Our visit to the Holy Land two weeks ago included a stop at the Wailing Wall. On our way to this sacred place of prayer, we traveled past heavily armed Israeli soldiers. Just outside there was a concrete wall topped with barbed wire. I wasn’t sure who was being kept out (or kept in) but it was symbolic of the ongoing conflict in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Our guide assured us that we were very safe, and in fact there was never a moment when I felt anything but safe, but it was unusual to visit such holy sites while being watched by the military.
At the Wailing Wall I prayed for peace. More specifically, I prayed for our church, asking God to help our congregation be a voice for hope in the world. I left Israel determined to find ways that we could work for shalom, God’s Peace.
The attacks in Paris caused me to wonder though, “Will love ever win? Does peace have a chance?” The horrific murders seemed to mock my measly attempts for shalom. How practical is it to follow in Jesus’ way when evil is armed with automatic weapons?
As these questions floated around in my mind I went back to our time in Israel. I remembered that later that week we walked the Via Dolorosa, the traditional path that Jesus followed carrying his cross to the crucifixion. Again, there were soldiers at several stops. It seemed weird until I remembered that Jerusalem in the time of Christ was overwhelmed with the soldiers of an occupying country. There was violence everywhere. Crucifixions were normal.
And yet…Jesus continued to preach for peace. He wept over Jerusalem because he was afraid that they would never know how to find peace. I’m pretty sure God wept last weekend, not just for Paris but for Beirut and Baghdad and countless other nameless and forgotten places where violence continues to raise its ugly head.
So instead of letting terror and fear rule my heart, I still want to follow Jesus. I know it doesn’t make sense to some to do so. There is a very real part of my soul that is genuinely afraid. Amy Butler, the minister at the Riverside Church in New York City, reminds us that “we are people of faith, and as such we take in instead the conviction that God’s kingdom is coming to be; the commitment to welcome the stranger; and the assurance that love will always have the final word.” In the face of all that is happening around us let us together choose to believe in the one we name Lord and let his ways be our ways.
Grace and peace to you,
