Stand at the Crossroads

Stand at the crossroads, and look, 

and ask for the ancient paths, 

where the good way lies; 

and walk in it, 

and find rest for your souls. 

Jeremiah 6:16

 

Members of the Pilgrimage group are beginning to arrive in Tel Aviv. Pastor Debbie arrived first and was promptly whisked away to her beloved Bethlehem for a birthday celebration for her 8-year-old friend, Cece. Being around 10+ kids second graders is enough to get you over a lack of sleep! 

For Pastor Debbie, this is a return to a sacred place she loves and a reunion with many friends. But for the rest of the group, part of the pilgrimage experience is meeting new people and deepening established friendships. The group represents people from California who attend three different churches along with those from Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. 

A few have been on pilgrimage with me before, but for most folks, this is their first trip to the Holy Land. All of us are eager to experience the Holy Land - its geography, its history, its story, its people. To walk where Jesus walked can move the mind and soul to new insights and spiritual awareness. 

But sometimes, it is the simple encounters that become the most meaningful. 

Early this morning, Pastor Debbie went to the Church of the Nativity for prayer.  She noticed a young girl wandering around the nearly empty church. Debbie watched as the priests shooed her away from the holy altar. Debbie too had just been asked to leave the church next door, St. Catherine's Church, because they were cleaning the sanctuary. (Not the best welcome). Eventually, the girl approached Debbie and told her she was looking for the bathroom.  Debbie escorted her to the facilities and afterward, they sat and talked. She told Debbie that she was bored, so the two of them commiserated on how sometimes church can be tedious and how the rules make it hard to experience God. But in the end, they both agreed that loving God is more important than the rules or boring churches. 

Yes, we will stand at the ancient paths and look but we will also attend to the ordinary encounters where God speaks love.