St. Bartholomew s Anglican Pro-Cathedral Town of Tonawanda, N.Y. A Homecoming

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1 St. Bartholomew s Anglican Pro-Cathedral Town of Tonawanda, N.Y. The Rev. Fr. John E. Commins+ Associate Rector Scripture: Matthew 15:21-28 and various A Homecoming Just prior to our flying to Israel for our special journey our eyes and ears were trained on the news coming from Tel Aviv and the Gaza and how this might affect our safety. Each one of us knew that God would provide and protect us as we faithfully met at the airport and checked in with Delta. Six members of our 19 - left the day before and arrived at Tel Aviv and I got messages from Dan Scully on behalf of his wife to be (Denise) and his In Laws to be (Carol and Louie) and friends Angelo and Dolly. His text message was simply we made it! I asked him via text message about the rockets that we were hearing about. Dan responded when we were coming in, our taxi driver said two rockets were just brought down as we were in the taxi. We later learned that they spent some time in a bomb shelter, as the sirens sounded. Thank God they were safe and we joined them at the airport the next day. I need to add that your prayers were felt as during our entire stay in the Promised Land we did not hear one siren sound and knew that God was protecting us without fail. The faith of every person on this trip was strong and trusting in God s love - knowing that He wanted to show each one us His love and presence and the Land that He gave to Abraham. We are grateful for all of your prayers! When we arrived at the airport we were shocked to find that everyone s luggage arrived safely except Marilyn s and mine. The very unhelpful lost and found luggage clerk told us in a very matter of fact manner that our bags were still in Buffalo! He could not explain why, but this being Friday evening, we might not see our bags until Monday! Imagine walking around a foreign country in the same clothes for 4 days? Well, the bags finally did arrive late Sunday afternoon, but this did not make the final plans for Dan and Denise s wedding on Saturday evening any easier, because my clergy clothes and vestments were in our checked bags! Lou Callari, Denise s Dad was nice enough to give me a new white polo shirt and a brand new pair of undershorts. I am extremely grateful and I told him that I would replace them. Lou graciously told me oh Father, they are on me! I responded, while dressed in that clothing No, Lou, they are on me! The wedding was very special and included Carol, Louie, Dolly and Angelo holding the poles of the traditional canopy over Denise, Dan and me. The wind suddenly picked up on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and it was no easy chore for them to keep the chuppa from taking off. The bride and groom were both glowing and wind-blown! Their marriage was beautiful. I explained something remarkable that the Lord revealed to me, reminding me that the wind that blew during their wedding, which stopped dead right after the blessing, was the Holy Spirit s blessing over their vows to one another. In Hebrew the word for wind is ruach ר וח the Hebrew word for Spirit is ruach.ר וח The Holy Spirit in Hebrew is ruach Ha-Kodesh and it was clearly evident as He rushed through this spot on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and bestowed His blessing on their faithfulness for keeping their vows to God and to one another. Earlier in the day on Saturday, we went in the torrid heat to Caesarea, on the Mediterranean, to the Aquaduct that carried water to the city, to Mount Carmel where Elijah battled the 1

2 prophets of Ba al. We had an amazing view of the Jezreel Valley from atop a Carmelite monastery on the Mount. It is in this Valley that the crossroads of the Middle East the Via Maris leads to Megiddo. At Tel Megiddo there is a vantage point of the Jezreel Valley that will provide victory at Armageddon, named after Megiddo. Revelation 16:14-16 speaks of this place and the battle: for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.") And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. Har means mountain or hill. After this battle a loud voice will be declared out of the Temple from the throne saying It is done! It was over 100 degrees so we passed on the opportunity of climbing to the top of the Tel and instead we drove to a warm welcome in the City of Nazareth. (show the sign which says: Oh people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion. Say nothing but the truth about Allah (The One True God). The Christ Jesus, Son of Mary was only a Messenger of God and His Word conveyed to Mary and a spirit created by Him So believe in God and His Messengers and do not say: Three gods (trinity) Cease! it will be better for you. Indeed, Allah is the One and the Only God. His Holiness is far above having a son. (Quran 4: 171) I don t think anyone got a really comfortable feeling in this Arab city. It is now a crowded city. We went into the Church of the Annunciation, which was built over what is believed to be the entire city of Nazareth at that time to view what is believed to be the home where Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she would bear a son. The streets were narrow and the bus had to park over a mile away. This city had changed a lot since our last visit 15 years ago. Our Bus driver, Bishara, lives in Nazareth. Bishara, a wonderful gentleman and friend, is the same driver that Marilyn, John, Theresa and I had 15 years ago on our Shoresh Trip. He remembered so many things about our family, and we remembered him as soon as we saw him! He kept us safe at all times, as did David, our wonderful, knowledgeable guide. God was protecting us, and we could feel it! We headed off to the beautiful Ma agan Holiday Village where we would stay for 4 nights on the Sea of Galilee, and have a wedding to celebrate, and it was a beautiful wedding! We rode upon a boat on the Sea of Galilee, experiencing the wind on the lake and seeing the view that Jesus and the Apostles would see. Back on land, we traveled through the ruins of the cities of Chorazin, Capernaum, Katzrin in the Golan Heights, as well as Caesarea Philippi and the Dan all in the northern part of the Galilee leading to the Lebanon and Syria borders. On the road back to Ma agan we got a call from Levya, who is the tour coordinator for Shoresh, at Christ Church in Jerusalem, telling us to stay off Highway 93 because it was announced that rockets were heading there. Well, David told her we are on Highway 93! We didn t want to worry anyone so we kept it quiet, but David and I saw the evidence of what looked like a crater on the side of the road. Once again, God protected us fully. 2

3 As we left the Galilee, we headed south to Yardenit, the traditional baptism site on the Jordan River. Fourteen people waded into the Jordan River to rededicate their baptisms to the Lord. We were mindful of John the Baptist and Jesus together in this river: John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. And he was preaching, and saying, after me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:4-8) We were so blessed by this and we were given further clarity to John s diet! David suggested to us that the locusts were not the bugs but instead the fruit of the carob tree, which we sampled and the wild honey was not from bee hives, but was the syrup that comes from dates. It made a lot of sense as these things were in abundance and easily obtained and would give anyone excellent nourishment! It is impossible to talk about every site we went to, there is just not enough time, so I will just highlight. We went to the mountain fortress of Masada, then to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, to the Dead Sea itself where you don t swim! The heat was unbearable at times and we saw some people refreshing themselves at the lower waterfall at En Geddi. I wanted to show people the site where, near this waterfall, I received my call to the priesthood, but 15 years of flash-floods has destroyed the rock area where we sat. It is amazing how things change in just 15 years. We stayed at Christ Church Guest House, near the Jaffa Gate in Old Jerusalem. We stayed here for 6 nights and from here we explored Jerusalem and the surrounding area. We visited Bethlehem, only 8 miles from Jerusalem. We saw the Church of the Nativity, and the site where it is believed that Jesus was born. She gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7) Very moving and touching! One of the most moving experiences for all of us was the trip to Yad Veshem, the holocaust museum. It is incredibly moving and there just is not enough time to see it all. Our group would have liked to spend the whole day there, but we had places to go, so we purchased a book that contained photos from every exhibit of the atrocities that Hitler and the Nazis committed to the Jews. After each one of us has time with this book, we will sign the inside cover and dedicate this to the St. Bart s Library. It is really hard to think that people could do these horrible acts of hatred to others. In our days in Jerusalem we walked all over the old city, because buses cannot go where streets were designed for horse and carriage. Visiting the Western Wall, we had the opportunity to walk in the tunnels that run underground along the western wall toward to Pools of Bethesda. It was quite an experience. We also went up to the Temple Mount, where Scripture tells us that Abraham took Isaac. The Lord told Abraham in Genesis 22.2: "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." David bought the threshing floor of 3

4 Araunah (2 Samuel 24:24) and on this land - the very same the place in Genesis 22 on Mount Moriah, where Solomon built the Temple. In 70 AD the Romans destroyed the Temple and on that land the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock. They claim that Abraham took Ishmael to the rock to sacrifice him, but we know better. The ornate building that stands on the Temple Mount is filled with sayings in Arabic that claim that Allah has no son! Around the sides of the building are panels of cut marble, which you can see in this picture. Now, I want you to look closely at this panel. It is shroud like and has a demonic figure on both the top and bottom of the panel, even with cloven hoofs! This is not a painting, but a photo that I took of a natural marble panel - that I believe is the picture of the owner of the Dome who has many names like Ba al, Lucifer, or Satan and he is letting people know of his ownership of the evil on that mount. (see picture added to the end of this manuscript.) We had some free time during the time in Jerusalem, and Mike and Brenda Wisz along with Larry and Diane Moyer and others went to the Israel Museum. There they saw a beautiful scale model of the City of Jerusalem at the time of the Temple of Solomon. Compare the city with the Temple of God and the city with the Dome of the Rock. At Christ Church we shared in a Passover Seder, which was very much like what we have here at St. Bart s on Maundy Thursday, seeing Jesus in every part of the Seder Meal. On our last day in Israel we started at the Mount of Olives and walked down to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus suffered and was arrested. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." (Mathew 26:36) After going through the Lion s Gate into the old city, walking the way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, we visited the place where Pilate judged Jesus. We stopped at the Pool of Bethesda, and then proceeded uphill to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where it is believed that Jesus died and was buried in the tomb. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). (Matthew 27:33) The sense you get while climbing the high stairs to the place where Jesus was nailed to the cross and then crucified between two thieves. You get a feeling of deep sadness. There is no time to reflect and to pray because there are lines of people behind you who want to see the places as well. In spite of this it is a place you do not want to miss! Being pushed along - you go downstairs to where Jesus was temporarily laid on the stone of anointment to be prepared for the tomb. As you follow the lines, you come to one of the longest lines you have ever seen, with people waiting to enter the tomb and the sense of sadness deepens. On a tour it is imperative to keep moving and I am glad that we did. We next went to a place outside the city walls, through the Damascus Gate where you can see a hillside that resembles the face of a skull. After realizing that it was at a place like this that Jesus was crucified - we were filled with a sense of gratitude for the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. We were allowed to take time to reflect and to pray. We were next led through a garden to view an empty tomb. Immediately this Scripture came to mind: Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at 4

5 night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42) While tradition places the cross and resurrection of Jesus at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre you cannot help but feel the incredible peace that is present at this place called The Garden Tomb. Inside the door of the tomb is an inscription that simply says the words from the Gospel of Luke 24:6 He is not here; he has risen! It is really not important where Jesus was laid in the tomb, or from where He rose because His tomb, like countless others is empty! He promises to share that Resurrection, that new life with us, with those who believe in Him. We had the unique and special opportunity to share in the Body and Blood of Jesus at the Garden Tomb. I gave each person a small olive wood cup to receive the wine and got to keep it as a blessed memento of this special time. When we returned back to Christ Church we learned that our flight, which was to leave at 12:20AM was delayed 3 hours, so we had a chance to rest a bit before heading to the airport. We were all tired and had a long trip ahead of us, which we learned would be even longer, due to the rocket that hit a home near the airport in Tel Aviv. We only learned about this when we got back to JFK Airport in NY. Our delay would grow to 4 and ½ hours, and our connecting flight would be missed. We were able to get 15 of the 19 on the 12 noon flight to Buffalo, but that left 4 more of us, who had to take the 4:30 PM flight. Of Course, Marilyn and I would be on the 4:30 flight, and Karon Cavalleri and Danett Utz volunteered to wait with us. Not only did we find out about the rocket hitting the house near the airport, but we found out that by the grace of God, we were the last flight out of Israel, until the FAA embargo would be lifted. From one end of the trip to the other we were totally blessed and taught so much about the place that Jesus called His earthly home. I think each one of us felt a sense of being in our spiritual homeland and that in spite of many of the signs which were written in Hebrew we felt a special connection a homecoming of sorts! We learned from the perspective of the first century Jew and realized that Yeshua HaMeshiach (Jesus the Messiah) (Jesus the Christ) never stopped being Jewish, and that believers in Him have been grafted in as is written in Romans 11:17 you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree. We are part of a larger family the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and on that we rejoice! Thank God for a Homecoming. 5

6 This is the Photo of the panel of the Dome of the Rock. You be the judge! 6