IN THOSE DAYS

The Prophet Jeremiah proclaims: “In those days, at that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.” There are many tears shed in Zion these days, ESPECIALLY THIS WEEK.

A dear Israeli friend shared her anger and sadness recently: “This is one of those weeks when it seems the whole world is out to get us.” My friend is no whiner. Israelis are not whiners. They are brave, stoic and determined people who live in almost incomprehensible complexity and constant threat. But some weeks are worse than others.

While we now mourn our own tragedy unfolding in Colorado, theatergoers attacked by a murderer, we must not forget that it was just a few days ago that Israeli tourists were killed and injured in Bulgaria. For Jews around the world this is far too common. Remember that the bombing in Bulgaria occurred on the 18^th anniversary of the fatal bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighty-five people were killed in the 1994 bombing with hundreds more wounded.

Sadness is increased for Israelis by a couple of events that could be easily missed in this crowded news cycle. First, as the Jerusalem Post reports: “Israel, Germany, Australia and other countries have officially asked the committee to hold a moment of silence, but it has rejected such pleas.” As we approach the 40^th Anniversary of eleven murdered Israeli OLYMPIC athletes and coaches, the International Olympic Committee rejects a “moment of silence” to remember the tragedy. Murdered athletes and coaches DURING an Olympic Games! It is not only sad; it is shameful. Secondly, in the same week the BBC publishes: “East Jerusalem” as the “Capital of Palestine,” but leaves the nation of Israel with no mentioned capital. Every other country profile includes a listed capital city. All countries but Israel. Yes, this is a week of sadness in Zion.

And so I join with my Israeli friends in their anger and sadness and I pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

MUST JEWS DIE?

Is it really necessary for Israeli Jews to be murdered in mass while on vacation in Europe for the world to pay attention? At least seven are dead and twenty are injured in a suicide bombing on an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria. On a tour bus! In Bulgaria!

Today marks 18 years since the fatal bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighty-five people were killed in the 1994 bombing with hundreds more wounded. Both attacks are linked to Iran. How much Jewish blood must be spilled in the streets before the world cares?

Too many people worldwide, including many Christians and Jews, have been taken in by the false narrative that Israel and Iran are equal aggressors. Israel has never threatened to wipe Iran “off the map,” but the president of Iran has said precisely that with regard to Israel. Israel has never attacked a bus filled with tourists or a community center jammed with people anywhere at any time. Iran has and will again if allowed.

No one in their right mind wants another war…no one. Yet, the government of Iran appears to want to provoke a war with Israel and the rest of the world seems content to be drawn in to this disastrous eventuality. We cannot stand idly by.

Our voices must be raised now! Our spiritual and political leaders must be reminded that our silence potentially condemns millions of Israelis and Iranians to death. We too will be condemned by our reticence to speak.

Our voices must be raised to God in prayer. Pray for the families that lost their loved ones. Pray for the leaders of Israel that their response is wise. Pray that the leaders of the world deal with this situation instead of delaying and ignoring the path we are on.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

OBJECT OF LOVE AND PAIN

Sunset, daybreak, the steady hand of God turns the earth through another day. His grip is sturdy, forceful, capable and secure; all peoples of the earth are firmly in His grasp. As “Master Artisan of the Universe,” not one detail is missed as He rotates His object of love in His hand.

He turns it to the only land on earth declared Holy by the Lord Our Maker. There He gazes into the eternal city, nestled in the mountains of Israel. Yet in southern Israel heartbreak is heard from the people of God; the cries of mothers wanting safety for their children are heard.

Since last Monday southern Israel has again been under a barrage of rocket fire originating out of Gaza. Despite a ceasefire, Ashkelon and Sderot were pummeled with over 20 Grad missiles. More than 150 rockets have been fired into the Land of Promise in less than a week; nine Israelis were wounded, when a rocket hit an apartment building in the Western Negev. Tragically, an Israeli-Arab was killed by an explosion. These rockets are being launched from the area Israel disengaged from in order to make peace in 2007. Families were pulled from their homes and bodies out of the ground in hopes for peace and we now have terrorists firing on those same families from where their homes and schools once stood.

Where is the worldwide media outrage? There will be little to none. These attacks have been happening for so long and so often that they have become commonplace, mundane, but not for the families living under their constant barrage. How do we simply ignore this? Since when has human life become so valueless that its constant threat is no longer newsworthy? Or is it simply because those under attack are Israeli Jews? There is but one final authority in these matters and surely we may call upon God to act on behalf of His people. However, there is a call upon all those who consider themselves people of faith to do the same.

Begin now, right now by making a decision to stay informed. Get involved with organizations that are supporting Israel’s right to exist in peace. Contact your spiritual and political leaders regarding these issues.

Say a  prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.

HOLY SPACE

Any earthly space can become precious. In the case of a Grizzly Bear mother guarding her cubs, any who dare enter the area of safety she determines for her children does so at their own risk. It is precious space. To the returning WW2 veteran, a walk through the grave markers near the cliffs of Normandy is a walk upon hallowed, precious ground. While any turf may become precious, only one place on earth has been chosen to be holy and only God Himself may declare it so.

To the Jewish people the promises made by HaShem to His chosen is an indisputable fact embodied in the Torah. It is the place of their miraculous freedom, having escaped from slavery in Egypt long ago. Forty years of wandering in the desert prepared them for a land of milk and honey. Resident enemies could not stop God’s promises then and will not prevent them now.

A soul needs a body in this life. For two thousand years the Jewish people again wandered in the wilderness of a displaced people, but now they return to the place called Holy. The Holy Land is the physical entity of the soul of a people, a culture; a nation. In fact, the presence of the Jewish people in the Land of Promise is vital to the soul of mankind. If the Bible has any importance in the hearts of believers everywhere then Israel must exist and the Jewish people must inhabit and rule that land.

How strange it is to now see this land divided into an obscure patchwork of territories. Why would the deliberations of a world political body that has little actual impact on global affairs have precedence over the declarations and miraculous works of God Himself? They should not. They must not.

In the final analysis, Israel is not the “Precious Land.” No, it is the Holy Land. Jerusalem cannot be divided. The Holy Land cannot be divided, it is not only precious space…it is Holy Space.

And so, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

O JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM

Over the entire history of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, peace has mostly eluded her. Even the redemptive work of all mankind was momentarily pushed to the side as the Galilean saw the “City of Peace” and had a very Jewish moment: “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

As I write at 30,000 ft and reflect on today's events it is at once encouraging and sobering. I am returning home from the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast on Capital Hill. This year’s event celebrated 45 years of the reunification of a previously divided city into one. The Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the Israel Allies Caucus Foundation, is dedicated to the support of Jerusalem as the united capital of the State of Israel. I was privileged to participate as one of the plenary speakers along with many congresspersons, rabbis and notable leaders. Benjamin Netanyahu sent a personal aide with a personal greeting.

The encouraging part of the event? The bipartisan involvement of so many of our legislators in support of Israel was heart lifting. The Congress of the United States has a growing and active caucus dedicated to advancing the partnership of our nation and the State of Israel. Many others in the house and senate who are not officially in the Israel Allies Caucus support its goals. Another encouraging aspect is the developing coalition and meaningful cooperation of the faith community, Jewish and Christian alike, working together to advance the "peace of Jerusalem" and the safety and prosperity of Israel.

The sobering part? To hear from those in the highest levels of our Legislative branch of government express deep concerns about our current administration's treatment of our closest ally in the Middle East. The direction our federal government has taken with regard to Israel in the last few years is a significant departure from 64 years of strong support and high regard. While the damage can be repaired, it will take years to unwind the convoluted message that has been spread to the world about our commitment to our allies, especially in the Middle East.

My own concerns are not exclusively geopolitical. If Holy Writ is to be taken seriously, blessings are promised by God Himself to those who stand with the Children of Abraham; curses to those who stand against her. While Christians claim ownership of those same promises made to our common patriarch Abraham, it must be pointed out that we are "grafted in" and that "[we] do not support the root, but the root supports [us]." We cannot stand by and allow the tree upon which we depend to be abandoned or harmed by us as individual Christians or by the nation to which we belong. Quite the contrary, Israel must be nourished, even to its roots.

Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem must be done in faith and action. It must be done. So now I wipe a tear and pray for the peace of Jerusalem,

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.