Easter

Sunday was Easter

Oops.......

So does anyone else stumble over the Resurrection? I mean, it isn't something that's part of our experience, is it? Yes, sure, we can see it metaphorically: "This new job really makes me feel like a new person." "My cancer is cured, I have a whole new chance at life." "I see everything in a new way now."

But it seems to me the writers of the Gospel went out of their way to describe a bodily resurrection. Jesus walks, talks, eats, and invites people to poke their fingers in his execution wounds. I don't think the writers wanted us to imagine it symbolically. They clearly meant us to believe that Jesus was dead 3 days, then rose again. So what are we to do with this in our rational, post-modern world?

I'm not prepared to say Impossible-Can't Be-No Way. After all, it wasn't that long ago you would have been burned at the stake for talking about reading this blog on that computer machine. But at the moment, resurrection is something that just doesn't seem possible to me, and I don't really want to just put it aside and accept it "on faith." I think that slips over too easily into magical thinking. For now, I'd rather stay open to possibilities, abide with not being able to figure it out, and say I just don't know.

I sure as heck hope there is resurrection, though. Today I met Rachel Corrie's father. Rachel was a 23-year old American writer who was in Gaza because she cared about what was going on there. In March, 2003, she stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer in hopes of stopping it from demolishing a Palestinian home. It didn't stop and it killed her. Her parents are here this week for the opening of a play about her. Her father told me he quit working after Rachel was killed ("How can you go back to work after someone bulldozes your daughter."). Now Rachel's parents tell her story and are trying to have her killing investigated, apparently with little success. I hope Rachel comes back to life for her family and friends. www.rachelcorriefoundation.org

I think of the young men I've met here. They're from the West Bank and are in Jerusalem illegally because they don't have permits, but they come here at risk of their lives to find work. They're like all young people. They have dreams. They want to have good work. They want to have families, to see Paris, to live rich full lives. I see their enthusiasm and between their broken English and my broken Arabic, hear their dreams. But their excited talk always fades out, knowing that none of this can happen because someone else has decided they are terrorists or militants or security threats and has forecast their futures for them. And so they live stunted lives that feel like death. I hope these young men will rise from the dead, too.

I hope it's true that The Lord is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!

Easter in Jerusalem: Good Friday

Tradition holds that Jesus walked from his so-called trial to his crucifixion along the way now known as the Way of Pain, Via Dolorosa. Today this is a street in Jerusalem's Old City. In Jesus' time it was outside the walls of the city - death is unclean, so the sites of execution had to be outside the area where people lived and worshipped.

Along the Via Dolorosa now, "Stations" mark various events described in the Gospels as Jesus made his way. Pilgrims and worshippers walk these stations to remember and reflect on those events. No one really knows the path he took or where the events actually occurred. But it doesn't seem to matter to many. Usually the group carries a cross, which is passed from one person to another as each Station is passed. It is an act of devotion and very meaningful to those who carry the cross.

Early, early on Friday morning, I walked the stations with a group. The Stations are described below and you may follow along with the photos on the right.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS:
I. Jesus is condemned to death - "Crucify him! Crucify him!

II. Jesus receives his cross - "Take up the cross, the Savior said, if thou wouldst my disciple be"

III. Jesus falls for the first time - "Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted."

IV. Jesus meets his mother - "Simeon said to Mary...and a sword will pierce through your own soul also."

V. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross - "If any one would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

VI. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus - "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."

VII. Jesus falls for the second time - "I am utterly bowed down and prostrate"

VIII. Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem - "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children."

IX. Jesus falls for the third time - "Where were you when they crucified my Lord?"

X. Jesus is stripped of his garments - "Let us pray for those who are exposed to ridicule, who are shamed, humiliated, degraded."

XI. Jesus is nailed to the cross - "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise"

XII. Jesus dies on the cross - "It is finished"

XIII. Jesus is taken down from the cross - "Thou does lay me in the dust of death"

XIV. Jesus is laid in the tomb - "Joseph of Arimathea...laid him in a tomb which has been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary the mother of Jesus saw where he was laid.

Easter in Jerusalem: Maundy Thursday

From the joyous procession of Palm Sunday to a dark walk toward agony.

Maundy Thursday is also Holy Thursday. Maundy comes from the Latin Mandatum (order) to recognize the Commandment given by Jesus at the Last Supper: Love each other as I have loved you.

The liturgy for this day is packed and moves you toward places that are not easy to go. The service at the Cathedral here Thursday night began as usual - lots of light, opening hymn, people bustling. Then, as the liturgy unfolds we hear about the Last Supper. About that Commandment, about how one of his own is going to betray Jesus. About Jesus washing the disciples' feet, an outrageous act of radical humility and service. In the liturgy, feet of parishioners are washed. The head of the Episcopal Church in the US, the Presiding Bishop, is visiting this week. Last night, she and the Bishop of Jerusalem knelt and washed feet. See the photos in the slideshow.

This act during the service changed everything. As we watched, first in curiosity, our thoughts turned inward and our feelings went deeper. What did this mean for us last night, what did it mean then for the people around Jesus? The mood shifts. People become subdued, prayerful, somehow fearful or maybe awestruck.

After the footwashing, it becomes very quiet. The priests set about removing their outer robes, so colorful and elaborate; the hangings in the church are removed. The lights go out, one by one. The setting becomes starker, sadder, bereft. As darkness sets in we hear the beginning of Psalm 22, "My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me"

The service fades out...no music, no processing, everyone just turns and walks out in silence. We gather outside and begin to walk. We walk through the streets of East Jerusalem. Some people we pass on the streets stare, some pause reverently, some mock, some don't seem to notice or care. Traffic is heavier than usual as other pilgrims head where we are going - to the Garden of Gethsemane. We descend down into the Kidron Valley, cross it, then up the Mt of Olives. But we don't follow the crowd. We head down a side pathway away from the light. In a dark quiet spot, our group of about 25 stops and we share our thoughts or stand in silence; we sing; we pray. We look out across Kidron to Jerusalem. Jesus saw this view many times. That night, from the Garden of Gethsemane, just steps away from us, what was he thinking? Maybe the same thing some of us are thinking: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.

Easter in Jerusalem: Palm Sunday

It's the week leading to Easter. This is by far the holiest of seasons for Christians in this land. Christmas is not nearly as big as in the West. I think partly because mercantilism has co-opted Christmas to some extent in the West. But more, perhaps, because people here understand much better the events noted during Holy Week. Jesus coming to Jerusalem for Passover. A local boy, one of the people's own. Not a head of state, he had nevertheless been talking about a Kingdom. But a very, very different kind of Kingdom from the one people knew as they lived under an Empire's occupation. What he was saying about justice and helping the poor, sick, widowed, and imprisoned was getting people's attention. It was getting the Empire's attention, too.

So before long he was arrested and executed. That sequence of events and the suffering it entailed is not so very foreign to the lives of many people here. The Cross enters all our lives at some time, but I think maybe people here understand the Cross in ways that perhaps we in the West cannot. So I believe these events of commemoration this week carry people here through the Cross and on to new life and hope.

And, oh, how they remember! The first event of the week was Palm Sunday. To remember the way Jesus did it, thousands of people gather on the Mt. of Olives at Bethphage and process down the Mt of Olives, across the valley, and into Jerusalem. It's a wondrously joyful procession. Alot of music, alot of laughing, alot of joy in reliving the way that that man came into town a long time ago and turned the world upside down.

I'll let the photos in the slideshow take it from here. I hope they capture some of the joy for you.

What Would Jesus Do?

It's difficult to know how to write about the situation in Gaza. You don't have to be here very long to realize that the facts here are very different from what most of us in North America have been led to believe. And the longer you're here, the more you realize the depth of the differences. Maybe one way to write about the situation, then, is to share some facts. Not spin, not grudges, not religious rhetoric, not mythologies (which play such a huge role in how people perceive this place). Facts. If you'd like to find the documentation and/or know more facts, I commend two resources in particular: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (http://www.btselem.org/) and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (http://www.icahd.org/). The UN website is also a good resource, but it takes alot of patience and persistence to get at what you want.

It's good to start with basics. The bedrock fact here, without which you can't get anywhere in understanding, is that the state of Israel was made in a place that was already inhabited. By Palestinians. For 2000 years it had been under the control of one empire or another and during all that time, Jews were present as a rather small minority, less than 10%. Between the World Wars the area was under control of the UK. That period was marked by growth of the Zionist movement. The Zionists sought a Jewish homeland in hopes of providing unassailable security. After WW II, with fresh images of the concentration camps in mind, much of the world consented that a Jewish state should be established. Palestine was chosen as the place, without consent of the inhabitants, and the UN created a partition plan that would divide the land into a Jewish state and a Palestinian state. But while the UN dithered, waves of Jewish immigration occurred and Zionist troops began to conquer the place. Among these troops, by the way, was the Irgun led by Menachem Begin. Amont the tactics used by Irgun were massacres, assassinations, and bombings (most famously the King David Hotel here where 92 occupants died). Today, Irgun would be known as a "terrorist organization". This is another important fact to keep the perspective about how "patriots" and "terrorists" can morph back and forth very easily depending on the historical context and point of view.

In any event, that conflict of 1947-'48 drove thousands of Palestinians out of the land as their homes were destroyed or confiscated. Many moved to an area west of the Jordan River which was then in the country of Jordan. It's known today as the West Bank. The state of Israel was declared in May 1948. It will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year. The Palestinians will mark the date also, but know it as Al Nakba "The Shame".

Many Palestinians remained in the new state of Israel and had citizenship, but were subject to different laws and practices in employment, housing, and educational opportunities. Then in 1967, fearful about its security, Israel invaded Jordan and established an occupation of the West Bank. Eventually, Jordan withdrew and the West Bank is no longer part of that kingdom. The Occupation of the West Bank continues to this day and is illegal under every international law. Israel does not use the word "Occupation" but refers to "disputed territories". But even George Bush, in his feckless visit here in January, spoke of the "Occupation".

Here are some snapshots of these 40 years of Occupation:

...Residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories have no citizenship. They carry ID cards issued by the Israeli government.

...since 1967, 18,000 Palestinian homes have been demolishedby order of the Israel Ministry of the Interior. The occupants are not compensated or offered replacement services. The police and bulldozers show up one day and destroy the house.

...A Wall is being constructed between Israel and the West Bank. Its stated purpose, security, is clearly not its purpose as it meanders in and out of the border area, usurping an increasing proportion of Palestinian-owned land. 80% of the Wall is built on Palestinian-owned land without compensation to the owners. The Wall brings under Israeli control 70% of the water resources of the area and prime farming land. It separates towns and villages from the surrounding area, locking residents in because no Palestinian can move anywhere within the West Bank without a permit.

...There are more than 500 checkpoints within the West Bank, miles away from Israel. They control movement of the population and access to jobs, schools, and families. They do not provide a security function.

..."Settlements" of Israeli citizens are established all over the West Bank. It is illegal under international law for an occupying force to import its citizens into the occupied territory. Israel says it is not building new settlements or adding to the existing ones. This is a lie. I visited several settlements last week and the construction is booming. The land for these settlements is confiscated from the Palestinian owners without compensation.

(Incidentally, these activities go on without international rebuke or sanctions because the US has used its Security Council veto power to block every such attempt. The US voting record is public information if you'd like to check.)

...The settlements are landscaped with olive trees which were confiscated from the Palestinian owners without compensation, uprooted, and replanted. Olives are the only real industry Palestine has and loss of these trees adds to the economic servitude of the people. Keeping these landscapes flourishing in a desert - and in the midst of a drought - requires huge amounts of irrigation. The settlement of Ma'ale Adumim near Jerusalem uses 5 times its share of water on a per capita basis.

...Palestinians in Jerusalem live mostly in East Jerusalem. They pay 35% of taxes to the municipality and receive about 10% of the benefits. About 2% goes to education. There are no municipal playgrounds or parks in E Jerusalem. There are 35 municipal swimming pools in W Jerusalem, there are 0 (zero) in E Jerusalem. There is no trash pickup in E Jerusalem. (Some people like to point to how "dirty" the Palestinians are.......how would your neighborhood look with no trash pickup for 40 years?)

...Since last summer Gaza's borders have been tightly controlled; it is nearly impossible for anyone to leave. Exports are not allowed so people there depend completely on what they receive from Israel. Unemployment is near 80%. 80% of people earn less than $2/day.

...40 items are allowed into Gaza. Apples are 1 item, bananas are 1 item.....obviously 40 items will not provide much of a life

...80+ medicines are not allowed into Gaza including most anesthetics

...Electrical power is under Israeli control and is now cut off for some portion of every day

...Different from what you've probably heard, in this current siege 70% of casualties have been civilian. About 20% have been children. Another 1 month-old baby was killed last night.

This story is much deeper than these few facts. The world is presented with the story that Israel is only defending against attack. This is really not accurate. Israel, created in a land that belonged to someone else, subsequently invaded and occupied additional land. The aggressor, the attacker, cannot by definition be defending itself against resistance to that aggression. If I attack you, and you respond by hitting me and I then kill you in turn, have I killed you "in defence"?

Everyone knows the story of Jesus driving money changers from the Temple. But only the Gospel of John describes Jesus as taking a whip to it. Most of us don't like this act of violence from Jesus. It makes us squirm. It disturbs our myth about him. In a service last week where this verse was read, I saw the Palestinians there nod their heads in understanding. One young Palestinian man spoke about how difficult it is for him to restrain himself from violence as he lives under this occupation.

I found myself nodding my head, also. This is not a comfortable place to be in; ie, understanding, perhaps even sympathizing, at a gut level why people become violent here. But in this land you soon realize how much damage is being done by not coming to terms with the truth; by not acknowledging injustices no matter who perpetuates them, or whether they violate our mythologies and shrink our comfort zone. As the priest at the service said, it's good to acknowledge this anger so we can turn it into righteous energy.

The violent resistance we see featured on the news because it fits our mythology will continue to come from only a very small proportion of the 4 1/2 million other Palestinians. Those other millions will continue to endure this with their humor, their generosity, their faith, and their patience in the face of wanton, blatant and unapologetic injustice. I hope more and more of us will join them in speaking out, stating the facts, and working peacefully for the justice that must inevitably come.

The Cost of Things

I was talking to a friend in the States on the phone recently and he commented that I sounded tired. I responded quickly that, yes, I was and began to list reasons: not sleeping well, different diet, different routine, blah blah blah, then just let out, "You know, it's really hard being here."

I had known I was tired but hadn't thought about it too much till then. So I began to (in that way introverts have). Figured it was all the physical factors....walking more, not sleeping well, etc etc. Then I realized I've been here nearly 4 months and all those things should be resolved. Then a couple of other ex-pats commented without prompting how they are always tired, too. Then I noticed that everybody looks tired here.

I don't think I expected this: the physical toll of being here. I'm not sure why it is. I recall the Gospels' description of Jesus' night in Gethsemane just before his arrest. He goes off by himself awhile and when he goes back to the disciples (I think for some soul-sharing), they're asleep. He's annoyed: Can't you stay awake even now??? I don't think their fatigue is the point of the story, but it's on my mind now.

There is physical expenditure for the people who live here to be sure: poor diet, extremes of heat and cold, carrying everything and walking alot, hard work or, more exhausting, no work and hours of ennui. But I think the toll comes from the other forms of duress and I am able to share some of those experiences with them. Moving around, or trying to, is most tiring. A day through 4 or 5 checkpoints wears you down, even when you don't have to leave the car. The waiting, the soldiers shining flashlights in your face looking at you like you're crap, taking and examining your passport, looking in your bags. The sheer existence of the checkpoints and what they mean. The anger and sadness in people. The despair. My anger and sadness.

But it's not just on certain occasions, it's all the time. It's the reality of living in some places under certain conditions. My friend Jesse, working in South Africa, described it as "emotional and mental battering." It feels like getting beat up. It is getting beat up.

Now, here's the really weird part. True, I've never been tired like this before, but I've also never been alive like this before. This soul work is hard, yeah, but where else would I be right now? Nowhere. This is where I need to be. I've been given the currency to pay the cost.

Gotta run, it's almost 9 and I can't keep my eyes open. 'Night.....