The Peace of Jerusalem

           

            There was a story on television this week in a program called Code Black about a group of young people who all took poison and wound up at a Los Angeles hospital emergency room refusing treatment because their leader had told them that if they all died they would go to a place called Elysium where all was peace and joy and they could forget about their troubles.  That reminded me of that terrible story in the seventies about a place called Jonestown in Guyana where all of the inhabitants drank a poisoned Kool-Aid and died because Jim Jones, their charismatic leader had told them the same thing, that death would take them to a magical place where all was well.

            Finding heaven on earth is what we all would love.  In these troubled political times, it is especially attractive to think that maybe our God has a plan to get us to that heavenly kingdom.  Well, there is such a plan.  It has been in place for all of eternity and it is detailed in the lessons this morning.  

            This is the first Sunday in Advent.  You may be more familiar with it being the beginning of the race toward Christmas, or the Sunday following a great Thanksgiving dinner.  It is also certainly all of those things, things that we have created in our economy and in our culture.  But the importance of the season of Advent can easily be lost in all of the commercial concentration that leads to Christmas.

            All of our lessons today speak of the coming of the Kingdom of God.  There is no certainty to when this will come, but we are told again that we need to be ready because at some point the Son of God will return and come to judge the living and the dead.  That isn’t something that we need to fear, but it is something that we always need to keep in mind.  God is ultimately in charge of what goes on in this world.  It may not look like that much of the time; events seem to go on in their own dynamic. We may think that we are in charge, that we make all of the decisions, but in the end, our God is the judge of that.  That is what our lessons are trying to help us to understand. 

            Jerusalem is a metaphor for the perfect Kingdom.  It is a part of our readings in that we yearn for a perfect place where goodness is the perfect norm and all that we have learned about what God has proposed for the human race resides.  It is certainly only a metaphor.  If you have been to Jerusalem, you are certainly aware of the fact that it is an incredibly divided place. Palestinians are separated from Israelis.  There is East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians live and West Jerusalem which is the home of most Israelis.  The Israeli government is always trying to encourage Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.  In The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Christian religions fight with each other.  The Greek Orthodox Church claims the tomb; the Armenian Church inhabits the lower level and the poor Roman Catholics are off to one side. The Episcopal Church has no place here, nor do any of the protestant bodies. Among the churches that are in this great place, there have even been fights in the street on important religious occasions.  In some ways, this holy church is a symbol of the many divisions that there are in Christianity.  

            There is much more in that city.  Israeli soldiers patrol the old city and frequently engage and accuse Arabs.  The Temple Mount, where the last Jewish temple used to be is where the Islamic Dome of the Rock points its golden dome skyward and the Al-Aksah Mosque resides.  Outside of the mount, the Western Wall is the remnant of the old temple where prayers are constantly said by the Jewish majority and notes are left in the spaces in the wall.  Again, Israeli soldiers patrol this area to keep out those who are undesirable. 

            Many years ago, when Rosie and I visited Jerusalem, at one point a group of taxi drivers got into a fight about who was going to transport the group that we were in.  One of them got a club out of his trunk and went after one of the others.  Jerusalem was not a peaceful place, as we experienced it; nor has it been over the centuries.  This city has been often ruled by Muslims.  The crusaders under Richard I took it over and strife and division has been one of the constants in this place over the years.  Nonetheless, we are urged in our psalm today to Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they prosper who love you.  Peace be within your walls and quietness within your towers. 

            Those are beautiful sentiments but they are not only for a peaceful city.  This is a prayer for a world where tumult and disaster are no more and the wholeness of God’s creation exists in truth and wholeness.  That is certainly what we desire. 

            We ought not to be surprised that turmoil is a part of the life of that great city.  It is a part of every place in this world.  It is a part of our own lives.  We watched our presidential campaign devolve into terrible accusations and awful language.  Now that it is over, we wonder what is coming next.  Much of the conflict is out in the open and will have to be resolved somehow.  What do we do about racism and homophobia, or the abuse of women?  These are important issues that we need to talk about and to resolve.  We have no idea what our President-elect will do when he takes office.  We can’t let fear dominate our thoughts.  What I pray for every day is that the fear that haunts our hearts will be turned to faith and we all will recognize who it is who is in charge of this world.  That is the ultimate issue that we need to face if we are going to ever have peace.  

            The peace of Jerusalem is certainly what we all need.  We need it in our lives and we need it in our communities.  We need to work toward that every day.  As these days go on and as what will happen begins to become clear continue your prayers, continue your compassion for one another.  That is where heaven truly resides, no matter what else happens.