Israel Day 8

Back on American soil. Last day in Israel included a walk down the Mt. of Olives following the Palm Sunday processional. We stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the mountain. Reflected on the great struggle of Jesus to carry out the mission and the great struggle of the disciples just to stay awake. In jesus' greatest moment of need is when he finds himself the most alone. Sometimes you're on your own when God calls you. Bonhoeffer said it well: when Jesus calls us he singles us out and we are on our own to respond. We proceeded to the Old City and walked the Via Dolorosa - the walk to the cross. From there it was to the Upper Room.

After lunch at a nice restaurant in the middle of Jerusalem we went out to the Herodian, Herod the Great's place outside Jerusalem. From the palace walls you can see the town of Bethlehem and the fields of the shepherds. What a juxtaposition! A baby born to peasants in the shadows of the King's palace.

We ended the day with a lovely dinner at the American Colony Hotel.

What do I take away from these days of walking the footsteps of Jesus?

How thankful I am for the chance to step back into the region where God emptied himself and took on the form of a servant. Being there gave me the chance to read and hear so many of the stories again and get connected again to the growing conviction that the mission of Jesus was to reveal the relational core of God by loving the unloveliest parts of us. We know Jesus only as we experience his relational identity and mission.

Ministry is to invite people to be in a relationship with us as we journey with them into a relationship with God. We miss the whole point if we try to bring people into a relationship with God without first seeking a relationship with them ourselves. All people - friends, strangers and enemies. If we can't relate to our fellow human beings, how can we expect them to understand the relational three-person God?

Maybe that's why the Beatitudes spoke to me so much on this trip. Only a relational God would see blessedness this way. Meekness. Mercy. Peacemaking. Poor in Spirit. Mourning. They all speak to our need either to be in relationship with God and/or with others.

Love God. Love Neighbor. Both commandment and commission! This is truly what it means to walk in thee footsteps of Jesus.