Newsletter:
Vol. 6. Iss.2
15 April 2006
Mental Pictures Come to
LIfe
Meg Koach
If anything, the story of Zaccheaus could sum up my
visit to Israel. In Jericho, Peter, our group leader, pointed out the supposed
tree that Zaccheaus climbed and asked why the man could not see Jesus. We
responded by saying that it was because Zaccheaus was short and could not
see over the crowds. Our Sunday school teachers would have been proud, this
was a story that we had been taught many times. Peter acknowledged that this
is the reason most people believe, however he pointed out the scripture (Luke
19:3) and said that there is no definite reason why the “he” alluded
to as being short was Zaccheaus, it could have just as easily been Jesus.
This struck a nerve with me. Jesus, short? The image definitely did not fit
in with my mental picture of Jesus.
The ten days I spent in Israel/Palestine changed many of those “mental
pictures” I had created. Biblical stories had new meanings and the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict that before had just been words on a crowded newspaper, became an
absolute reality. To see the shoreline of the Galilee where Jesus taught,
the desert where Jesus fasted for forty days, and to walk the Via Dolorosa
(the Stations of the Cross) made the stories different, more real. The horizon
may have changed, as concrete buildings and red tiled roofs punctured the
sky, but it was still the land of Jesus. Peter mentioned that the books of
the Bible were not written as scripture, to be read thousands of years later;
they were written to be read by the people of that time period.
Today, we may struggle with some of the allusions and meanings within the stories, but for the readers then, they we re descriptions of day-to-day life. In walking in their footsteps, there was still a wisp of memory surrounding the shores and streets of Israel.
We were given the opportunity to meet with several
Israelis and Palestinians. Through these people I realized that those newspaper
stories I had skimmed over before were the everyday challenges of two groups
of people living in the same land. Cedar, a Christian Palestinian woman recalled
the day in 1948 when she “fell asleep in Palestine and woke up in Israel.”
She had struggled with her faith through her life, as it was difficult to
live as a Christian in the region, and even attempted to abandon God once,
but found it impossible. In our talk with Cedar she reflected on her Bible
study, and how hard it was to read some of the passages that talk of the Jewish
people returning home, killing and injuring those that lived in the land.
She asked us how she should interpret this as one of God’s children.
We could give no answers, just as we found no ready remedies to ease the tensions
between Israelis and Palestinians. I left with more questions that I came
with, but stepped onto the plane home knowing that I will always keep this
experience with me, remembering our visits of Biblical settings, my interactions
with Israelis and Palestinians, and with a thought of Peter, “Israel
is the land where Jesus once walked, but it is more important to realize that
Jesus is walking with you today.”
