THE RIGHT TO EXIST

There are a number of rogue nations that plague today’s world peace. Two in particular, Iran and North Korea, openly threaten other nations, yet we never hear an argument for their total destruction, and rightly so. A sovereign nation has the right to exist, its people the right to live. That is, every nation and every people except Israel and the Jews.

Any casual observer of the Middle East knows that both terrorists and sovereign nations have repeatedly attacked Israel. Many Arab terrorist groups have avowed destruction of the Jewish state. Just a few decades ago the Holocaust had as its goal the complete elimination of all Jews everywhere. The Iranian presidential website stated: "the Zionist Regime of Israel faces a dead-end and will under God's grace be wiped off the map," and "the Zionist Regime that is a usurper and illegitimate regime and a cancerous tumor should be wiped off the map.” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leads a growing sentiment among radical Islamists that not only affects the Middle East, it is fueling anti-Semitism in Europe, Asia and even in North and South America. A worldwide nexus of hatred for the Jews and Israel is growing.

The nation of Israel is treated with such insolence and hatred around the world that it defies reason. This past week I was in Italy. Just inside the entrance to the underground Metro near the Spanish Steps in Rome I saw only one singular graffiti message scrawled on the wall: “F*** Israel!” Please forgive even the suggestion of something so ugly and degrading being included in my article, but this illustrates the constant attack the Jewish state must endure. I could not help but think of visiting Jewish residents or tourists trying to explain the vitriol to their children. This is real.

So why the hatred? Perhaps it is very simple after all. As long as the Jews exist, as long as they govern a sovereign nation in the land promised to them in the Bible, their very existence threatens every political or religious viewpoint that does not consider the Bible to be true. The nation of Israel’s existence after two thousand years of Diaspora of the Jewish people is proof positive that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is truly God. Right to exist? Yes, a right promised, performed and protected by the mighty Hand of God.

I therefore pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

THE BIG SURPRISE

A few moments ago, Cardinal Cantalamessa, the personal preacher for both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI declared: "Dialogue is not so much a change of ideas as much as it is an exchange of gifts, entrenched division will only be dislodged by spending time with one another."

As I write I am in the sprawling Roman Catholic Cathedral complex in Assisi, Italy as a guest of the Vatican's Catholic Fraternity and the generous patronage of The Pontifical Council of the Laity. I am here on behalf of the communion of churches to which I belong, specifically in my role as Apostolic Delegate to Israel. Several of the bishops from our communion are attending along with archbishops, bishops and priests and leaders from the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Evangelical Church.

Most of the dialogue has centered around Catholic/Protestant cooperation and understanding, especially among Catholic Charismatics and Pentecostals. The big surprise and blessing for me has been the insertion of the vital role the Jewish people and Israel in these discussions. Prominently imbedded in this gathering of Christian leaders has been a clear message: Israel is a promised place and the Jewish people are still in covenant with God. While these views are common among many Evangelicals and Pentecostals, to hear archbishops and cardinals of the Roman Catholic church openly state such positions is rare and very encouraging.  Truly we live in a historic hour.

There are many obstacles to effective cooperation between the multitude of Christian denominations and plethora of Jewish sects, but new hope is on the horizon. We live in a unique moment in human history which calls for brave steps by willing participants. While many pitfalls exist and intentional mischief abounds, real progress is being made. The hard work and prayers of past generations now demand our best in this generation. Divides must be bridged, wounds healed, new strategies formed.

Dialogue requires a willingness to repent, a confession of the sin of disunity. Repentance creates internal space where new thoughts and goals can form and where people can move forward together. To be cast into the turbulent waters of cooperation between religious sects provokes an internal response like that of Moses in Exodus 4:13..."Please send someone else.” But the immortal words of Mordecai to Esther must win the day..."who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

And so, we take steps, both small and great, both weak and mighty. We pray for unity of hearts and minds in obedience to the command of Holy Script. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

THE LAST WORD

Everyone likes to have the last word. In most human conversational traditions speaking last is the position of most respect, reserved for the one with greater or final authority. It was precisely in this tradition that Jacob (Israel) gathered his family around him to speak his last words.  On his deathbed at age 147, he called his twelve sons by their given names and blessed or cursed each one.

His fourth son Judah (Yehudah) was not only blessed by his father, he was given the prophetic name “Gur Aryeh,” a "Young Lion" and told “Judah will rule until Shiloh (The Messiah) comes, and the nations will obey him.” To this day, the lion remains as the symbol of Judah and the emblem of Jerusalem and the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament).

On a trip to Kenya, Africa our group stopped next to a family of lions. Just outside our van window sat a huge male lion; two small lion cubs clumsily played nearby. What a contrast: the powerful adult male with a noble mane framing his face and the two, much smaller cubs. My wife Sharon, on a subsequent visit to South Africa was permitted to pet a lion cub in a protected sanctuary. She noted that although he was much smaller than the adult males, he was already powerful, strong and dominating.

Long ago, under King David, Israel grew into an adult lion, a powerful kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. The modern nation of Israel is more like a young lion, a descendent of a prodigious past. Greatness is present now, but it must be given time to develop. It can at times seem clumsy and messy; maturity is always a bit chaotic. But if given opportunity, modern Israel will grow into a true world leader. Already, it produces amazing technology, leading-edge medical and scientific breakthroughs and so many other world renowned accomplishments. Constantly under threat and defending its very right to exist makes its accomplishments even more profound. It should not be, it cannot be chopped into pieces and divided as so much spoil. No, the young lion must be allowed to develop.

In the final analysis, mankind must realize that God will have the last word. His promises to a nation will not be thwarted. The lion will roar.

So, until Shiloh, “The Peaceful One” comes, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

CUT THE BABY IN TWO

Nothing is more shocking than when a mother purposely harms her own child. In the biblical story in 1 Kings where two mothers claim the same child, King Solomon proposed a simple solution: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” Only the one with questionable motives would want to bring disastrous harm by agreeing: “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” Not only a teachable moment for the people of God in that generation, this story sheds light on difficult decisions for this generation.

At this very moment there are those who propose to divide the Holy City in two. Jerusalem is a bustling metroplex that serves as a focal point for billions of religious people around the globe. It is the historic and contemporary capital of Israel, a tourist destination for millions of visitors and a place where over a million residents carry forth their daily lives. In other words, it is a city full of life.

Like a precious child of this planet, Jerusalem must be protected, nurtured and helped, but never divided. While it is complicated to gather such diversity and conflict into one united city, it actually does work. The Old City is a microcosm of the modern metro area of Greater Jerusalem. There, crammed into ancient walls, people from significantly different religious persuasions and cultures find a way to live, be civil, do business, raise families, laugh, play, work…they do life… together.

A house divided cannot stand, nor can a city. While blissful unity seems like an impossible dream, Jerusalem must remain united as one city forever. We cannot cut the baby in two.

So again we arrive to the only real hope of success, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

A DAY TO REMEMBER

At sundown today “Holocaust Remembrance Day” begins. While there are many “Remembrance Days” kept in memorial of the Holocaust, none is as poignant as “Yom HaShoah,” the official day of observance in Israel. Flags fly at half-mast, prayers are offered, candles burn, sirens sound across Zion for two minutes, people stand at attention, cars stop where they are; silent tribute to the dead is offered. Throughout the day speeches from the dwindling survivors recall the pain, the pride and the motivation for a motto that leaves no doubt for the future of a nation promised by God Himself: “NEVER AGAIN.”

A few years ago as we exited from a private meeting at the Knesset, the large hall at the entrance of Israel’s parliamentary building was filled with Holocaust survivors. It was Yom HaShoah. I have no words to describe the feelings I experienced as we quietly slipped through the crowded room. As I returned to my hotel I could not get their faces out of my mind. They are now in their 70’s and 80’s; in a few short years they will all be gone. No one will be left who heard the cries. The Holocaust deniers will be emboldened as these living memorials slip away. A void will be left on this planet that never could nor ever should be again filled.

So I must repeatedly walk the hallowed grounds of Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem). I must soak in the noble presence and quiet pain of those survivors still among us. I must contemplate the connections between the Christian faith I hold so dear to the tragedies before, during and after the dark days of the Nazi regime. I must listen to the lessons of Jewish and Christian history and work for understanding between Christians and Jews today. I must stand with the Jewish people and take as my own the commitment to NEVER AGAIN.

In Exodus 3:7 we read: ” The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” God does not ignore nor forget the cries. He will also enlighten those with a listening ear.

So I will remember…and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

CONFRONTING THE ONE I LOVE

No moment in life is more difficult than the moment in which we must confront the one we love. Proverbs 27:4 states: ” Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” So, I must respectfully disagree with an official of the government of a nation I love as much as my own who has declared that Israel will prevent the entry of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists from Europe and North America this weekend. Public security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch said: "The provocateurs will be dealt with in a determined and quick way." "If they arrive to Israel they will be identified, removed from the plane, their entry into Israel will be prevented and they will be moved to a detention facility until they are flown out of Israel."

Do I understand their reluctance to let these protestors on their soil? Absolutely! The intentionally provocative attempt by foreign activists to enter Gaza by an illegal flotilla in May of 2010 ended in bloodshed. Another forced black eye for a country rarely treated fairly in the international press. Yet, this blessed nation of divine promise must stay true to its own moralistic democratic ideals; not an easy task while surrounded by avowed enemies and constantly misrepresented even by its few supporters. My concern? That Israel not fall victim to the hatred and antics of its rivals. Political expediency at the cost of a piece of the nation’s soul would not serve its best interests.

In the final analysis, the opinion of any of us who are not in the daily struggle for life in Israel matters little. So, I pray. I pray that truth will prevail. I pray that no weapon formed against the Land of Promise will succeed. I pray that the leaders of Israel will choose morality over fear. I pray that the forces of darkness will be exposed and defeated. I pray, as always, for the peace and well-being of Jerusalem.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

It is Good Friday for western Christianity and the weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown. Passover, or Pesach as the Hebrews call it, celebrates the deliverance from captivity from the Egyptians; four hundred years of hard labor and the indignity of slavery broken by the intervention of God.

Now after years of peace between modern Israel and Egypt, the threat against Israel continues as a rocket was fired yesterday into the resort town of Eilat on the shores of the Red Sea. Thousands of Israeli and foreign tourists had swelled Eilat’s population when an explosion occurred in the usually safe vacation destination. A total of three blasts were heard in the night but debris from only one rocket was found. The rocket was fired from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which is a continuation of an ominous trend of attacks from Egypt’s territory.

Again, the hand of God protected His people from Egyptian threat at the Red Sea, the rocket landing a mere three hundred yards from a neighborhood, falling into an uninhabited construction site. The Jewish people must never again be made slaves or taken into captivity. NEVER AGAIN. 

On this holy day, please pray for those who are on holiday in Eilat (We have Israeli friends there that my wife Sharon and I dearly love) and for the residents of the resort town. Pray for families across Israel whose fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters and adult children must leave their holiday family time and go on military alert at Passover. And above all, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.