Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus

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In late January my wife, Kim, and I joined in a one-week journey with six fellow ELCA Bishops to visit the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). Much of our time was spend in the West Bank region of Palestine in communities like Beit Sahour, Bethlehem and Beit Jala, where the Lutheran Christian presence is strongest. We also spent time in Ramallah, Jerusalem, Nazareth and then in Jordan for the dedication of the Lutheran Church Bethany beyond the Jordan Baptismal Site. 




Language matters. When I first was describing this trip to others, I spoke of going to the Holy Land for the first time. While that was true in a sense, this visit was really about the church to church relationship we enjoy as the ELCA with the ELCJHL. We heard more than once that while many pilgrims comes to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus by seeing historical sites related to the life and ministry of Christ, the real accompaniment with Christ happens when we as fellow members of the Body of Christ journey side by side  through the realities of today’s world.


It is not easy to be a Palestinian in the Holy Land today, let alone a Palestinian Christian. We experienced for ourselves the severe restrictions of movement and rights placed upon many Palestinian Lutherans living in the West Bank. We saw for ourselves the border wall  erected to separate Palestine from Israel, we noted the many Israeli settlements that have claimed Palestinian lands and homes. We saw the map that has divided the Palestinian people into unconnected enclaves, making any notion of a coherent nation seemingly unviable. It was clear that all these restrictions on Palestinians were put into place by the government of Israel under the umbrella of security concerns. Yet when we realized the impact on the lives of average Palestinians, who either experience being second class citizens in Israel or are confined to limited spaces in their own homeland, it was impossible not to think of the days of  apartheid in
                 South Africa or our own history of confining American  Indian people to reservations in this country.




It is a sad irony that a nation founded as a sanctuary for a people long persecuted because of their faith now has a government whose policies result in discrimination and persecution of a people upon whose land this sanctuary nation was founded. We heard over and over again that this is not a religious issue: Jews, Christians and Muslims have lived peaceably together in the Holy Land for centuries. This is a political  problem, and it will take leaders with vision and an expansive point of view in both the Israeli and Palestinian governments
to forge a path forward  that allows Israelis and Palestinians,
regardless of their faith, to live in mutual respect, security and harmony.


In the midst of what can seem like a hopeless quagmire, I am grateful.


I am grateful for the ministry and witness of our companions in the ELCJH, the only Arabic-speaking church in the Lutheran World Federation, whose Christian roots go back not just to the Reformation, but to the Pentecost event of Acts 2.


I am grateful to have experienced the profound ministry of the schools of the ELCJHL that have as their explicit mission a desire to raise up leaders that are grounded a holistic vision for life and a commitment to mutual respect among all people.
 I am grateful for Augusta Victoria Hospital, a ministry of the Lutheran World Federation and a key provider of health care, including critical cancer treatment, for the people of Palestine. I am grateful for the life-giving partnership with Israeli hospitals and the tenacity of leaders at Augusta Victoria who continue to seek ways to open access for Palestinians so that all who need healthcare might receive it.



I am grateful for our ELCA mission personnel who serve with the ELCJHL, including our six current Young Adults in Global Mission as well as Pastors Meghan and Gabi Aelabouni who serve as YAGM Country Coordinators. W  were blessed to spend time with Pastor Gabi in his hometown of Ailaboun and to hear the story of tragedy and resiliency that marks that community. We were equally blessed by time with Pastor Said Ailabouni, Global Mission Middle East staff, who shared his own family’s story of occupation and his journey from Nazareth to becoming an ELCA pastor.




I am grateful that as a church body, we in the ELCA are able to live in the Spirit’s great both/and. We are able to express BOTH our solidarity with Jewish siblings, renouncing any and all forms of anti-Semitism, AND we are able to accompany our Lutheran Palestinian siblings and support their longing for a future filled with justice and hope.




Most of all, I am grateful that I was able to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. I encourage anyone from the ELCA in our Rocky Mountain Synod who may be making a journey to the Holy Land to make contact with our ELCA Peace Not Walls staff, so that your trip may include an opportunity to engage with our siblings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. 

In Faith,

Bishop Jim

Comments

Unknown said…
I read with interest your report of a recent visit to the Holy Land. What I found missing was any mention of our new Lutheran University Dar Al-Kalima in Bethlehem. Many of our Lutheran people and congregations have been long time supporters of Bright Stars of Bethlehem which supports the ministry of Dr. Mitir Raheb, Christmas Lutheran Church and the Palestinian Christians. Did your tour of Bethlehem not expose you to this important Lutheran ministry? Rev. Paul R. Gilbertson
9:12 AM
Anonymous said…
Good, wise words, Jim. I am grateful for them!
Ron D. jensen
2:30 AM
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