Reflections on Israel

I went to Israel without expectation.
I went to Israel without inspiration.
I went to Israel without purpose.
To experience - to escape - to search.

To walk the rocks that Jesus walked
To see the Holy sites
To pray where Jesus prayed
To sail on the Galilee
To wade in the Jordan
To touch the star of Nativity
To enter the empty tomb
To sing songs of praise
To travel the Via Delorosa
To see the dead sea scrolls
To float on its salty waters
To climb mt Carmel, Masada, Moriah...
To enter Jerusalem

Each site - another message
Another lesson
A remnant of God's word
Echos
As the afternoon prayer fills the air
As the Jewish people rock in response
As the women plea in the tunnels of the western wall
As the tassels of the orthodox sway
As the little boys, in their kippah, play
Earnestly God is sought
but lost.
the arc is gone
the temple is a mosque.
God is there: in the echos of the past
God is there: in the bread crumbs of the future
God is there: in the hearts of Christians

I leave Jerusalem filled with sorrow
My thoughts are with the hands that cling to the Wailing Wall
Hands that despratley seek God's presence
Hands that seek to be pure
Hands stained with the blood of the Lamb
"Abba" I heard the little child say
My heart broke.
A word so pure - Father
If only they cried out to the Lamb - "Abba!"
I have a prayer of hope for the day that will come
A day when the Lord will reign
A day when the tongues of his Children will confess His name
A day when the Wall will be but a wall
The Arc will no longer be sought
For the spirit of the Lord will dwell within
And his blood will purify
and redeem
and restore
and heal His Holy Land.

I went to Israel without expectation
and traveled without a purpose
Inspiration was found in the visions of the past
and God's expectations were made clear
I have a purpose
to love.
To love the Lord
to love His people
to love His creation
To love without fear
To love in persecution
To love when it hurts
To love when it's helpless
Even as I emerge from the winding halls of the Holocaust Museum
haunted by testimonies
followed by pictures
overflowed with names
Love.
Even as I gaze across Masada and see a gleam of the past
of murder
of suicide
of destruction
Love.
The temple has been restored
it is present in our hearts
and we are purified by His perfect sacrifice.
We are His tools to reach the broken
We are His tools to share His good news
We are His tools to sing His glory
We are His tools for Love.
We are not alone
We are strengthened by the Lord
He will provide
He will restore

I traveled to Israel
The land of the Lord
only to find
He was already abiding in my Heart