Author: alwaysbridging

We celebrated the Eucharist this morning at Abu Ghosh (thought to be one of the possible sites of ancient Emmaus), followed by a stop at the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947. Heads up, you scientists. You know who you are.

We are working our way up from 413 meters below sea level in the immaculate Mercedes-Benz chariot of our oh-so capable driver/business owner, Issam. Occasionally our beautiful (inside-and-out) guide, Ranya, adds commentary about the exquisite desert scenery and history.

Let’s see…

Why would I ever doubt?

Then we floated in the Dead Sea itself,which was a stitch. MANY laughs!

I have been at this relationship with God for a long time now. Sometimes I allow myself to be distant and sometimes close. More and more often, the distance is less and I remember, regardless, God is there. I marvel at how close I feel now. Every time I experience the cycle, I am more assured. This is life at its richest and fullest.

Thanks Be.

Postscript

Since tomorrow is Sunday, one of the feast days in between the 40 days of Lent, I don’t plan to post. Instead I will celebrate and rest. Most pilgrims return home on Monday while eight of us will continue on to Jordan. ¡Ojala!

Confession, While Waiting

On our last morning in Galilee, it was as if God gave me a prayer shawl. I suspected I was going to need one, mostly in Jerusalem, so I could wear it at times to show respect. I was on the lookout to buy.

I was up early enough to watch the sunrise on that last day by the lake where Jesus had ministered and healed. As I approached the lakeshore I saw the blue fabric neatly folded, lying there on a rock. Recognizing someone had mistakenly left it there, I decided to leave it too, until it was almost time for our bus to leave, that is. While I felt awkward taking it, just simply accepting this gift, I acted against my faltering nature thinking I was stealing away with something. While it seemed to be made for me, and even free, I was definitely messing with the ease of it.

Frankly, now, on another very early morning, I feel unsettled again. Not stuck, really, but in between. Today we go to Emmaus. Thank the Good Lord, I know what happens next. On one level, I ache amidst all this teeming humanity. Will I once again accept this fantastic gift of faith? Over and over again, here on this pilgrimage, God has shown up in big and small ways, blessing me. And yet, I pause…hold back. I ask myself:

Will I have enough energy?

Enough clean clothes?

Even enough money (for God’s sake!)?

From this place it is slightly easier to imagine the disciples, the women. Only human…all of us. The waiting is killing me.

And that brings me back around to yesterday’s long, long line as we waited at the foot of the cross at Holy Sepulchre…waited for our turn to bow.

I didn’t know it then but, God, the Ineffable, gave me this sweet shawl for company through another long night and finally dawning morning. Maybe it will help to just go wrap myself in it and keep moving forward, one footstep at a time.

Holy God, Holy and mighty, Holy immortal one, Have mercy upon us.

Cousins across three faiths

What an absolutely remarkable day! We visited the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre, a school for Palestinian children who have disabilities. We walked the stations of the cross along the Via Dolorosa worshiping as we remembered Jesus making this very journey. And we met two fathers from Parent Circle, one Palestinian and one Jew, who each lost their school-age daughters in the conflict and now tell their story as friends who seek peace. Each experience could make for a post in itself.

What struck me most deeply though was in the morning when we stepped onto the Temple Mount, a sacred spot venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Airport-type security checks were required first. My heart swelled as I stood in the coolish sunshine and noticed the cast of delicious characters of three faiths, all descended from Abraham, all monotheistic.

Later, after praying at the Western Wall, I waited in the bathroom line behind two elderly-and-wrinkled Jewish women. We began laughing as we tested the doors to find the next available stall. While I couldn’t understand their words, we related in our quest to find an open door. Imagine our shared delight when this was the first one that opened as I turned the handle:

Sharing our human condition over basic needs with laughter…what could be better?

Thank God for levity

As the bus pulls away from our hotel each morning, Father Steve tells us a joke. Here’s an example: “Why does Jesus like donuts so much? They are usually not self-centered, unless they’re holy, that is.”

Laughing at myself is available too, like when I read a sign wrong and did my business in a private stall in the men’s restroom. I didn’t discover my error until I walked out and saw the women lined up to enter the other room, a line I had conveniently avoided.

It’s a good thing the giggles abound because again today we encountered some tough realities at Saint Vincent Orphanage as well as the West Bank barrier wall.

We are laughing and crying as we roll along.

Postscript

Jesus Wept – John 11:35

In the morning we dipped into the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John and in the afternoon we experienced the City of Light for the first time on our pilgrimage.

On the bus ride into town our guide, a Palestinian Christian, walked us through thousands of years of her homeland’s history. After dinner we heard from Dawod Nassar of the Tent of Nations, a family farm dedicated to bridging, located near Bethlehem.

The situation here is, in a word, complicated.

I am humbled to write more, to write at all.

I am utterly grateful to be here now.

I returned to my room and wept.

*Photo by Deborah Person