Day 7, 9, and Home
We started off Day 7 at the Temple Mount. I wasn't very happy to be awake and walking around that day, to be honest, because of the cold weather and information overload and need for sleep. But once we got started, it ended up being a fantastic day.
From the time of the 638 AD Muslim occupation in Israel, the entire Temple Mount has been a Muslim holy site. Of course, before that it was a Jewish holy site dating way back to Solomon's Temple. So now, although Israel once again politically "owns" the Temple Mount, the Muslims have jurisdiction over what happens there, hence the presence of a mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims (have I already said this?...), believed to be the site where Muhammad ascended into heaven. The Western Wall, right off the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in the world for Jews. And the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, believed to be the site where Jesus was crucified, is the holiest site in the world for Catholics. All three are at least within view of the Temple Mount.
I just think that is the craziest thing.
And I'm really glad Protestant Christianity doesn't have holy sites. The fighting and the power plays and all of that really gets to me. Besides, attaching any sort of holiness or divinity to a spot of dirt, in my opinion, just distracts from the truth of who God is and who we are. I know I have access to the Spirit of God everywhere and at all times, not just in the place where Jesus walked.
And yet still -- being in those places has done something profound for my faith, and I can't quite express it in words. You just have to go there to understand.
We also went to the Lions Gate (the gate the Israeli army stormed through at the end of the 6-day war, to recapture the Old City and the Temple Mount after 2,000 years of foreigners possessing the land!), the Pool of Bethesda (where Jesus healed a paralytic), St. Anne's Church, Herodium (another palace/fortress of Herod's), and Hezekiah's Tunnel.
All were really cool and have amazing stories, making certain Biblical passages come alive for me and readjusting my view of Christ in different ways. Pilgrimages are so unexpectedly valuable, I mean, at least for me; I never expected a pilgrimage to change things for me. Learning about Islam when I was little, I remember thinking their pilgrimages to Mecca were the strangest and most useless traditions ever. I take it back.
Neil Armstrong visited Israel some time after his historic trip to the moon. He was standing on the Southern Steps when he said, "I am more moved standing in the place where my Lord stood than I was when I stood on the moon."
Day 9, our last day of touring, started in the Western Wall tunnels. They have excavated under the entire length of the Western Wall so that visitors can walk through the arches that support the Temple Mount. We were able to see the original stones from Solomon's time, as well as Herod's, which was unbelievable. They need to put a bathroom down there though, that's my one suggestion...
The Holocaust Museum, the Garden Tomb, and dinner at the American Colony Hotel finished out the day. About 24 hours from when we arrived at the Tel Aviv airport, we arrived at Nashville International, having said goodbye to Shmulik, Shai, and our South Carolina friends.
In some ways it seems like our trip went by as quickly as it came. In other ways it seems like I was gone a year. It's impossible not to underestimate the impact a trip across the ocean will have on you, really. Every time I go to Russia I come back a different person. Now I'm back from Israel and I know my perspective has shifted just as much, even though I didn't expect it to really impact me as much as Russia. It's different, but it's still such a formative experience.
Looking back and noticing the ways God prepared me for this makes me smile. It really never clicked until I got there, but I had been studying all 4 of the Gospels in the months before, in classes and church. I had recently seen (and blogged about) the Jewish identity of Jesus in the Gospels, especially in Matthew. And as always, God's timing for this trip was pretty impeccable.
He placed this in my life at a time when I was losing my passion for His word, at least in some ways. Since the beginning of sophomore year I've been struggling with consistently spending time praying and reading the Bible (except for school), even getting to the point of apathy. There were plenty of times when I questioned even the need for the spiritual disciplines. If people couldn't read the Bible on their own for centuries, how can it be so important for me? And I already know my salvation is not dependent on it...
The early Old Testament in particular had never been something I would pick up and read. Growing up, I read the New Testament over and over, especially in middle and high school, and developed a love for it that will never go away. Studying Greek has enriched that. But even the New Testament in large part had become for me an academic text since entering college, and I was at a loss to know how to change that.
Then Israel.
All I can say is that last night, jet lagged and ready to sleep for days, I climbed in bed and opened my Bible to Exodus. Exodus! On purpose! The chapters of rules that God gave Moses on Sinai. And they captivated me, because I knew what was going on when God said to make altars a certain way and let the ground fallow every seven years. I just want to read and read, and discover more of what God showed me in Israel in order to help me understand my Jewish roots and other things I never thought about.
I remember being 6 or 7 and being in church, the tiny Baptist church we used to go to. I was sitting in a pew doodling with some friends, and someone taught me how to draw a Star of David. I started drawing it on everything, because that's what 6 year olds do, and when Mom told me it was a Jewish symbol I was devastated. It's not Christian?? You've been letting me draw a JEWISH symbol??
Judaism to me was like Islam, Buddhism. A false religion. Something to be avoided.
Until Israel I didn't really consider the Jewishness of Christianity. I had started to realize it in studying religion at school, but not to the extent that I wish I had. Because Christianity is not a replacement for Judaism, or a different religion per se. It's a fulfillment of Judaism, a filled-full Judaism! What a rich tradition we inhabit, what a beautiful history we have inherited, which we so often ignore. I'm learning that Christians have a unique call to "become a zealous advocate of Israel and Israel's children, fervently pleading their case before the Father's throne." (Don Finto, Your People Shall Be My People)
So much more to say, but I'll continue in another post. I can't wait to tell all of you in person more of my stories! Back to Belmont tomorrow, just in time for advising and registration. Lord, give me energy and peace...
From the time of the 638 AD Muslim occupation in Israel, the entire Temple Mount has been a Muslim holy site. Of course, before that it was a Jewish holy site dating way back to Solomon's Temple. So now, although Israel once again politically "owns" the Temple Mount, the Muslims have jurisdiction over what happens there, hence the presence of a mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims (have I already said this?...), believed to be the site where Muhammad ascended into heaven. The Western Wall, right off the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in the world for Jews. And the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, believed to be the site where Jesus was crucified, is the holiest site in the world for Catholics. All three are at least within view of the Temple Mount.
I just think that is the craziest thing.
And I'm really glad Protestant Christianity doesn't have holy sites. The fighting and the power plays and all of that really gets to me. Besides, attaching any sort of holiness or divinity to a spot of dirt, in my opinion, just distracts from the truth of who God is and who we are. I know I have access to the Spirit of God everywhere and at all times, not just in the place where Jesus walked.
And yet still -- being in those places has done something profound for my faith, and I can't quite express it in words. You just have to go there to understand.
We also went to the Lions Gate (the gate the Israeli army stormed through at the end of the 6-day war, to recapture the Old City and the Temple Mount after 2,000 years of foreigners possessing the land!), the Pool of Bethesda (where Jesus healed a paralytic), St. Anne's Church, Herodium (another palace/fortress of Herod's), and Hezekiah's Tunnel.
All were really cool and have amazing stories, making certain Biblical passages come alive for me and readjusting my view of Christ in different ways. Pilgrimages are so unexpectedly valuable, I mean, at least for me; I never expected a pilgrimage to change things for me. Learning about Islam when I was little, I remember thinking their pilgrimages to Mecca were the strangest and most useless traditions ever. I take it back.
Neil Armstrong visited Israel some time after his historic trip to the moon. He was standing on the Southern Steps when he said, "I am more moved standing in the place where my Lord stood than I was when I stood on the moon."
Day 9, our last day of touring, started in the Western Wall tunnels. They have excavated under the entire length of the Western Wall so that visitors can walk through the arches that support the Temple Mount. We were able to see the original stones from Solomon's time, as well as Herod's, which was unbelievable. They need to put a bathroom down there though, that's my one suggestion...
The Holocaust Museum, the Garden Tomb, and dinner at the American Colony Hotel finished out the day. About 24 hours from when we arrived at the Tel Aviv airport, we arrived at Nashville International, having said goodbye to Shmulik, Shai, and our South Carolina friends.
In some ways it seems like our trip went by as quickly as it came. In other ways it seems like I was gone a year. It's impossible not to underestimate the impact a trip across the ocean will have on you, really. Every time I go to Russia I come back a different person. Now I'm back from Israel and I know my perspective has shifted just as much, even though I didn't expect it to really impact me as much as Russia. It's different, but it's still such a formative experience.
Looking back and noticing the ways God prepared me for this makes me smile. It really never clicked until I got there, but I had been studying all 4 of the Gospels in the months before, in classes and church. I had recently seen (and blogged about) the Jewish identity of Jesus in the Gospels, especially in Matthew. And as always, God's timing for this trip was pretty impeccable.
He placed this in my life at a time when I was losing my passion for His word, at least in some ways. Since the beginning of sophomore year I've been struggling with consistently spending time praying and reading the Bible (except for school), even getting to the point of apathy. There were plenty of times when I questioned even the need for the spiritual disciplines. If people couldn't read the Bible on their own for centuries, how can it be so important for me? And I already know my salvation is not dependent on it...
The early Old Testament in particular had never been something I would pick up and read. Growing up, I read the New Testament over and over, especially in middle and high school, and developed a love for it that will never go away. Studying Greek has enriched that. But even the New Testament in large part had become for me an academic text since entering college, and I was at a loss to know how to change that.
Then Israel.
All I can say is that last night, jet lagged and ready to sleep for days, I climbed in bed and opened my Bible to Exodus. Exodus! On purpose! The chapters of rules that God gave Moses on Sinai. And they captivated me, because I knew what was going on when God said to make altars a certain way and let the ground fallow every seven years. I just want to read and read, and discover more of what God showed me in Israel in order to help me understand my Jewish roots and other things I never thought about.
I remember being 6 or 7 and being in church, the tiny Baptist church we used to go to. I was sitting in a pew doodling with some friends, and someone taught me how to draw a Star of David. I started drawing it on everything, because that's what 6 year olds do, and when Mom told me it was a Jewish symbol I was devastated. It's not Christian?? You've been letting me draw a JEWISH symbol??
Judaism to me was like Islam, Buddhism. A false religion. Something to be avoided.
Until Israel I didn't really consider the Jewishness of Christianity. I had started to realize it in studying religion at school, but not to the extent that I wish I had. Because Christianity is not a replacement for Judaism, or a different religion per se. It's a fulfillment of Judaism, a filled-full Judaism! What a rich tradition we inhabit, what a beautiful history we have inherited, which we so often ignore. I'm learning that Christians have a unique call to "become a zealous advocate of Israel and Israel's children, fervently pleading their case before the Father's throne." (Don Finto, Your People Shall Be My People)
So much more to say, but I'll continue in another post. I can't wait to tell all of you in person more of my stories! Back to Belmont tomorrow, just in time for advising and registration. Lord, give me energy and peace...
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