Skip to main content

The light of experience – first reflections on a pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine

Image
By
Sharon and Sarah having just climbed Mount Tabor

Question: What’s the connection between a Bingley coffee shop and a late night   conversation by the Sea of Galilee?
Answer: Sharon and Sarah!

It was on an early summer sunny day that we decided to make this unforgettable journey to the Holy Land.

So strange, there, to see the motorway signs to Biblical places: Tiberius, Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Bethlehem, Jericho and Jerusalem and to reflect on the stories, events and people of faith; from a boat on the Sea of Galilee watch the sun’s rays penetrate the morning haze. For a moment, the water and my life, calm and still – soon to be storm-tossed like Jesus’s fearful friends in their sinking ship.

So many beautiful churches built to mark the places of God’s presence in some special way. We saw in construction, beside the archaeological site of Magdala, yet another church with the communion table, looking through a boat shaped window over the Sea of Galilee to the hills, the Golan Heights, beyond. The past and present inextricably connected.

As we travelled through the Jordon Valley, on the West Bank, I tried to imagine Jesus and his motley crowd of followers, on his last journey from familiar farms and fishing boats to the cosmopolitan city with Jewish Temple and Roman Palace. I wonder if Jesus saw then, as we did, people oppressed and ill-treated.

This Holy Land for Christians, Jews and Muslims is torn apart. We might despair as did Mary and Martha at the death of their brother, Lazarus. In the tomb, we remembered Jesus’s commandment, ‘Unbind him and let him go free!’  These are words of hope and new life for individuals and countries alike.

In Advent, we prepare to meet the child of hope. I want to share a message of hope from Bethlehem. Many young Palestinian Christians are leaving their homeland because life is so difficult.  In conversation with one such young woman, training to be a teacher, we asked if she too would leave her native Bethlehem, getting away from the restrictions of living beyond the separation wall. Her response was simple and clear, ‘This is my home and I want to help children growing up here.’ No church will be built to mark this sign of hope, God’s presence. Yet we can pray and act for those who strive in dark times to bring hope, light and justice to a troubled Holy Land, so that the Prince of Peace may reign.

Shalom,
Sarah




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message from the Link

By
D ISSUE 16 OCTOBER 2012 ear Friends How many times have you heard people say in your church ‘Well, I didn’t know about that!’  Quickly followed by, ‘Well, if you read the notices …’ Communication within churches can be wonderful, it can be a little frustrating and it can be never quite what we had hoped.  The same is true across the Circuit, and very soon we will be reviewing methods and means of communication.  Part of this review may include looking at ‘The Link’ and ‘Outlook’ in the light of our focus upon Mission.  For example, it may be that we move more towards what has happened and how it worked to encourage churches to think about the stories that they have to share, rather than being a notice sheet of things to come. Which leads me to ask, have we ever wondered about who it is we are trying to communicate to, and about what?  For example, there have been many adverts in ‘ The Link’ about coffee mornings and cake....
Post a Comment
Read more

Fairtrade Summer Fair - 31 May 2014

By
Did you know that it is Fairtrade ’s 20th birthday this year? Yes, 2014 marks 20 years since the first Fairtrade product was sold in the UK. In that time, Fairtrade supporters have helped make huge progress, so that millions of farmers, workers and their families now have a brighter future. To celebrate this milestone, we will be having a: Fairtrade Summer Fair at Calverley Methodist Church on Saturday 31st May from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.  Please come along and give your support. There will be refreshments, Fairtrade tasting, a quiz with prize and lots of lovely Fairtrade products for sale.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Spirit of the Christmas Truce of WW1 Relived

By
The Spirit of the Christmas Truce of WW1 Relived During the 1st World War on Christmas Day1914 an amazing thing happened. There was a truce just for that day. Germans and the British stopped fighting and started singing carols. They came out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy. Photographs of families were shown to each other, small gifts were exchanged. Then they played a game of FOOTBALL! Just for that day it was PLAY not WAR! In remembrance of those men, and, their hopes for the Peace to come: Football Match 1.30 pm - 4.00 pm Sunday 10 November 2013 Bradford's Centenary Square Reflections, Poetry and Music on the theme of peace and war 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm The Delius Centre, Great Horton Road Come and join us!
Post a Comment
Read more