In fact, that was the theme of our travels and discussion today -- rest and rejuvenation. We started out with a brief service of Holy Communion at St. George's Anglican Church near our hotel in Jerusalem, then we got on the bus and headed out into the Judean wilderness where Jesus was occasionally known to retreat when he needed to recharge. Unfortunately, as soon as we got off the bus to begin our walk to a hilltop that's famous for its stunning view of the wilderness hills and the Wadi Qelt (a normally dry creek bed where Jesus probably walked from Jericho to Bethany before his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday), we were immediately swarmed by locals who were insistent on selling us fabrics and jewelry.
They followed us up the trail to the hilltop, and even when they saw that we were trying to have a quiet Bible study, they still hovered around us. Then, as soon as they saw we were wrapping it up, they shifted their sales pitches into high gear. At the same time, two other busloads of tourists arrived, adding their own noise to the chaos. (see photo)
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| Local vendors in the Judean wilderness above the Wadi Qelt |
I know they have to feed their families just like the rest of us; but it did kind of put a damper on the "retreat" aspect of the experience.
Next we headed into Bethany, the hometown of Mary, Martha and Lazarus -- another place where Jesus liked to retreat quite often, probably because he and the disciples enjoyed such wonderful hospitality there. Little did we know that we would soon get a taste (literally) of that hospitality ourselves.
When we got off the bus, we were once again surrounded by street merchants hawking their goods, only this time our leader recognized one of the men who was standing there. He was a Palestinian man who, about four years earlier, had driven the tour bus for our leader. Upon seeing our leader, he greeted us warmly and then invited us to his home for tea. We gladly accepted, and a little while later we were seated out on the balcony of his hillside home sipping a delicious tea (the name of which I can't remember now) and munching cookies that had been brought to us by his charming little daughter.
I wish I could say that it was all pleasant conversation, but it wasn't, because as soon as we asked about his family and his work, he began telling us about all the changes that had taken place in the last five years since the Israeli government, in response to attacks by some suicide bombers who had come from other areas ("not Bethany", he was quick to say), had erected a massive concrete wall separating Bethany from Jerusalem, which lies only a mile or two beyond the wall. In fact, the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane are just on the other side of the wall. (see photo)
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| Wall separating some of the nicer homes of Bethany from Jerusalem |
He told us that, because of the wall and all of the security checkpoints that Palestinians now need to pass through, many of the residents of Bethany -- which is an entirely Palestinian city -- can no longer get to work in Jerusalem. Or, if they can, it often takes them 1-2 hours to make a commute that used to take only 10-15 minutes. (The picture below shows the traffic we encoutered as we approached the checkpoint at the edge of Bethany.) Another impact of the wall is that tourism and commerce in Bethany have suffered badly in the past few years.
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| Traffic jam at security checkpoint at edge of Bethany |
I'm not trying to point fingers at anyone. I know very well that history runs deep here, and that no one person or party can be saddled with all the blame. Today's experience was one more reminder, though, of how important it is for us to pray that a just and lasting peace may soon be achieved in this land -- the land that we often call "The Holy Land", but which the Anglican priest this morning referred to as "the land of the Holy One".
I like that.
May all in this place -- indeed, may all in this world -- come to know Him, the Holy One... the Prince of Peace.
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