Tuesday 16 February 2010

Israel October 09

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

October 17 – 27, 2009


Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Introduction

This was a pilgrimage with a difference, and we visited very few of the usual pilgrim/tourist sites. Our leader, Desi Maxwell’s aim was to use first Galilee and then Jerusalem as classrooms in which the words of Scripture, and especially the words and actions of Jesus, would come alive in such a way that, like the disciples on the Emmaus Road, “our hearts would burn within us.” He wanted us to learn to read the Scriptures in stereo – to always catch the link between the Old Testament and the New Testament – and he gave us “trifocal study specs” to understand especially the relationship between the People, the Land and the Book.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

He opened up to us the Hebrew way of thinking by explaining the theological, political and social context in which Jesus lived, so we could see Him as a real, 1st Century Jewish rabbi as well as the Son of God. Our studies were based mostly around St. Mark’s Gospel, so there were no references to the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, and they started in Galilee, which is where we spent our first 5 days.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

In and around Galilee

We stayed in a lovely kibbutz hotel, Nof Ginosar, on the shore of the lake, and our early visits were all around that area, where 75% of Jesus’ teaching and miracles took place. We had a trip on a boat across the lake and a sailor demonstrated how to use a cast net in 1st Century fashion.




Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

We visited Capernaum, where Jesus spent much time teaching, and where various of His miracles took place.


Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

He also met strong opposition from the Pharisees there. We saw the 4th Century Synagogue built over the one Jesus would have visited, and we saw the foundations of Peter’s house, which was later to become the first house church!

We also visited the Church of Peter’s Primacy and listened to the story of Jesus’ breakfast with the disciples after His resurrection and the moving reconciliation with Peter, after his denial.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Other places we visited around the lake were the ruins of Chorazim village and the Mount of Beatitudes, where there is a Catholic chapel and a guest house, beautifully situated in a wonderful garden, overlooking the lake. We also drove right up to the top of a high hill, Arbel, with a viewing point over the whole Galilee area. It was in the caves of this mount that Jews who opposed Rome’s imposition of King Herod over Israel, committed suicide or fought to their deaths. There was a wonderfully constructed dry stone wall there, and we considered how God is building each one of us into a temple of living stones, a dwelling for His Holy Spirit.







Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Interesting Visits

One of the most interesting stops we made was to an Orthodox Jewish community, where we met a very remarkable Jewess called Federa Shapiro.


She told us her story from being a very successful Canadian academic with a beautiful home to becoming a member of this community, living

a very simple life with her family of five children in the Galilee area. She was partly moved to change her lifestyle through meeting and being encouraged to make aliyah by Canadian Christians.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

We visited the community’s synagogue and workshop, and saw how they make olive oil and sell their own honey.

Another fascinating visit was to MEGAvoice, a Christian factory in Tiberias, producing audio files of biblical material on tiny solar-powered handsets, in several thousand languages. It was thrilling to see technical advances being used to bless non-reading people all over the world.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Nazareth Village.

One day we visited the Authentic Nazareth Village, a reconstruction on an ancient 1st Century site by the Y.M.C.A. It’s a remarkable place with a terraced, walled vineyard, olive trees, a watchtower, animal corrals, stone presses for oil and wine and a carpentry/stonemasonry workshop. There were people working and tending the animals in 1st Century clothes, and cooking food in 1st Century fashion.

Desi read the parable of the Tenants of the Vineyard who refused to give the owner his rights and finally killed his son. It came so alive, looking round the vineyard!

We also received many new and illuminating insights into the story of the Prodigal Son.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Sepphoris

That afternoon we visited Sepphoris, an important city built by Herod the Great, with its Roman roads and a large theatre of 4500 seats, for entertaining the garrison soldiers. There is also a wonderful example of a 3rd Century Roman villa. It’s very likely Joseph and Jesus worked here as carpenters and stonemasons – a considerable walk from Nazareth.

Desi pointed out the tensions there were between city and village life and how Jesus spent very little time in the cities of His day, and mostly preached in synagogues, villages, streets and countryside, to ordinary people.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Meeting a Messianic Pastor

In the evening we had a very interesting visit from Claude Ezagouri,

pastor of the Morning Star Congregation in Tiberias. He described how he and his wife, as religious Jews, made aliyah in 1975 from French North Africa. After intense spiritual searching, Claude became a believer in Yeshua, and through his prayers, his wife and family followed him. He told us something of his congregation and his belief that many practising Jews are very close to the truth. He believes this is the time to “prepare the nets” to draw many into the Kingdom.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

The Golan

On our last day in Galilee, we travelled up to the Golan Heights, very close to the Syrian and Lebanese borders. We walked through the beautiful Tel Dan Reserve, admiring the Dan Spring, the largest source of the River Jordan. We also visited the site where King Jeroboam of Northern Israel set up an altar with a golden calf as he did in Bethel (further south), trying to put God at the borders of a political state, reducing Him to a political, national deity, rather than the God of the cosmos. This was a meaningful message for a group from Northern Ireland!

We then travelled on to biblical Caesarea Philippi, and saw the site of the demonic temple of Pan. In this place of pagan worship (the Gates of Hell) Jesus asked the disciples who He was. In response to Peter’s Spirit-inspired answer, Jesus assured Him that nothing could hold back God’s plan, not even the gates of hell itself.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

We next went up very near to the Syrian border and saw the barracks and trenches used up to the 1973 war. A Dutch artist has produced clever sculptures from battered tanks, etc.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Overlooking Syria, with Damascus only 60 kms. away, was a sober reminder of the reality of Israel’s dangerous situation.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Our final stop was at Katzrin Talmudic Village, where the remains of an ancient synagogue, destroyed by an 8th Century earthquake, were found after the ‘67 War. A fascinating two-storey family home has been reconstructed, giving a vivid picture of how the Talmudic scholars lived. Desi explained how the Mishna and the Talmud came to be written down, as rabbis interpreted the biblical text and oral traditions.

Beth Shean

Our time in Galilee over, we travelled south, stopping first at Beth Shean, where we learned about the tensions experienced by Jewish people living in a Hellenistic pagan city, with all its attractions and temptations. Some young aspiring Jewish athletes even removed traces of their circumcision.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

We moved on towards the Dead Sea and stopped at Qumran, to learn about the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

We then went on to visit a very interesting place where the traditional blue Techelet dye is produced for the tassels of Jewish prayer shawls, from a particular species of snails.

Jerusalem

As evening approached, we drove up to Jerusalem, a very moving climax for the day for all of us, and we stopped on Abraham’s Ridge to get a panoramic view of the city. The temperature dropped dramatically and we were glad to arrive at the Prima Royal hotel as dusk was falling!

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

During our five days in Jerusalem, we visited the Jebusite City of David, the Siloam Pool and the Davidson Park with its access to the original southern steps which led up to the Temple in Jesus’ day. We also visited the Pool of Bethsaida and the Church of St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary.

We all enjoyed the tours of the exotic, colourful and noisy markets, both Arab and Jewish, through narrow, bustling streets, and we were fascinated by the Israel Museum Model of Jerusalem in the 2nd Temple period and by the Shrine of the Book, with its complete Isaiah scroll in the centre.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Gethsemane

I think one of the highlights for most of us, though, was the time we spent in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the ancient olive trees reminded us of how Jesus was pressed in agony to death. We were reminded, too, that at the Last Supper, Jesus was preparing Himself for His ultimate Exodus, as with His disciples He sang Psalms 113-118 and Psalm 114 spoke of the first Exodus from Egypt. Through Jesus’ obedience to death, He undid the curse of our disobedience, cancelling the slavery which resulted. It was strange, but fitting, to sit quietly in that ancient garden, with much noise and bustle all around us, and to experience “sacred moments” in suspended time.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

The Garden Tomb

Perhaps for all of us, however, the climax of the whole pilgrimage was the simple service of Holy Communion in the beautiful Garden Tomb site.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

Desi spoke about the Forgotten Father, the One who raised Jesus from the dead as the Firstfruits, guaranteeing the harvest that is to come. Our future is tied up with Jesus’ resurrection. We are in the waiting room, part of a loving bride, and we are being given a meal to refresh and encourage us on our journey. It’s a meal whose origin started at Passover and will end in the Heavenly Banquet. What a hope we have been given to share with all peoples!

Our Final Tour Day

Our last tour day started with a visit to the Western Wall (the Temple Mount being out of bounds because of some conflict which had arisen). It was good to approach the Wall and to sit quietly, praying.

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell

We then visited a shop, Shorashim, in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City,

where two brothers have opened a business selling all kinds of Judaica, based entirely on the Bible, to remind everybody why they are in Jerusalem. We were given a very interesting talk by one of the brothers, a God-fearing, God-loving Jew, who showed much insight into Western Christian thinking and who believes a curtain has fallen between Jews and Christians. He said he believed we ourselves were there in Israel because God wanted to meet us on His land. He is a God who is bigger than doctrine, and in Jerusalem we were near the footstool of His throne.

From there we visited the Temple Institute, where Orthodox Jews are preparing everything for the Third Temple – the altars, the laver, the menorah, the different vessels, the priests’ garments and the musical instruments, etc. It was mind-blowing and raised many questions! Will God really permit a Third Temple to be established?

Our last visit of the day was to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. This is surely one of the world’s most sobering and challenging experiences. How was it possible that ‘civilized’, ‘educated’ Europe really descended to such barbarity? But – given the same circumstances – would I have acted any differently? The Children’s Memorial is particularly poignant. Amidst all the horror and darkness, however, there were flashes of life and colour – teachers, artists and musicians who used their talents to brighten life in the ghettos; and many courageous people who risked their own lives to shelter and help Jews to escape.

After supper, Seth Ben-Haim, a young Messianic pastor, came to talk to us. He had just received notice of his forthcoming obligatory Reserve Army Duty – a sad reminder of the dangerous days Jews are living in. He described what a struggle it is for Jews in the Diaspora to leave their comfort zones and make aliyah to Israel. At present he is involved in developing the curriculum for a Centre of Messianic Theology, partnering with other ministries.

One of the things we all appreciated was the opportunity to meet with people who live and work in Israel and it was very encouraging listening to Seth. We all appreciated, too, Inge’s seemingly unending fund of knowledge and helpfulness, and Meir’s expert driving and very pleasant personality.

Our final free day was much appreciated by everyone, perhaps especially the Senior Citizens amongst us! It was good to have time to pause, to reflect and to do some last-minute shopping!

In conclusion

This has been a very special pilgrimage and it’s been difficult to give a flavour of all its riches. We’ve been given many insights from both the Old and New Testament, and truly Jesus walked with us and on many occasions caused our hearts to burn within us. Thank you so much to all those involved its planning and execution!

Pilgrimage to Israel led by Desi Maxwell








Sunday 23 August 2009

Take 10 minutes

WE READ HARRY but WE FOLLOW JESUS

WE READ HARRY but WE FOLLOW JESUS


Thank you Ms. Rowling. Thank you for a riveting read in the Harry Potter series. Thank you for making reading so exciting. Thank you for sharing your creativity. Above all, I want to thank you for raising some of the profoundest theological and philosophical issues. Your stories start in Privet Drive but lead to public debate. I congratulate you on succeeding where most theologians and philosophers have failed. On the one hand your story lines have carried me off into the surreal world of wizardry at Hogwarts and beyond, yet on the other hand I have been brought face to face with the concrete issues of moral choice, selfless giving, true commitment and the struggle between good and evil. You have no idea of how many times Harry has afforded me the opportunity to talk about some of the most wonderful themes in the Bible, the story of the ultimate Chosen One.

I admit readily to wearing a decidedly Christian pair of specs. Ever since my English teacher in sixth form instilled a love of books I have found reading a thrill and literature a fascinating map of human thought. I never cease to be amazed and challenged by how authors raise the big issues of life and death that the Bible deals with. A book may be shelved under ‘fiction’ in the shop or library but the contents often wrestle with the hard facts that everyone must grapple with sooner or later in life. When I wonder why this should be I keep thinking about a fascinating verse in Ecclesiastes which says ‘He (God) has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end’ (3:11). In other words there are some things planted so deeply in the human psyche that they are irrepressible. No matter how intensely the truth may be ignored or suppressed by non-believers, even whole-hearted antagonists, of Biblical teaching, there are things indelibly impressed within us as created beings. As humans we all have deep longings and, buried throughout the created universe, God has placed signposts to the ultimate source of meaning. With this in mind I want to share some of my reflections on the saga of Harry Potter. I am not suggesting that Ms. Rowling has written a Christian tract but, throughout her narrative, themes resonate with truths that speak of an even deeper mystery.


The Chosen One

What is beyond all doubt is that from infancy through to manhood Harry Potter is the focus of all seven volumes. In 64 languages, 365 million people have traced the history of Harry. While they may now be able to compile a veritable Who’s Who? of wizardry and other unimaginable creatures, they know that the spotlight has never moved off Harry.


The Mission

Harry is a man with a mission. Like Frodo Baggins in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, he has been chosen for a very special task. As the hobbit had been commissioned to destroy the ring, so Harry’s lot is to confront and destroy the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Toward the end of the last volume in the series, he says that the knowledge of how to destroy the enemy had been passed on to him by his old headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and now ‘I’m going to keep going until I succeed – or I die. Don’t think that I don’t know how this might end. I’ve known it for years.’ (HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, p458) For those who have even a smattering of Latin from their school days they will recognize that the very name of the Dark Lord reeks of death. (Latin ‘mors’, ‘mort’ = death) Even you never had the blessing of a Latin grounding, you will identify the last syllable of Voldemort as the same as the first syllable of mortician, the one who handles death daily.


The Last Enemy

If Voldemort is the personal antagonist, the ultimate enemy of Harry, indeed of us all, is death itself. According to JK Rowling, death is a major theme in her writing. She says ‘My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry’s parents. There is Voldemort’s obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal of anyone with magic. I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We’re all frightened of it.’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter#_note-25)


The Personal Pain

What is particularly striking in the last book of the series is the personal cost of the mission to Harry. Hermione and Ron may prove to be the closest of friends, Hagrid and others are willing to die for him but ultimately the task is Harry’s and his alone. There is a particularly poignant part near the end where ‘he yearned not to feel…he wished he could rip out his heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside him’ (HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS p531)


The Final Victory

It would be rather surly of me to give away all the details of the plot and spoil the excitement for other readers, but suffice to say that Harry does come face to face with death. There is the inner agony that comes with being the chosen but there is an even stronger willingness to give himself up for the sake of others. Such self-sacrifice is a powerful theme and a key to the final outcome. If you have not read the book I shall not divulge the outcome but I can say that good does prevail.


Other readers will undoubtedly identify other themes but these five were particularly clear as I read through my Biblical specs. My mind kept toggling between the book and the Bible. In the latter I find the same five themes.


THE CHOSEN ONE – MAN OF GOD’S CHOICE

It has been said that the Hebrew writers of Scripture were the world’s first historians. They did not write about mythic giants, superheroes and heroines but told a story that involved ordinary people. The Bible is full of people, but running through its pages there is a very special line of men who are the men of God’s choice. From Abraham, through Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and David there is a distinct line of chosen men on whom God’s spotlight focuses. The fact that they are chosen is not a reflection on their personal superiority to others but rather the emphasis is on their particular relationship with God himself. This line of chosen individuals comes to a climax and focus in the person of Jesus Christ, the ultimate man of God’s choice. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that everything in the Bible is about him. Either we are reading the Old Testament anticipating his coming or the New Testament interpreting his coming. Central to the whole unfolding drama in all its diversity is the figure of Jesus Christ.


THE MISSION – OBEDIENCE TO THE DEATH

Many terms could be mustered to describe the person and work of Jesus but if we were to be limited to only one then it would surely have to be ‘obedience’. Yes, Jesus showed love, power, mercy, grace, sacrifice and solidarity but above all ‘obedience’ is the rubric under which everything else may be subsumed. As the apostle Paul wrote he ‘became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8). Undoubtedly there was a certain historical inevitability to the death of Jesus, given his challenge to both the political and religious establishment of his day, but above and beyond this there was a clear theological indispensability. In declaring that he ‘must be killed’ (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33) he was expressing something about the will of God rather than the plans of men.


THE LAST ENEMY – DEATH ITSELF

Paradoxically it was only because of his very submission to death that Jesus was given victory over death when God raised him to life. Yet the path to resurrection victory could not bypass the humiliation of incarnation, rejection, suffering and death on a cross. Such a route demanded a conscious commitment at every step and ultimately there was no one else who could take his place. In fact, in the Scriptural account many of his disciples were not as loyal as Harry’s closest friends. However, in Jesus, the one of his choice, God launched his full frontal attack on the last enemy and broke the totalitarian regime. Having shared our humanity, Jesus died to ‘destroy him who holds the power of death- that is , the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death’ (Hebrews 2:14-15)


THE PERSONAL PAIN – JESUS WEPT

So often the person and work of Jesus has been dressed up in theological language, that the raw agony of the personal pain has been lost. The shortest verse in the Bible, ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11:35), may also be the profoundest. Though Jesus felt the loss of his friend Lazarus as he stood at his grave, he also raged within himself. Few have put it better than BB Warfield when he wrote : ‘It is death that is the object of his wrath, and behind death him who has the power of death, and whom he has come into the world to destroy. Tears of sympathy may fill his eyes, but this is incidental. His soul is held by rage: and he advances to the tomb, in Calvin’s words…’ as a champion who prepares for conflict’ (THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST, Philadelphia, 1950, p117)


THE FINAL VICTORY – DEATH OF DEATH

The outcome of this man’s conflict is one that I am free, indeed obliged, to tell you. As the man of God’s choice, Jesus Christ was not only obedient to the point of death but overcame the power of death. In him we find an answer to the ultimate threat.

I admire JK Rowling for having the courage to talk so openly about the very thing many people, and even churches, regard as a taboo. She has been willing to bring death out of the closet. We all fear death and like Adam, Voldemort and many others, quest for immortality at any price. Having pinpointed the enemy, it is even better to move from the fictional to the factual victory of Christ, now risen from the dead to reign for ever. Yes, we read of Harry but we may reign in Jesus.


Desi Maxwell Aug.13, 2007