Jerusalem: Hope and Unity

Hello, all!

Following the Bible Core Course I’ve been staffing, after studying the book of Exodus in Egypt, we headed through the Sinai area into Israel to see the centerpiece of so much Biblical history, from the beginning of the Old Testament all the way into the end of the New Testament. After crossing the border of Israel, we stopped at a place in the desert called Timna Park, where we camped in a giant tent. In the morning, we visited another sort of tent: a replica of the Tabernacle of the people of Israel. It was really helpful for everyone to have a better visual and understanding of such a significant place/concept.

We stopped briefly by the Dead Sea, for a few hours, just for fun! It is so stunning. Really painful to walk barefoot in, but stunning!

After that, we stayed a night in modern-day Sebastia, which used to be Samaria of the Bible. We saw some of the most ancient things that I have ever seen there, including the ruins of the palace of King Omri and Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 16) and Jacob's Well, purchased by Jacob in Genesis and later the site of Jesus’ famous conversation with the Samaritan woman. The well has since been built over. It resides safely underneath a monastery, in a small, cool chamber, lit with ornate lamps that hang from the ceiling. We had the chance to see the well and even to draw out some fresh water to drink from it. These were new places for me. We didn’t get the opportunity to see them in my school.

We headed then to Jerusalem. I love the diverse culture of the place and the hope that resides there, even among the conflict and confusion that is held over it. There is a very modern and progressive art scene there that I appreciate as well. We stayed at a place called Abraham’s Hostel, where there are so many young and interesting travelers from around the world, who usually love to talk!

A great, chill day for me in Jerusalem would include a walk down Jaffa Street, to Old City, seeing historical sights, getting to know some people, and enjoying some fresh pomegranate juice. Be careful shopping, as things can be really pricey and you can get ripped off buying stuff that you could get pretty much anywhere else for cheaper. If you do find something that is truly unique to Jerusalem, you should rarely buy it for the first price that they give you.

Of course, I enjoyed seeing all of the historical locations, touring them again, and even helping explain some of them. I was able to have a better and deeper understanding of it all on the second go. I saw many of the students’ eyes light up as so much of the Bible and its stories became so real for them. To be able to visualize people and places empowers the mind to go deeper, which prompts the spirit to take in more as well. This is the beauty of this school.

We visit a lot of places in Jerusalem, but some of the highlights are the Old City of David/ Hezekiah's Tunnel, the Western Wall, The Mount of Olives/Garden of Gethsemane,the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Garden Tomb. We also take day trips to Capernaum and Nazareth. If you want to read a bit about my first experience seeing these places, when I was a student, you can read my last blog post about Jerusalem, here.

Something that was a bit odd for me both times I visited Jerusalem was the whole idea of holy places and how seriously people take them. As a Western, protestant, evangelical Christian, I can appreciate “holy” and significant locations, but will naturally have very little regard for them in a real spiritual sense. We don’t have a huge emphasis on physical places or for tradition, generally, as we emphasize the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the omnipresence of God. Without making any comment of whether that is right or wrong, because that’s not what I’m writing this for, that’s just how it is. Because of this, it generally makes it a bit shocking, especially for the first time, to walk into a place and to see people on their knees, weeping and kissing the ground. Likewise, it can be unusual for us to see all of the different traditional garments of the Jews and even of other sects of Christianity.

While there are obvious divisions and even (often) enmity between religious groups of Israel, there are different sects even within the Christian church that widely vary from one another. You have all sorts of different Catholic, Protestant, and Armenian believers present. Each have different theologies and methods by which they worship, but they all worship the same God. All have different opinions about how to go about expressing the Christian faith and each will claim to have very Biblical grounds for their own.

While I don’t think it is wrong to see where the church may be missing it (in fact, we are called to hold each other accountable) we need to have the relationship and to take the stance from which that is appropriate. We should never look at another member of the same faith—a sister or a brother—and address them in any way that is not loving, especially if we have not examined ourselves first. I find that such division and judgement exists in the church today and I don’t think it is helpful for us, nor does it represent the character of God well to others. We are extremely called, in the Bible, to stand in unity with one another. If we don’t stand in love and unity, then our faith counts for very little.

It is so healthy, I think, to see the strengths in another’s way of doing things, even if you see the weaknesses as well. For instance, of course I believe that there are certain things that the Protestant does well. However, there are many things that the Catholic church has preserved; things which the protestant church has lost. There are three things, especially, that I really appreciate about them.

1. A sense of reverence.

Protestants have an emphasis on personal relationship with God, which is great. Sometimes, though, I think we can forget who it is we are talking to/about and we can ignore some very strong scripture that would quickly remind us, because it makes us uncomfortable. The Catholic church has a serious concept of glorifying and honoring God as a King and a creator, expressed through their style of prayer and their beautiful churches, which brings me to the next point.

2. Beauty

I have never seen a protestant church that comes close to any cathedral in its beauty. Even the simplest of Catholic churches are usually more beautiful, in my opinion. God clearly has a high value for beauty, simply for beauty’s sake. It is evident in the way that he created everything and how he even instructed his temple to be built. Protestants can be highly practical and have little to no regard for the arts as an

expression of worship, certainly not in an extravagant way. What I cannot help but think of, however, is the story in Matthew 26 of the woman who anoints Jesus with a very expensive ointment. The disciples rebuke her for “wasting” what could have been used to give to the poor, but Jesus tells them to leave her alone, as she has done a beautiful thing for him. In addition to this, I find the Catholic church to generally be extremely generous to those in need.

3. Understanding of the weight of sin

We are not condemned. Of course, our entire belief revolves around forgiveness and salvation through Christ. It means nothing, however, if we don’t recognize, deeply, our need for it. It’s rarely spoken about all that much in the churches I’ve been to, growing up, and I understand why. The desire is not to shame anyone or cast judgement and condemnation over one another. We should, however, take ownership of our own wrongdoings, and I honestly find the practice of confession to be a very healthy and humbling one.

I’m talking in a very general sense and if I sound like I’m bashing the Protestant church, I myself am a member of it. I assure you I appreciate and respect it. I'm using two broad and obvious examples of divisions within the church, but this applies to every different branch within each of those categories as well.

I also find it extremely important to honor and respect the Jewish religion and tradition, as we would not be if it weren’t for them. Judaism is the root of Christianity. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish law and the Jewish prophesies. They are still so special to God, as a people, and it is not wise or loving to disregard or dishonor them. I’ve been trying to educate myself a lot more on their beliefs and traditions. I love having conversations with them and always approaching Christianity from a Jewish understanding of it.

Anyway, that was a ramble, but it was something on my heart a lot, lately. I've recently had a lot of new insights into Judaism, Christianity, and Israel. I’ve also spent a lot of time in Europe and some time in the Middle East in the recent years, where there is a very strong Catholic presence and history.

After Jerusalem, we headed to the port of Kusadasi, Turkey, which is near the ancient ruins of the city of Ephesus. These are my favorite ruins we see. In Turkey, we study 1st and 2nd Kings, Haggai, and Ephesians. We also enjoy a couple of days in Istanbul, just for fun!

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know if you are interested in joining my Newsletter list, which goes more in depth about the school and our ministry.

-- Emily Kathey

#israel #travel #bible