The Original Interfaith Community

We board the bus to Sepphoris. It is not until we begin to rise up the hill that I realize that I’ve been here before – this place just minutes from Nazareth. Here you might imagine Jesus and his father Joseph coming to ply their trade – “carpenter” means “one who works with their hands” – in making the intricate stone work required for this up and coming Roman meets Greek meets Jewish community.

It is here that the first century mosaic floors have been uncovered. The smaller the pieces of stone the more wealthy the home. You can imagine the people reclining by the short table that would surround the mosaic floors, talking, joking and entertaining one another. We joked about coming back and being one of these women at the table – but it would be much more likely that I would be the woman fetching the water. I remember the synagogue that is here and I separate from the group to see it again. I walk down the hill to the ancient synagogue and there are tables set for lunch. I walk to the entrance and see that there is a service going on. Generously the men move aside and let me in. They are praying on one side while the women sit on the other side of the room watching them. I go to the women’s side and they are lovely and gracious. I position myself to get my photo – the one of the ancient zodiac symbol on the floor. Now that’s ecumenism. An ancient civilization where the Greeks, Romans and Jews lived together and intertwined their lives in an intricate and intimate way. Praise be to God.

When we enter back into Nazareth someone takes note of the sign in the square. It is a verse from the Koran that says that God was not begotten nor did God begat anyone else. It is clearly an anti-Christian sentiment. I understand that we are in a foreign land and that our Christian white privilege is beyond these borders. I get upset with the person who makes the comment but I do not articulate my response very well. Later I come up with the answer. Imagine that every Christmas we declare that the Messiah is born. And then every Easter we declare that the Messiah is risen. And then imagine that you are a Jew who does not believe that the Messiah has come. We have taken their sacred scriptures as our own and expanded them. Much like the Muslims have done – taken our sacred scriptures and expanded them. It is clear in this place that there is so much more to life, to faith, to belief, than to stand in a Church on a Sunday morning and sing hymns.

Later when I talk to Nadal he says that this sign upsets him too – for completely different reasons. Palestinians, he says, are such a small voice in society that they cannot afford to be further fractured down religious lines between the Christians and the Muslims. They cannot afford to be fighting one another when they must concentrate on their fight with the Israeli’s.

Again the layers show through. The complicated nature of this land continues to reveal itself time and time again. From Romans, Greeks and Jews sharing tables in Sepphoris to the Christians and Muslims trying to find a way to live together in Nazareth. There is no easy solution to such a complicated situation – layer upon layer.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.