ISRAEL - DIVERSITY AND TENSION

Similarities and differences, is a phrase used to describe many things from culture, religion, and people. Over the course of our time here we've been able to witness the tensions within and around Israel. Within her borders remain tensions between Muslims, Jews, and Christians but also Christians and other Christians (e.g., the Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic). This doesn't mean that there isn't genuine cooperation or friendship, but there is a sense of reservation in many interactions. It's clear that there are many claims, such as this land is “mine” and that land is “yours.” In Jerusalem there isn't much land and the land that does exist is precious.

There's a certain tragedy to the many barricades that exist but, at the same time, one can recognize that a holy place or a place of prayer needs to be protected. It needs protection from turning into a museum just as much as it needs physical protection from age and long use. Even though Christians and Jews share a great deal, there isn't a sense of one place, or even one Scripture, being called “ours.” It certainly strains the thought of us becoming one in Christ. But this city, a great city of symbols, reflects the human condition yet again: divided, quarrelsome, and fearful. It would be foolish to not see ourselves in this city: divided hearts, quarrels in our homes, and fearful of what the future holds. Yet it is this city that Christ entered. It was also here that he healed and taught. And it was here that he was established as the new Temple, when he was on the Cross. It is here, as in all places, that he reigns.

Christ must be established in our hearts if we are going to see any change in ourselves and in our homes. Pilgrims who walk the streets of Jerusalem do not seek consolation from the city herself, but from the one who can to redeem mankind through Jerusalem. Underneath layers of discontent and problems sits a man who draws the world to himself. We as pilgrims can see this, and we come here to affect the same change around the world.