomb” does have appeal for those who want the “feel” of what it was like. One Catholic priest is reported to have said that “if the Garden Tomb isn’t the true site of the Lord’s death and resurrection it should have been.”

The skull-like formation is right next to a modern bus station – perhaps there is something symbolic in that too! The Romans always chose a very public place for crucifixions – to make an example to all their subjects. Here, however, most of the crowd seemed to be against the condemned man. Even so, “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away” (v. 48).

“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid” (John 19.41). Joseph of Arimathea, a good and upright man who had disagreed with the Council, had the body of Jesus placed in this tomb.

The Garden Tomb is divided into two. One side was for mourners. On the other side was space for three burials. The stone slabs on which the bodies would have been laid are long since gone.

The doorway is enlarged and there is no stone to close it. For security reasons a wooden door now closes the tomb when the area is shut at night. The door carries the words, “He is not here for he is risen.”

On the first day of the week, women came with spices to the tomb. The stone was rolled away and the body gone. Two men in bright clothes announced to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24.5-6).

That’s it! That’s the important, mind-blowing, life-changing truth! You don’t go to Israel and any of its sacred sites to find Jesus. He isn’t a dead hero from the past. He is risen! alive! right here with us as he promised!

He truly came. What is recorded of him is historical fact. But we can receive him and trust him right where we are. That’s the Easter joy! That’s the joy and peace to strengthen us day by day.

PRAYER: Jesus, you came. You lived and died. But you are alive, no longer restricted to time and place. We trust you as our Saviour and acknowledge you as our Lord. Enable us to live day by day in the knowledge of your presence and grace. Help us to convey love and hope to all we meet. In your name we pray, Amen.

He is Risen!

In love

he came

to rescue

a world

gone wrong,

sinful,

self-centred,

autonomous.

In love

he lived

and taught

and healed.

In anger

and jealousy

they nailed him

to a cross –

cruel,

vengeful.

In love

friends laid his body

in a tomb –

bewildered,

grieving,

confused,

for they had hoped,

had trusted

in him.

But he’s alive!

The tomb is empty!

He’s not among the dead!

He’s my Saviour,

Lord

and Friend!

Joppa – and Dorcas' Practical Love

Reading: Acts 9.36-43

I recall from boyhood a book with a number of line drawings under the heading, “when seeing is not believing.” They were simple standard “optical illusions” which have been repeated many times – “Are the two lines in 1. the same length?” “Are the two lines in 2. parallel?’ and so on.

Famous graphic artist, M C Escher, made illusions an art form with many impossible and fascinating structures. Looking at one part of the picture we think we know what it is all about. Then we move our eyes somewhere else and we are quite confused.

Things are not always as they appear to be and we frequently need others to “fill us in,” to give us additional background and understanding, enabling us to perceive the truth about a person or situation.

From the Old Testament we learn that Joppa was the port through which cedar logs were brought from Lebanon for building (2 Chronicles 2.16) and rebuilding (Ezra 3.7) the Temple in Jerusalem. It was where Jonah caught a ship to Tarshish to escape the Lord’s call (Jonah 1.3).

Today it is Old Jaffa, part of the administrative district known as Tel Aviv-Yafo. Its streets are narrow and winding, quite unsuited to any of our modern forms of transport. There are some evidences of modernity – like a drainage system, street lights, railings…

Peter was in Lydda (Lod, located in the area where the Ben Gurion International Airport now stands). He had been encouraging the Christians there. Aeneas, bed-ridden for eight years, had been healed (Acts 9.32-35).

A message came from Joppa, about sixteen kilometres away, for Peter to come at once. “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated [into Greek], is Dorcas [the name means ‘gazelle’]), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room” (vv. 37-38).

When Peter was taken to the upstairs room, he was met by a circle of widows “crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them” (v. 39).

We don’t know a great deal about Dorcas – except that she was a believer who did a great deal of practical helping. There was no such thing as social security. Widows without a family were dependent on the generous support of people like Dorcas.

Peter remembers the time when, together with James and John, he had accompanied Jesus into the room where the daughter of Jairus lay dead. Jesus put out all the mourners and took the girl by the hand. He said, “Talitha kumi!” – which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” (Mark 5.41). Recalling those words, Peter says, “Tabitha kumi!” – “Tabitha, get up!” (Acts 9.40).

Dorcas died later, of course. The healings (and resurrections) of this life are temporary. Our physical bodies are mortal and reach a stage when they can no longer sustain life. (This is why Paul, the tentmaker-apostle, calls our body “the earthly tent we live in” in 2 Corinthians 5.1. A tent is a temporary dwelling).

Much could be said about Dorcas and her very practical faith. We might also question the widows’ unwillingness to “let her go” – did they want her back just to keep on working for them? I think we should allow them the worthiest of motives!

Instead, let’s return to where we began with those illusions. Peter needed the widows to show and tell him about the kind of person Dorcas had been – otherwise he wouldn’t have known!

Have you ever been in the situation of caring for someone with very little idea of the personality that is now locked up in Alzheimer’s Disease and with no conception of their contribution to family or society? Perhaps it doesn’t happen as often in a smaller country centre as it does in the cities.

The terminology has all changed now, so that we talk about “clients”. I suppose that speaks about the professionalism with which our care is offered. But little old ladies and gentlemen can so easily get lost in the midst of it all.

In the mist of our expert care, we need to be able to notice the “real person” under the weathered exterior and to lift their spirits – bring them encouragement in their later years.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you see us as we are! You mean us to be like Dorcas – with a faith in you that moves into practical action. You also mean us to understand and care for people whose old abilities to converse and cope and help others are now gone. Help us to have skill and insight – and genuine love – we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Dare to Be...

“Dare to be a Daniel!” –

stirring words to sing,

challenging

to stand alone

in fighting

for the King.

“Dare to be a Dorcas”?

words we never sang,

and yet…

as hard a task is done

by those who give

their lives to care

for every other one.

Dare to see the Dorcas

or the Daniel

over there.

The light has flickered,

almost gone –

and I’ve been asked to care…

to summon

what I do not know,

respecting

what I cannot see,

to let the hidden person

bound and weathered

be set free.

Caesarea – Obeying the Heavenly Vision

Reading: Acts 26.19-23

On our first Wednesday, we set off from Tel Aviv for Tiberias. Our first stop was the excavated ruins of Caesarea.

Caesarea was the ancient Roman provincial capital built by Herod the Great in honour of Augustus Caesar. The amphitheatre has been restored to the point where opera has been performed here in recent times – the acoustics are excellent.

There is a hippodrome where chariot races used to be held. It was designed to be open on the side near the sea – to catch the sea breezes.

An inscription has been found there bearing the Latin name, PONTIVS PILATVS – Pontius Pilate, the governor when Jesus was crucified (read the V as a U). A copy of it is on display here – the original is in the Israel museum in Jerusalem. The Bible tells us of the coming of Jesus as a real person into the real world, now charted by the historian.

The ruins of what is thought to be Pilate’s house have been excavated. The Roman governors didn’t reside in Jerusalem. They sought more comfortable living conditions away from the pressures of Jewish religious and cultural observances.

Later governors, Felix and Festus, kept Paul in custody here. It is thought that Paul may well have given his defence before King Agrippa in the amphitheatre.

As a young man, Saul of Tarsus had come to Jerusalem to learn from the prominent Jewish Rabbi Gamaliel. He became very fervent in belief and practice and, when he encountered Christian teaching, opposed it by all possible means. When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death, Saul was there approving that extreme action (Acts 7.58; 8.1). From that time, he was determined to root out this strange new belief (8.3).

Saul set off for Damascus with that express intention. On the way, however, he had an encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ which changed the direction of his life. The arch-persecutor of Christians became Paul, the Christian missionary (9.1-22).

The Jews were greatly disturbed that their most promising advocate had turned to the other side. They tried to eliminate him there and then (v. 23). Later, in the course of his missionary journeys, local Jews stirred up opposition and riots again and again (as in 13.35; 14.2,4,19).

Following his third missionary journey, Paul was on his way to Jerusalem amid prophecies that imprisonment and death awaited him (20.23; 21.4,11,13). A mob was about to lynch him in the Temple when the Roman commander and his troops intervened (vv. 27-36). Because of a further plot on his life, Paul was brought to Caesarea under cover of darkness for safe custody (23.12-35).

The Roman authorities were in no haste to hear his case, hoping for a bribe (24.26). In frustration, Paul, as a Roman citizen, appealed to have his case heard before Caesar (25.10-12). This put the authorities in a difficult position because they had no real charge against him.

King Agrippa was a younger member of the Herod family who had been given a small kingdom to the north and north-east of Palestine. He changed the name of his capital, Caesarea-Philippi at the foot of Mount Hermon, to Neronias in honour of emperor Nero. Festus enlisted the help of the visiting King Agrippa to listen to Paul’s story and to try to establish the case he should answer before Caesar (vv. 26-27).

In the course of his defence, Paul described the course of events that had led to his conversion. He said, “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven” (26.19).

Do you see visions and dream dreams? Not everybody does. Some who claim to be visionaries simply become cranks and fanatics. Festus was inclined to think Paul was “out of his mind” (v. 24). But Paul had simply been confronted by the truth and was living out his life in response to the truth – he was living in obedience to the heavenly vision.

That is what is meant by “integrity”, except that we set ourselves as the standard of truth – and try to be “true to ourselves.” God is the standard of truth. We meet him in Jesus Christ who came to rescue us from our warped way of life. His truth forgives and changes us. Then he has promised to be with us as we “live it out” – not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, so often we head off in our own directions, proud to be autonomous and independent – you call it sin. We look after Number One and seek self-fulfilment and self-satisfaction – you warn it is the path to destruction. Just when we think we have you crossed out of our life – you offer forgiveness. Turn us around, Lord! Lead us beyond our professional excellence to the springs of true Love – flowing from your heart to those around us! Amen!

Seeing and Living

What we see

flows through

into how we live.

Too often

the blind

are leading

the blind –

no wonder

society

falls

into a ditch!

Lord,

grant us

the vision

to see you

clearly,

to see others

in the light

of your grace,

to spend our lives

obedient

to the heavenly vision.