Luke 21.5-19 16.11.25
‘The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another’. I’ve been trying to imagine how Jesus’ disciples heard his words as they marvelled at the wonder that was Herod the Great’s temple in Jerusalem. All that is left of the temple now is what we know as ‘the wailing wall’; the great foundations stones of the temple that stood on Temple Mount. The bright white stone with gold decoration of the Holy of Holies reflecting the sun: the huge colonnades offering shelter as pilgrims gathered in the temple courts: the temple was one of the wonders of the world. ‘None of this will be left standing’ said Jesus. And he was right. Within the lifetime of the first generation of Christians Roman soldiers razed Jerusalem to the ground and the temple with it.
I wondered whether to talk about the reasons behind the devastation that fell upon Israel in AD 69/70 as Titus’ armies encircled the city. Jesus saw it coming 40 years previously: recognising the growth of a fierce theocratic nationalism that attracted the group known as ‘zealots’ to eventually rebel against Rome. There would be only one winner in such a rebellion, and it wouldn’t be God’s people. For the zealots – utterly convinced that God was on their side – their expectation was that their fierce resistance to Roman rule would herald the arrival of the Messiah. …they had not accepted Jesus in AD 33.
The destruction wreaked upon Israel would provoke a reshaping of Judaism. With the temple gone, sacrifice could not be made. Judaism would turn towards the synagogue and the home as centres of religious practice: the study of the Law and good deeds replacing the requirement to make sacrifice. If you think of similar national catastrophes, it is obvious that such a disaster as this inevitably leads to great heart-searching. You might think of Japan after the atomic bomb, or Germany after the 2nd world war, or wonder what will happen in Palestine and Gaza as thoughts turn towards a possible period of reconstruction. When everything has been stripped away ‘what next?… where is there hope? Those questions will perhaps have to wait till Advent to be answered: the time when we most remember light in darkness and the power of Christian hope.
But for now I ask what is it like to live in the middle of a society that is pulling itself apart? There are not many positive sounding words in our reading. ‘People will be led astray. There will be war, terror, earthquakes, famine, plague and signs in the heavens.’ This doesn’t sound at all good, does it? But it gets worse as we read on: how should Christian people live when they are liable to arrest, subject to persecution, dragged before the courts for they know what not?’ How do you stay strong when you feel so small in front of your accusers, people with power over your life or death? How do you sleep at night if you fear betrayal at any moment? Where do you find inner courage and strength if those closest to you might betray you and see you imprisoned to save themselves? And when the news comes that people you know have been put to death how do you respond? In what way do Jesus’ words ‘they will put some of you to death’ make sense when he then says ‘not hair of your head will perish’?
I found myself thinking what it must be like to be a Christian in the Middle East. How do Christian people live as a suspected minority in Iran or Iraq, in Afghanistan. How secure would you feel in Syria? For all that Assad has gone there are a lot of people with guns and scores to settle.
Do you remember the Biblelands carol sheets? Most churches have some. They used to go on sale every year to raise funds for Christians in the Middle East. We have some in the cupboards in the church porch though we haven’t used them for a while. Anyhow, Biblelands changed its name in 2012. It’s now called Embrace the Middle East – and like all charities it has an online presence. Online, you can read about the charity’s work across the Middle East but reading about the Holy Land I learned that the number of Christians within Israel/Palestine has fallen from 10% of the population in 1948 to less than 1%. In Gaza there were just 1000 Christians before the recent conflict began – even less now as soke have left and others been killed. In the West Bank there is a Christian population of 45,000 out of 2.1 million. Despite their tiny numbers however, Christians have 6 seats on the Palestinian Council and they lead 9 out of the area’s 27 municipal councils. In the rest of Israel Christians number just 120,000 out of a population of some 9 million or so.
What do these Christian people do? How do they live in the middle of the upheaval around them? I learned that the churches are involved in running 71 schools in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and five schools in Gaza. The churches run a third of the healthcare provision in Gaza – or rather, they did. The Embrace the Middle East website says of Christians in the Holy Land that they embody the Palestinian concept of sumud (steadfastness) and seek to be salt and light in their communities. We’re told that Christians have a reputation for building bridges and trust, and for progress within community life.
Last week Archbishop Stephen Cottrell visited the Holy Land. He prayed specifically for the release of Layan Nasir, a young Palestinian Christian woman imprisoned recently in Israel a second time following 8 months detained without charge last year. He assured her family of the Church of England’s ongoing prayer and solidarity. Archbishop Stephen said: “It’s been a powerful and moving day, praying with and listening to our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. “It was an honour to meet and pray with Layan Nasir’s family in Berzeit as she continues to be held in Israeli prison. In their ongoing struggle for justice, we pray for Layan’s safety, and for her release back to her life and family. As we continue on this pilgrimage, and witness first hand the realities of life under occupation, in the name of Christ we pray for justice in this Holy Land.”
The reason I’m passing this information on to you is to highlight the fact that the words we have read in the gospel this morning (Jesus’ words) had and continue to have real relevance to his disciples around the world. Here, in the UK we have been spared persecution. We may live in difficult times, but we hardly face the difficulties our Christian brothers and sisters face in some parts of the world. What does Jesus say to them? ‘Endure. By your endurance you will gain your souls.’ People who are facing their time of trial need encouragement. People who are struggling, need to know that they are not alone. Christians who stand up for Christ and bear witness to His love for all people (regardless of nationality or creed) challenge our half-heartedness by showing us an inner strength that trusts God, values community and is fearless in the face of hardship. The least we can do is to show our support and pray, and Jesus gives us words to pray in the modern translation of the Lord’s prayer: ‘save them from this time of trial and deliver them from evil’.
Perhaps you might pray this prayer once in a while and why not look up ‘Embrace the Middle East’ online this afternoon?