|
The Manse, Houston.
4th February 2010
Dear Friends,
Well, been there, seen it, done it and got the T-Shirt (at least Liz has). Many of you will know that Liz and I set off on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January. It was a very compact, busy schedule to allow us to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jaffa, the Judean Desert, Nazareth and the fertile lands around the Sea of Galilee.
With our Kirk soon to celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday in March my mind turns to the three places on our pilgrimage where we as a group from the Church of Scotland celebrated Holy Communion.
In Jerusalem the service was held in the Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept), a tear-drop shaped Church halfway down the Palm Sunday road on the Mount of Olives. The next day we visited Bethlehem. As Bethlehem is now in the West Bank, Palestinian Territory it is sad to see the town almost totally surrounded and separated by the Israeli Security Wall. It was at the Shepherds Fields in a Chapel representing a Bedouin Tent that Communion was celebrated. Finally on reaching Galilee, at TABGHA where according to tradition Jesus fed the 5000 with 2 fish and 5 barley loaves, a very apt place to celebrate with bread and wine, our Lord’s Supper.
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land is truly the journey of a lifetime for any Christian. To visit the country in which Jesus was born, proclaimed His good news, was crucified, and overcame the power of death is not only a privilege but in many ways becomes a gateway to a fuller understanding of His teaching. Undoubtedly the greatest insight is perhaps in actually seeing and walking the paths and villages where Christ ministered. Seeing the things Jesus saw and relating His words to the places and background in which they were spoken.
We found the experience can demand questions about many of the sights but it has also brought a strengthening of faith and a desire to return to that land which has had such profound influence upon humanity.
With every blessing, your friend and Minister, Donald.
|
