GREETINGS FROM THE HOLY LAND,
Wednesday is our desert day. We are not going into the desert, but this place Jerusalem and Bethlehem sit on the edge of the desert with the dead sea, the lowest place on earth just a ridge of hills away. This is a day where we have been given the gift of time to “savor and relish”, to attempt to digest all that we have taken in. It has been a month-long feast and my mind whirls attempting to let this nourish me for I am one to take a fantasy journey with all that has been given and this holy place is indeed a place of dreams and hopes amidst harsh history and heavy realities of current living conditions as a new nation that is only 75 years old take shape in a land marked by many rulers. As one of our tour guides said, even though this is a hard time, it is the best time as this time we are not being ruled from the outside.
Shukran!! To my ear it sounds like a form of sugar, sweetness that means, “thank-you” in Arabic. Shukran is a way to communicate appreciation to another for their kindness. Kamal Mukarker, one of our guides spoke of his love for the Arabic language, it’s beauty and poetry so that when you say, shukran (thank-you) we follow it up with more words, picture words that map out more clearly the thanks we are giving.
When I read the Psalms with that in mind, one line feeding off of the other, giving more of a picture, I will now have more than what a picture can give for I have seen the places, the landscape. My feet have touched the ground. I have felt the heat of the sun as we scurried for shade whenever we could. Psalm 121 comes alive in a new way – “The sun shall not strike you by day.” and “I will lift up my eyes to the hills”, hills that I have seen and walked for a brief time. These people are a hardy bunch to live upon this land and thrive with all its conflict and history. They have much to teach us. Us, whose lives are not built upon such history or harshness. There is wisdom to be found here. I pray that God will help me to peel back the layers of what I have feasted on, giving me the ability to articulate what I have feasted on for you and the community where we find ourselves.
As we prepare for hosting National Night Out, you might try to add this Arabic word to your greetings to our neighbors, many of whom just might speak Arabic. Go to the internet and listen to the sound of it and become familiar so that we can thank our neighbors for coming. For God is working through us, patiently waiting for us to lift up our eyes knowing that our help comes from the Lord. God will help us to reach out and walk with our neighbors and so much more. For God is all about helping us to live together, loving one another and loving God.
After our desert day we will head to Jericho, Jordan River for an affirmation of our Baptism, Dead Sea float and farewell dinner. Friday, we head to Tel Aviv and will spend time in another body of water, the Mediterranean Sea and travel home on Sunday. I hope to see you at National Neighborhood Night Out. I’ve missed you all and look forward to seeing you again. Shukran!!! Thank you for this amazing time of continuing education.
Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,
Pastor Connie Spitzack
