We’re on our way to Church at Christ Church Jerusalem where we’ll have Holy Communion. Going to Church in Jerusalem – how good is that?
The minister is glad to see the Church full of pilgrims and he uses the Gospel reading from Matthew 6:19-34 with “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven” as his theme. This is a passage to remember and the minister reminded us how Judaism weaves the practice of remembering into their faith. The wearing of the keepah reminds them that God is above and prayer tassels help them remember prayers and the Torah. Even passages like Psalm 119:109 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” – demonstrate Hebrew parallelism, packing two similar ideas into one sentence. Our own self absorption gets in the way of the Kingdom of God as an activity, an action that nothing should get in the way of. Jesus helps by saying, “don’t worry” and this should help our focus. Worrying diminishes our life and frustrates Jesus’ plans for us. How to get started when you don’t know where to start? Try praying “Lord, I’m willing to be made willing.”
During Holy Communion, we sang the bread and wine parts in Hebrew. In his closing comments, the minister made a moving statement: “This Church acknowledges the obvious – we owe everything to the Jews. We’re perhaps the only Church in Jerusalem that does this.”
Throughout the whole service, we were treated to wonderful music, some in Hebrew, all led be a gifted worship team. It was an incredible two hours.
Out in the patio in front of the Church we had a cold drink before moving on to our next stop – the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem.
The museum is laid out in several rooms on the old wall and traces Jerusalem’s history from ancient times to the present. The displays and descriptions are well done and the old wall is the perfect setting.
Moving on we go to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park – The Temple Mount Excavations. When the Romans destroyed the Temple, they pushed the remains over the top from the Temple Mount and this park has been busy finding things, including an inscribed stone indicating it was from the place where people were called to the Temple.
Glen reads Mark 13:2 in the midst of the rubble where Jesus predicts the Temple’s destruction. He also reads Matthew 4:1-5 where Satan tempts Jesus from the highest point of the Temple – that was a bad idea as Jesus reminds us “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Sitting on the steps under the wall, Kim reads Acts 2:1-13, 40-41, the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost and many are baptized. Kim’s message is that this is not a one time event from long ago, but an ongoing process, with us today and always. Leslie gets up and talks about three important events and how they can shape us – Lent for teaching and equipping, Crucifixion, the meaning of everything and Pentecost – filled with the Holy Spirit we can go and do something powerfully.
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