We travel to Tel Dan close to the Mount of Beatitudes. It is beautiful and lush and rich. The spring of Dan feeds the JorDAN river. It is amazing. We wander through the trees and brush across wet stones that cross the springs. We come to a rendering of a horned altar. Nidal in his beautiful way tells us about the people who lived here who sacrificed to the god Bal. When the Jews came – even in the time of the central sacrifice in Jerusalem – they took over the altar to sacrifice to Yahweh. We do not sacrifice because Jesus sacrificed himself once for the sins of all – but why do the Jews no longer sacrifice? Because they cannot sacrifice until the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt – the current location of the Dome of the Rock. And what did Jesus say? Not a stone of this Temple will be rebuilt – he is the new temple. Money flows in from all over the world to encourage the Jews to have the ability to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem – to fulfil the prophecy. But the prophecy is that it will not be rebuilt. The plot is so thick.
To the gates – the oldest gates in the world from the First Temple Period. They would be the Canaanite Gates through which Abraham & Sarah were able to walk through. Imagine their entry into this land from the desert on the other side of Golan Heights through this glorious gate – with one small door in the centre. The cities secrets were well protected – and the secret was their water. When you live in the desert whoever rules the water rules the world.
We travel on again to another site – to Hermon Springs. The springs of Banius also feed the Jordan River. Again, temple upon temple, ruin atop ruin. Everywhere you turn in this place you are touching a piece of history. You can imagine, standing in front of this enormous escarpment marked with iron deposits Jesus saying, on this rock I will build my kingdom. On this rock – not this place. This whole land is a rock – everything is made of rock. We are the living stones on which the Kingdom of God is built. We. Us. Believers. It is us – we are the foundation. We are the foundation of the ministry to which Jesus calls us all to. Without us, without believers, without faithful followers, there is no Kingdom of God. It is not some future event for which we wait with baited breath. It is every decision, every day. It is every moment and every breath. It is every conversation, in every relationship. It is in every face – Christian, Jew, Muslim and other. We are the Kingdom of God.
As we travel up Golan Heights and have lunch at a Druiz village (the Druiz’ are a sect of Muslims that are very secretive and have sided with the Israeli’s – they serve in the army and are seen as fierce warriors – so are often put on the front lines in war) we become aware of the drastically changing landscapes. Here we are high up – 800 metres above sea level. We can see snow on top of the mountain to the North – apparently one can ski in Israel (skiing holiday anyone?) Then we travel through what used to be Syria but is now Israel. Military installations dot the landscape; soldiers are seen frequently on the roads. There is an uncomfortable silence on the bus as we pass the tanks and bunkers. We get out to take pictures of the U.N. installation which up until a few years ago was proudly staffed by Canadians for 30 years. We are told strictly not to photograph the high-tech surveillance equipment on the mountain behind us – that used to belong to the Russians but now is in the hands of the Israeli’s – because they will come and take our camera’s away.
In this land you are at once drawn into the past, into the pastoral presence of God and tormented by the constant struggles over land and control. You cannot separate one from the other. At St. George’s Cathedral last week the Priest said this was not the Holy Land but the Land of the Holy One. I can see why the slight grammatical change.
And as always, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
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