Friday, May 25, 2007
new testament jerusalem walk
This morning, our walk of the Old City focused mainly on New Testament sites, but also included one Old Testament site: Hezekiah’s extension. I don’t remember much from this site; it was the very first thing we visited, right after 8 o’clock. However, we did pass through some nice (?) Jewish residential areas, where Dr. Wright explained that many Jews were probably still sleeping—it was (kinda) the beginning of their Sabbath (which began tonight at sundown). We saw a few groups of small children headed to school, walking the streets in pairs or alone.
At the Pool of Bethesda, which we visited last on our 4-hour tour, I was excited to hear the deeper explanation of its corresponding biblical event. What always intrigues me about biblical stories is the “why?” behind the characters’ actions, so I love hearing the sociological, logical, archeological, geological, etc. explanations for various events. We were working from the text in John 5: a lame man was waiting to get in the pool, which was said to have healing powers. At this point, the man had been rejected by his family, faith, and community for 38 years—all due to the fact that his lameness had been caused by his (or his parents’) sin. As Dr. Wright explained, perhaps this man was beginning to check out other options for healing, one of which included sitting under rushing waters that were attributed to the worship of a healing god. (I forget the name of the god by this point in the evening.) I mean, I can understand the man’s sense of hopelessness and helplessness—it’s the compassion in me, I guess. I feel like this is what the church does to doubters, social outcasts, pregnant teens, and various other “sinners”—casting them out without attempting to understand them. Ultimately these people lose hope, sick and tired of the stares and patronizing tones from church members, and eventually they begin to seek other truth. This is why I’m so grateful for (and passionate about) the opportunity to participate in the reconciliation of the world—because Jesus didn’t leave the man, but instead approached him and healed him! [Perhaps this is the result of my specific lens of service and Jesus’ radical social subversive-ness, but I love to consider passages like this.]
A (fairly) big impression from today: the space to express gratitude. While we were waiting for another group to finish their tour at St. Anne’s Church (allegedly the site of Mary’s parents’ home—Anne, and her husband, whose name sounded very Jewish and I forget), we were sitting at the back of the church, quiet. I took this time to pray, and I finally felt grateful for this opportunity to study in Israel. I mean, I know in my head that I am deeply grateful, but I hadn’t yet felt that sense of gratitude deep in my bones. A calm also rushed over me—a peace, strength to continue the day. I was telling Ruthie later that that moment in St. Anne’s was the first time I felt I had the space for prayer since we’ve arrived. The experience—while not at what I consider a major location—was unexpected. But Sarah told us that our “spiritual insights” (her words, not mine) would come unexpectedly and at random sites, as had her own memorable impressions, I’m sure.
old testament jerusalem walk
This afternoon, our walk of Old Testament sites in the Old City focused mainly on the east hill section of the City of David. From a point overlooking the valley and the site of the City of David, one of our fellow students read Psalm 121 (“I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?...). Let me tell you, it was entirely exciting to read that psalm in the geographical context where it was originally written.
I don’t know much about the City of David or of David’s feats (only the most basic knowledge—I’ve spent so long studying the New Testament this past semester that I almost forgot about the Old!). However, I deeply appreciate the opportunity to visualize the area while I’m studying here. My mom will quickly tell you that I am a visual learner, and when I can see things, I am able to remember so much more. When I come across these texts and sites in the future, I will be sure to check my maps, photos, and journal to see what I can remember and apply to the situation.
I’m also starting to realize the gargantuan architectural feats of the ancient city. Consider for example Hezekiah’s tunnel. Just like the construction Egyptian pyramids, I can’t imagine the labor involved in hacking out the bedrock to create a 1600-foot-long tunnel—in the dark, no less! The thought of laborers moving and cutting large stones and boulders to build palaces, the Temple, homes, etc. boggles my mind. (Sidenote: walking Hezekiah’s tunnel was such a fun experience! At first, I didn’t want to walk the 30 minutes hunched over in the dark, wet, and narrow tunnel, but all of a sudden, we came upon the entrance, and I didn’t have much of a choice. I guess you could call it a bonding experience for the group—we were stuck in a dark tunnel together, and eventually the people behind me began to sing.)
I think something began to sink in while we were sitting at the Pool of Siloam. While waiting for others to depart the site, I realized that I was sitting on the steps of a 2000-year-old pool. And not only that—but this was the site where Jesus told some blind man to wash and he was healed! Recalling these mental images has already been helpful for me to interpret and understand Old Testament and New Testament stories.
Jerusalem approaches field study
sites included: mount of olives, dominus flevit chapel (where jesus wept over the city), garden of gethsemane, "absalom's" tomb, herodium, threshing floor (think ruth), bethlehem, church of the nativity (where tradition holds that jesus was born), U.N. hill
After a day of traveling around the city in a bus on our very first excursion from campus, I made a list of my first impressions of Jerusalem:
1.) very hilly. It seems like we’re always walking up and down, up and down…. Even the steps to our dorm rooms are steep and 4 floors high.
2.) very small scale. When marking my maps of Israel, I failed to take into consideration the scale. Now, however, I realize that everything is much closer than it appears. Bethlehem is only 15 minutes away!
3.) dirty. I observed lots of garbage in the streets. This surprises me. I’m not sure if it’s from tourists or from the locals, but either way, I guess I just expected people to take better care of Jerusalem—the crux of so many holy sites.
4.) large tourist base. I also saw lots of vendors catering to large tourist buses (but I guess this is to be expected in every large city). Maybe I was slightly disappointed.
5.) so so so much history. And everything is built on top of the last piece of history, which makes things difficult sometimes.
My very first geographical lesson here involved learning about the two types of land—the Cenomanian and the Senonian sections. I was entirely surprised to see the vast difference between the two and the qualities of each. I guess I had never really imagined that such a significant variance of landscape could exist in the space of only a few miles. But, I suppose I should begin to expect that here, where the landscape changes so rapidly.
I am also enjoying how Dr. Wright explains that there is “deeper geographical meaning” behind many biblical passages. For instance, this morning we discussed Psalm 23, and how David (the author) was a farm boy from Bethlehem (within sight of Jerusalem). When David wrote about green pastures and still waters (v. 2 and 3), he hadn’t actually experienced either of these comforts. Instead, David lived close to the Senonian ridge—the wilderness, where nothing grows and the land is very dry. I think these readings of the biblical texts might challenge me a little. Is it significant that David has no familiarity with green pastures or still waters? Do many evangelical Christians quote this psalm ignorantly, without understanding the background? I don’t know.
I think I’m still trying to figure out what all this means spiritually—in how I read the Scriptures and apply these principles today. (And especially in the ministry field, how I teach about the Scriptures to others.) At the religious sites, I just feel like a silly tourist, taking my pictures as if I were at any old museum. But these sites are important to my faith, and cognitively, I know this. But in my heart, I feel like it’s a different story; none of the significance of the biblical sites has hit me yet. I think I need more time to reflect and process what I’m learning, even though Dr. Wright tells us that it will take only 3 weeks to pack in all this information, but a lifetime to unpack it.
Monday, April 23, 2007
springtime reflections
i blame this on depression/anxiety. which is funny, because a year ago, i refused and denied and hated those two words.
Lord, transform me.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
i can't handle this semester anymore
this semester is getting tougher than i thought. am i overcommitted, or am i too much of a perfectionist (still)? i don't want to do anything--not even things that i usually like to do. i just want to sleep all the time. but, the thing is, i have things to be looking forward to: time off campus this weekend, service day, apartment searching with megan, mom's birthday, the end of the semester, bachelorette/commencement, israel, the summer. i just can't get excited about any of these things. is it because i'm worried about the academics? is it because i'm just tired of thinking critically all the time?
Oh be the music in my head,
the air around my bed, oh be my rest.
Replace the small disgraces of
the times and places that I never really left.
Did you leave the darkness without me?
You're always miles ahead.
And you're standing in tomorrow on the runway.
i don't know what this means, but i discovered it today (a la a mix cd left here by eliza), and i think it's kinda beautiful.
