An Advent Message from Jerusalem

Pastor Mark Holman has invited Dale to preach on the 1st Sunday in Advent. So here’s his sermon, for better or worse. Remember that a sermon should not be read, but rather heard.

1st Sunday in Advent

I have to say that Advent is different here in Jerusalem. Back home in Canada the meaning of Advent is lost in the commercial push to sell more, and the cultural rush to get to Christmas. It all starts right after Halloween. The malls resound with sentimental, or just plain wacky, Christmas songs, interspersed with the occasional premature Christmas carol. You get to observe Advent at church on Sunday if you’re lucky.

In my 1st parish I joined the more reformed Protestant congregations in the neighbourhood for an annual Advent service. This was a tradition that preceded me. My reformed Protestant neighbours really had no sense of what Advent is all about. When I was the host at Holy Trinity Lutheran, I had to fight with them to sing Advent hymns. They wanted to sing Christmas carols. The same thing happened at our joint Good Friday service. They wanted to sing Easter hymns. Ecumenism can be a challenge sometimes.

Advent in Jerusalem is different. Here a commercial and secular Christmas isn’t getting in the way. We have the space to get our minds around the meaning of Advent.

The lessons of the past few weeks have given us a foretaste of what Advent is all about. They’ve got us ready to think about Jesus’ promise to return. Today, on the 1st Sunday of Advent, and on the next three Sundays, we turn our attention to the statement in the Apostles’ Creed that reminds us that one of the things we believe is that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.

We call this the second coming, the parousia, and it’s a part of our Christian theology we call eschatology – the teaching about the end of history. Aren’t those ten-dollar theological text book terms wonderful?

Advent was once called the “winter Lent”. It used to be six weeks long, just like regular Lent. And the liturgy took on a more sombre tone, just like in Lent. And just as Lent is a time to prepare our hearts and minds for the Resurrection, so Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and minds, not just for Jesus’ birth, but for the time in history when Jesus will return and make creation perfect, as it was in the beginning. During Advent we prepare for, and watch for, and wait for a new creation in Jesus Christ.

Christmas is the “already” of our faith journey. We’re getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth which has already happened. But the focus of Advent is on Jesus’ promised return – the “not yet” of our faith journey. Our Advent readings remind us to be alert, to prepare, to watch for Jesus’ return. As our Gospel lesson told us this morning, not even Jesus could say when he would return in glory. Only God knows the day and the hour. Matthew told us that Jesus’ return would be at the most unexpected hour and so we must always be ready, we must always have oil in our lamps with the wicks trimmed.

My homiletics professor – the person who tried to teach us the art of preaching – said in one of his sermons: We are all invited to the heavenly banquet, and we don’t want to miss the host’s arrival because we’re too busy reaching for the mustard. Watch and wait and be prepared is the Advent message.

I said a few moments ago that this Advent is different for me because I’m in Jerusalem, and because I know that Jerusalem is the place where the traditions of all three Abrahamic and monotheistic religions hold that history will come to an end. Jerusalem is the place where there will be, on a day chosen by God, a new creation.

We all know that Jerusalem is an integral part of the traditions of all three religions. For the Jews the Temple Mount is the place where Adam was created from dust, where Cain murdered Abel, where Abraham bound Isaac for sacrifice, the place where Solomon built the First Temple and where it was destroyed, where the 2nd temple was razed by the Romans, and where the 3rd Temple, as tradition tells us, will be built, ushering in the Messiah and End Times. The Western Wall or Wailing Wall is all that remains of the 2nd Temple and is sacred to the Jews. This is where 1000’s of Jews, religious and secular, gathered just hours after East Jerusalem had been taken from the Jordanian army in 1967, where they gather every Shabat. Jews had been kept away from the Wailing Wall since 1948.

Jerusalem is where the Messiah, for both Christians and Jews, will come in through the Golden Gate.

For the Muslims the Temple Mount is the destination of Mohammed’s night flight from Mecca and the spot from which he ascended into heaven where God revealed the future to him. This event is as central to Islam as the Exodus is to Judaism.

Another tradition holds that Mohammed tied his winged horse, Al Buraq, to the Western Wall. On the last day, according to Muslim tradition, the Kaaba, the cube-like dwelling believed to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael that lies in Mecca, will miraculously appear on the Temple Mount. The Kaaba must be visited by a Muslim at least once in his lifetime when he makes the Haaj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

For us Christians the places where Jesus was crucified, and buried, and raised from the dead, lie just a few meters away from the Temple Mount. We Christians don’t have the same feeling about the Temple Mount as our Muslim and Jewish sisters and brothers. But Jerusalem, the city, is very much part of our vocabulary when we talk about Christ’s return. At the end of history, we say in Revelation, the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven, and Jesus will be sitting on a throne in the midst of the city.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have a sense of a New Jerusalem. The old Jerusalem has had such a bloody history. Christian Crusaders murdered Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem. Muslims have slaughtered Christians and Jews in Jerusalem. In several recent wars Muslims and Jews have killed each other in this beleaguered city. There has to be something better. So, there has to be another Jerusalem. In fact, one of the Hebrew spellings of Jerusalem has an ending that indicates duality – a pair of Jerusalems.

Well, the old Jerusalem was so mean and brazen and sinful that a duplicate - a sublime Jerusalem - was raised up to heaven, 18 miles up according to Jewish lore, and 12 miles up according to Muslim lore. The good and saintly will go up to live forever in the sublime, heavenly Jerusalem.

Our Christian tradition doesn’t speak of a physical New Jerusalem a certain distance above the earthly Jerusalem, but, in the Book of Revelation, we do couch our expression of the end of time and the return of Jesus in the metaphor of a New Jerusalem descending from heaven. And this is exactly what we are preparing ourselves for; this is what we are watching for during the season of Advent.

Our anticipation of Christ’s return takes on more urgency here in this troubled Old Jerusalem where we watch and wait for the New Jerusalem to come down from heaven – here in the old Jerusalem where every blood-stained stone has a story to tell.
Dear friends, we watch and wait and long for Jesus to come and make things right. But how do we prepare? Easy answer! We get as much of Jesus’ work done as we can before he comes back.

Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 25 what we are expected to do as disciples. We are to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty and clothe the naked and house the homeless and visit the prisoner. Jesus has commissioned us to bring justice to those places where there is no justice. There is no end of those places. Here in this less than holy land all we need to do is go to an East Jerusalem or to a check point or to a house demolition to see where justice is needed.
When Jesus returns, may he find us working to make this raggedy old world a happy and just place for all people. Amen

Potpourri

Top left: Pr. Mark Holman, pianist Christiane Ahnert & guest violinist Stefan Bergen


The past week has been a potpourri of experiences. Last Sunday (November 11) Dale was the celebrant and Donna read the lessons for the English language service at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, the Old City (al Quds al Qadime) where Donna and Dale worship each Sunday. Donna has also served as usher and sacristan over the past six weeks. Pastor Mark Holman has asked Dale to be the assistant each Sunday, and Dale will preach on Advent I.

The English speaking congregation meets in Redeemer’s St. John Chapel which is known as the “Crusaders’ Chapel” and was built in the early 12th century as part of a large pilgrims’ hostel and convent named St. Mary Latine Minor. It was one of many buildings erected in Jerusalem by the Crusader Knights of St. John. This past week the international order of the Templars had a service at St. John Chapel, because it is the Crusaders’ chapel, and inducted some new members into the order.

After worship a bunch from Redeemer went to a bazaar at the Jerusalem Hotel. There were wonderful jewellery, shawls, scatter mats and other examples of Palestinian handicraft for sale, and one table with Gypsy ware. Gypsies in Jerusalem? Dale spoke to one of the young women at the table, and it turns out that there is a small colony of Gypsies in Old Jerusalem who came from India in the 11th century to fight against the Crusaders, and stayed after the war. Their descendants call themselves the Domani and they speak a language derived from Urdu which is spoken in India today. They are negotiating with the Israeli government to be designated as an official minority.

Two things of special note happened in the lives of the Palestinian people this past week. On November 10, Yasser Arafat’s mausoleum was officially dedicated in Ramallah. It was built just in front of Arafat’s bunker where he and the Palestinian Authority were held prisoner the last years of his life. Mark and Marcia Holman, Donna, and Dale had to go to Ramallah on November 12 to get visas for a two-day trip to Jordan on November 25 and, so, they went to see Arafat’s burial place. It is a truly impressive memorial on the part of the Palestinians to his memory. Not every Palestinian loved Arafat, but he has become a folk hero since his death; he is remembered as someone who would never give up the right of Palestinians to return to their ancestral lands, even at Camp David where it appeared as if Barak and Bill Clinton were about to give him everything else that he wanted – except, of course, the right of return. It was moving to see the flowers and olive leaves on the tomb and visitors kissing the stone as they left. There was a scout leader there who had brought his boys to see the tomb, and he explained with great emotion what Yasser Arafat meant to him. Outside the tomb there is a minaret-like tower with a laser beam aimed at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Old Jerusalem where the Palestinians had wanted to bury Arafat. Of course, for political reasons, the Israelis did not want a Palestinian “saint’s” tomb in Old Jerusalem. But “some day”--Palestinians dream.

The 2nd event in the lives of Palestinians this past week was Independence Day. There was no school and the hospital administration had a day off. On November 15, 1988, the Palestinian Authority in exile in Algiers declared Palestine to be an independent nation. It was unilateral. No other country joined in the declaration. But November 15 is a day of hope for the Palestinians. “Some day”--Palestinians dream.
Friday, November 16 was the hospital administration’s day to pick olives. Another day off! Trouble was that all 800 trees had been picked. So, it turned out to be a fun day. Oh, we picked a few buckets of olives that others had missed. Then we had a BBQ, played some volleyball, and had a day of fellowship. It was truly an agape meal of mixed grill, Palestinian salads and bread, and Arabic coffee.

SAHTAIN!

Palestine is a place with a rich history and culture. Food in Palestine has important social, spiritual, religious, medical, and in some areas, even magical functions. To date in our journey, we have had the opportunity to try a number of Palestinian dishes. The traditional breakfast was described previously. Let’s move on to the rest of the day.

To start your meal with “salad” or appetizer (or just order for lunch), you must try the Arabic Mezze. You will be treated to a marvellous assortment of salads to be shared, or if you have the appetite, to enjoy on your own. Every mezze is different; however, the usual mezze consists of little individual plates of hummus—chickpeas and sesame oil, and baba ghanoush--pureed eggplants and tahina both of which are for dipping pieces of marvellously fresh pita bread. But that’s not all. Additional salads of slivered carrots with red and green peppers and onions marinated in olive oil, lemon, and a variety of herbs and spices; creamy minced cucumber and spices in yogurt; chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions in olive oil, lemon, and seasonings; grilled pieces of eggplant in an olive oil and herbs sauce, and sometimes a tomato dish slightly reminiscent of salsa. There may be cabbage salads, either or both green and red. Plates of olives, and pickles, and sometimes beets also accompany the salads. A wonderful mix to tantalize the senses!

A popular main dish that is often ordered to follow the salad course is the mixed grill, consisting of individual skewers of ground beef, pieces of chicken, and cubes of lamb, usually served with the best French fries you can imagine.

A favourite main course is called Mansaff which is served in a variety of ways depending on the chef. However, it usually consists of a mound of rice that has been seasoned usually with salt, pepper, nutmeg, onions and garlic, small pieces of toasted pita, pine nuts, and slivered almonds served on a large round tray. Sometimes there are pieces of meat such as ground beef, or small cubes of lamb mixed in with the rice. Or, pieces of grilled chicken or chunks of lamb are sometimes served on the side. Bowls of plain yogurt accompany the dish to be spread on the rice mixture. Delicious!

A variation of this dish is Maklouba (“upside down”) which consists of a mixture of rice with vegetables—often cauliflower and carrots—lamb, or chicken, mild spices and nuts turned upside down on a platter and garnished with sautéed pine kernels, also served with yogurt and a lettuce salad. We were treated to a “home-cooked meal” by one of our usual taxi drivers who insisted on having his wife make up the “best Maklouba in town” and deliver it to our Guest House common room for all to enjoy. The meal which was ordered for seven people, provided leftovers for the next three nights! Khalib is now after us to pick a night to come to his house for his wife to prepare another traditional dish. Can you imagine?

I’ll save descriptions of other dishes for another time. My taxi driver in Bethlehem wants me to come to his house after school one day to meet his wife and family and join them for tea or coffee, and sweets—another delicious topic for later. Ever had such generous taxi drivers in Canada? So for now, as the Palestinians say: ….SAHTAIN!, meaning “a double (good) health.” Bon appetite!

The Olive Festival in Bethlehem

Last Saturday Donna and I spent most of the day in Bethlehem. We took bus 75 from At Tur to the bus station just outside the Damascus Gate and switched to bus 124 to carry on to the Bethlehem check-point. The check-point was relatively quiet. Of course a few Palestinians who wanted to go to Bethlehem were harassed in the usual way- papers, permits, palm prints, shoes and belts on a conveyor belt, the usual harsh Israeli voice shouting at a Palestinian who doesn’t do the right thing. Our Canadian passports got us through, and our favourite cabby, Mussa whom we had called from the Jerusalem side was waiting to take us to Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity.

It was a special day in Bethlehem. It was the annual Olive Festival. When we arrived there was a demonstration being held by the Union of Palestinian Farmers, and there was a stage in front of the Peace Centre where area Palestinian officials had gathered to welcome people to the festivities. The many speeches stopped once, out of respect for the Muslim call-to-prayer from the mosque on the opposite side of Manger Square from the Church of the Nativity. Young people from the Bethlehem area schools where Donna is working sang and danced.

In the square the various co-operatives supporting women, children, farmers and local business had set up booths where olive oil products such as soap, olive-wood carvings, cross-stitch purses, bags, wall hangings, Pashmina shawls and scarves, ceramics, and jewellery – all hand made by Bethlehemites. We discovered a booth where wines and brandy from the Cremisan Winery/Distillery were on sale. Needless to say we took advantage of the opportunity to stock up.

We walked the semicircular suq which begins near Christmas Lutheran Church and swings south and then east ending up in again in Manger Square, glancing down interesting side streets. By then it was time to eat. Our cabbie Mussa had recommended his brother’s restaurant in Manger Square, and so we enjoyed a shishkebab, a tomato and cucumber salad, pita and hummus – typical Middle Eastern fare.
Back to Jerusalem the same way in reverse!

Life in A Room...

Talk about down-sizing! When we moved into our condo, we thought we’d done about all the down-sizing we’d need to for the hopefully considerable future. This, therefore, has been an unexpected and challenging task for the present.

Dale and I share a bedroom with attached bathroom which contains a good-sized stand-up shower. Our bedroom contained two single beds which Ibrahim who is in charge of the Lutheran World Federation Victoria Guest House shoved together and which certainly gives a bit more room. We have a desk with 4 drawers and chair; each bed has 3 drawers; we have an armoire with a section for hanging clothes and one with 4 shelves and 2 drawers. There’s also a vanity with a large mirror, a bedside table with 2 drawers, and 2 additional chairs, one of which is wicker! There’s a bar fridge and a floor fan; we bought ourselves a clothes tree, and a folding clothes dryer. Thankfully there’s enough room above the armoire to store our suitcases. Welcome to “Home, Sweet Home”. Actually we’re quite comfortable. From our front corner room, we have a beautiful view of the guest house gardens plus a lovely view of Jerusalem. Just next door we even have a variety-type store.

The Guest House has laundry facilities, and there’s a common room that combines kitchen and T.V./ sitting area. It also serves as the breakfast room. Every morning, Ibrahim, the concierge, has the breakfast set out by 7:00 a.m. Beverages consist of instant coffee and creamer, tea, and juices. There’s always pita bread (fresh and delicious), jams, butter and honey, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, plain yogurt, cornflakes; variations from day to day include combinations of hummus, feta and/or cream cheese, cold meat (like bologna), hard cooked eggs, tuna, and occasionally a delicious sweet honey cake. There’s always lots if one wants to make up a sandwich to take for lunch or have a light cold supper.

With about 20 rooms available in the Guest House—some single, some double--the common room is usually a busy and interesting place. There are often 4 or 5 people sitting around the table working on their laptops. The kitchen is well stocked with dishes, pots and pans, gas stove, microwave, toaster oven and fridge. Some residents are excellent cooks and wonderful smells frequently greet one on returning home. Once in awhile someone plans a meal for anyone interested to join in and either share the cost of food and drinks, or add a contribution to the meal. A BBQ pit is also available in the garden.

The Victoria Guest House has a definite international flavour with mostly young folks between the ages of early 20’s to mid thirties, with a few of us older folks thrown in. Some of the residents are here anywhere from a few days to 4 years or more. We have folks from various parts of the U.S., Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Poland, New Zealand, and the Palestinian Territories. A number of the folks are here as members of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel www.eappi.org or have connections with Christian Peacemaker Teams www.cpt.org or are members of various United Nations departments such as OCHA www.ochaopt.org or the Relief Agency, and an international lawyer consulting for the UN. Some are working for SABEEL—Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center www.sabeel.org or have connections with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions www.icahd.org ; we have the assistant to Bishop Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land www.elcjhl.org and the list goes on. Some folks are tourists; some are staying here because, although they’re from other parts of the Territories, they can’t get through the checkpoints all the time to be available for work. And that’s only in the first month that we’re here. There are definitely some interesting experiences and discussions that take place around the table. Check out the websites for some interesting information.

Reformation Day in Jerusalem

What a great experience! On October 31 we celebrated Reformation with an ecumenical worship service at Redeemer Lutheran in the Old City. All of the Orthodox and Latin churches were represented as well as various Protestant denominations. The entrance hymn was a Mighty Fortress. What else? But each person sang it his/her own language – Arabic, English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish. Arabic, English and German were the languages of the liturgy. The Gospel was read in Arabic, and Propst Uwe Grabe preached in German. A highlight of the service was an Armenian Prayer for the Unity of the Church chanted in Armenian. The Armenian Priest had a wonderful singing voice. Bishop Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land gave the benediction.

Lest I forget, Donna represented Canada by singing in the choir (of 8!). The singers were all from Redeemer’s German congregation, except Donna. See the photo of her chatting with the choir members.

After worship there was a crowded reception in the rectory with copious hors-d’oeuvres and wine. The way Reformation Day should be celebrated!

The group picture? We went out for Japanese food later in the evening. And in Jerusalem too!