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December
2008
The Vicarage,
North Ford Road
Dear Friends,
When the group who
went on the Parish
Pilgrimage to the
Holy Land at the end
of October arrived
in Bethlehem on
their first day,
they did not find a
stable or a manger,
but something very
different. The
Church of the
Nativity that marks
the site is
certainly
impressive. The spot
where Jesus was
probably born is
marked with a star
in the floor and we
certainly felt a
sense of reverence
and wonder as we
stood there, but
there was something
else: the evidence
all around of the
suffering of the
Palestinians.
Outside our hotel
there were
checkpoints, through
which the occupying
Israeli troops made
the locals pass
every time they
wanted to go
anywhere. All around
Bethlehem we saw the
grotesque security
wall being built
around the Arab
communities without
regard to property
or boundaries. When
we travelled across
to Jerusalem from
Bethlehem, our own
excellent guide, who
was a Christian
Palestinian, had to
get off the bus at a
check point and find
his way by some
circuitous route. A
Christian lady,
working in a local
hospital, told us
they had no hope.
“Life is hell for
us,” she said.
What should we
Christians make of
this? We were in the
very the place where
Christ came to bring
peace to the world,
surrounded by the
opposite. Here was
overwhelming
evidence of human
failings. Here the
political groups
were so entrenched
that it seemed
almost impossible
that a solution
could be found.
Perhaps a few
observations may be
made.
One is that the
experience provided
overwhelming proof
for our need for
salvation. It was an
extreme example of
how human beings
make a mess of the
world and how they
need help to get out
of it. Then it
showed how stupid it
is for any one group
to think they alone
know what is right.
It is even worse
when they claim to
know exactly what
God wants. It showed
what happens when
people refuse to
listen to one
another. It showed
us also that
religious ideas are
always open to
distortion and
abuse. In the Holy
Land, for example,
we saw how the idea
of the “chosen
people”, a powerful
and creative idea in
the Scriptures,
could be distorted
into a belief about
the need for an
absolute Jewish
political state at
any costs. The
purpose of the
chosen race was to
bring God’s
salvation to all
mankind, not to
build barriers
around a patch of
land
The Christian
communities in the
Holy Land are
dwindling. They
depend pretty
heavily on visitors.
When we attended a
service at St.
George’s Anglican
Cathedral on the
Sunday morning, most
of the congregation
were either American
or British. We
visited an
impressive Arab
Rehabilitation
Centre in Bethlehem
which depends on
outside support.
Hopefully we
provided some
encouragement to
those working there.
It was not all about
this. The Pilgrimage
was an inspiring and
highly enjoyable
experience for all
who went, despite
the politics. It
helped us to see
that the one who was
born where we walked
during another
period of political
strife is as needed
as ever. One thing
we can all do at
this season is
recall some words
from Psalm 122, used
by Jew and Christian
alike, “Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem”
Yours sincerely
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