Jerusalem is now within sight. On top of a plateau above the Kidron Valley, which separates the Old City from the Mount of Olives, today’s reading tells us of Jesus in Bethany, a small village, where he meets two sisters in sorrow over the death of their brother Lazarus.
Luke’s Gospel has Jesus weeping over Jerusalem just before he gets to Bethany when John interjects the story of Lazarus. Looking over the Old City and the sprawling area now known as Jerusalem from Dominus Flevit, the church on the traditional site where Jesus wept, even 15 years ago when I was there, one could see the militarization of the area. How much more IDF presence must be there now.
Politics has replaced humanity and care for others, as it had in the first century when Rome ruled with an iron hand. Now, as then, soldiers are everywhere; only the weapons are different. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem but know that political changes must occur before there is peace – and not just in Jerusalem.
Prayer for the Day
You, who summons the earth from the rising of the sun
And keeps us in your heart until the sun sets no more,
Impart to us your wisdom, immerse us in your justice
So we reflect your will and your mercy.
Engage us into conversation with the One
Who calls us to reflect your righteousness.
In the name of the One who calls us to justice and peace,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
What is the value of a Christianity in which Jesus is worshiped as Lord, but Christian discipleship—"the way of Jesus"—is regarded as largely irrelevant to life in the modern world?"
René Padilla, Latin American theologian (1932-2021)
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and thine soul shall be refreshed.
Charles Spurgeon, British Baptist preacher (1834-1892)
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you,
Peace be within our walls and security within your towers.”
Psalm 122: 6-7
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