Yom Kippur,

A Day of Rest

                Day nine of our tour (Wednesday, Oct.12) and after quite a hectic schedule it was time for a more restful day. We were staying in a hotel at Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee. What a great place for a day of leisure! As our itinerary said: "Free time to relax in the hotel gardens, poolside, or step into the sweet water of Lake Galilee". All grasped this opportunity to rest, to relax.

                To the Israelis this was 10 Tishrei- the tenth day of the seventh month. This was a special day. This was Yom Kippur. Today was the day the land stood still. Twenty five hours to nowhere.

                The shouts and chatter of the fishermen preparing for another day of work could not be heard. Their boats remained idle. Their nets uncast. The sea was quiet, merely gently lapping its rocky shores. The wheels of our bus will not be going round and round. The roads will feel easier having the weights which they usually bear lifted from their shoulders. At the end of the day many people also will feel easier, having the weight of their transgressions against God lifted from their shoulders. The doors of the market stalls remain drawn and locked. The shops are shut.

                This is Yom Kippur. This is a day to be still; to be quiet. Today Israel stands still. Its people take time to meditate, to reflect, to repent, to ask God to forgive their many trespasses. White clothing is the choice of many for this day. I also wear white as a sign of solidarity with those whose land I am visiting.

                As a physical act of repentance a sevenfold washing in water is carried out. As they purify themselves by this sevenfold washing here in the sweet waters of the Sea of Galilee so may God also wash them clean of their sins.

Ceremonial washing at the Sea of Galilee on the day of Yom Kippur.

I turn now to the Book of Leviticus, chapter 16, verse29: "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: on the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work - whether native-born or an alien living among you - for on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then before the Lord you will be clean from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of rest and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance."

                At the end of what is for many Israelis an emotional 25 hours may this greeting ring true - gmar chatimah tova (That you will finish with a good stamp in God's book).

Baha'i Shrine, Baha'i Faith

Shrine of the Bab, Haifa 

I was thinking about my visit to this Baha'i shrine in Haifa and the following words from a twentieth century English poet came to mind:

                "We shall not cease from exploring

                and the end of all our exploring

                will be to arrive where we started

                and know the place for the first time."

Sure, T.S.Eliot would have had much deeper thoughts in mind than my application of his words but they did represent for me my experience with the Baha'i faith. My trip to this shrine on the other side of the world ended up half a kilometre from home.

A Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land and we are visiting the Shrine of the Bab. What on earth is going on? Don't remember reading about the Bab in the Bible. On second thought, I don't remember ever hearing about the Bab either. Who is the Bab, that there should be a shrine erected to him. And after seeing the shrine in all its surrounding beauty, I realised that "the Bab", if indeed he was a person, was more important than being the captain of the local football team.

The glittering shrine, set in the terraced slopes of Mt Carmel overlooking Haifa, demanded a closer look but we were not able to approach too closely. This was a pity for the overall setting was very surprising. And many terraces up the hill, at the upper extreme of the site, another surprise awaited - the smiling face of a Samoan security guard.

"You're a long way from home."

"Yes, Sir. Just happy to be doing service to my faith and mankind."

What an uplifting attitude!

But think about it. Mt Carmel, the site which once, according to the Old Testament writer, was the place where prophets of the false god Baal were defeated and slaughtered, now draws thousands to meditate on the Baha'i Shrine. The many other thousands come merely to enjoy the view.

The Baha'i Shrine in Haifa

I enjoyed the view and then asked myself, "What is this Baha'i Faith?"

Along the highway leading to where I live, near a popular service station, is a sign advertising the Baha'i faith. I have driven past it many times, sometimes noticing it, other times not. I remember thinking at times, "What is a sign like that doing here?" But I never bothered finding out anything further. After my visit to Haifa and the Shrine there, I was prompted into action. I walked down the street to visit an old acquaintance of mine who I knew follows the Baha'i Faith.

Now I realise that it is a bit much fronting up to an old acquaintance and then asking him to explain his religion. Put yourself in his shoes. Assuming you are a Christian and a friend out of the blue asks you, "What is Christianity all about?" how would you answer? I am fairly sure that there would be different answers from different people. That's not a bad thing for when you think about it, each of us has our own  understandings and beliefs. But I am getting off the point. Back to my friend.

"So, Steve, what can you tell me about the Baha'i Faith?"

His reply was a question to me - a good tactic. "Have you ever noticed that Baha'i sign beside the Hatton Vale Servo?"

"I've driven past it many times. I know it's a Baha'i sign, but I don't really know what it says."

"Fat lot of good it seems to be doing! It says" One God, Many messengers". There is a number of religious symbols around this message. Symbols like a cross for Christianity, "om" symbol for Hinduism, the Jewish star, and the Islam symbol. Probably others as well."

"OK, but what does that all mean?"

"As I understand it," Steve continued," there is one God who is the source of creation. All the great religions of the world pay respect to him in their own way. Let's face it, we cannot understand, or know God, and so each group has come up with its own interpretation."

I caught on to what Steve was getting at and put in my bit. "And those symbols of the various religious groups are telling us that each of these religions in its own way is a messenger bringing us an understanding of the one God."

"Yes, we like to think that there is a basic unity within the various religions, each directing their thoughts towards the same God. And each one adding a bit more to our understanding of the Divine"

"To the outside observer that doesn't seem to be the case."

"No, unfortunately; but we live in an imperfect world. There is also another of our beliefs which can be hard to see. We see a unity in humanity where all people are created equal and should be respected and treated with love and dignity."

"I would hope that's something that one should find in all religions, but it's often hard to see. All that you mention is theory, or should I say doctrine? How do you live out your faith if it's not too personal a question?"

"I pray to that God of creation - prayers of thanks for what we are given and for strength and desire to use wisely what we have been given. I spend a lot of time meditating. I think of what I have done and what I should be doing. How I can be of help to those who are in a less fortunate position than I am."

" Do you attend a worship service?"

"No, I don't. Other Baha'is gather for meetings but I'm not into that."

And so our discussion continued. Steve happy to express his understanding of his faith and I interested in what he had to say. A lot of what he said made good sense to me. My questions about the Baha'i faith began while overlooking the Israeli port of Haifa. The answers lay just down the road from home.

Manger in Bethlehem

Away in a Manger

In the middle of the nineteenth century Rector Phillip brooks of Philadelphia took a pilgrimage tour to the Holy Land. On his return he was moved to compose a poem. It went:-

"O little town of Bethlehem

How still we see thee lie,

Beneath thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by. "  etc.  etc.

and became a well-loved Christmas carol. It is clear that the rector was very impressed with the peacefulness and serenity of Bethlehem.

More than two and a half thousand years earlier a local prophet, Micah, also made reference to this town. He wrote:-

" But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from old, from ancient times" ( Micah,5:2).

This was written in uncertain times when Assyrian forces were overrunning Judah and Bethlehem was a town which could easily be conquered. It was not an important town at that time.

Later Jewish writers saw these words as a prophecy that the Jewish Messiah would be born in this  town. So we have Matthew in his gospel describing how Joseph and Mary, who according to him were residents there in their own home, having a child who was named Jesus. Luke, in his gospel, had Joseph and Mary coming south from their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem where Mary gave birth to her first child, Jesus. These two biblical writers, Matthew and Luke , firmly established the village of Bethlehem as the place where Jesus was born. People are still journeying to this place, today more than ever, to see for themselves this town.

Like the shepherds of old we also made our way to Bethlehem to meditate on Jesus' birth, remembered in its geographic setting. Unlike Rector Brooks who remembered the "silent stars" of his evening visit we were there in the midday warmth of a clear October day. And his "Little town" had grown into a scattered, in parts untidy, city of many thousands of people.

Our focus, however, was not on its size or appearance but on the Church of the Nativity, one of the most visited pilgrim sites in the Holy land. According to tradition, this old basilica is built over the place where Jesus was born. To be more exact the present building was built on the remains  of a previous church built over the cave where Jesus was born.

Hey, wait a minute! Did you say CAVE? Jesus was born in a CAVE?

Yes, well that's what the Church of the Nativity is telling us. The first church built here was constructed by Emperor Constantine the Great. It was mainly his mother, Helena, who travelled widely throughout the Holy Land locating places which had reference to the life of Jesus. According to the information she tracked down, Jesus was born in a cave here in Bethlehem. So in 327 Constantine had a church built over the cave to preserve the site for posterity.

This original church was burnt down in 550 but a replacement was built over the site fifteen years later. It is this sixth century church, with various renovations, which one can visit today. It is one of the oldest churches in the Holy Land.

So through the very low front door- the Door of Humility - walk up the aisle to the main altar, then down the steps into an underground cave. And there under an altar ( the Altar of Nativity) is a silver star. This marks the spot. But a CAVE? What about the stable one sees in all the nativity scenes which pop up in the months before Christmas?

A stable or a cave? Where was he born? That is the question. Matthew seems to indicate that Jesus was born in Joseph and Mary's home, for when the Magi arrived looking for him 18-24 months after his birth they came to "the house where they saw the child with his mother Mary"( Matthew 2:11). Luke on the other hand says that the Nazareth visitors couldn't find a place to lodge and so Mary had her baby where the only place to lay the child down was a manger. Luke writes: "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn"(Luke 2:7). And later, the sign given to the shepherds by the angel of the Lord was that they would "find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger"(Luke 2:12).

These two references of Luke are responsible for the generally held impression that Jesus was born in a stable behind an inn. Here is just one of the many confusions which surround the birth of Jesus. Luke does not say that it was in a stable, simply that Mary lay the baby in a manger.

The written indication that the birth place was in a cave goes back a long way. Justin Martyr, born around 100 AD writes in a book entitled Dialogue with Trypho:"But when the Child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed him in a manger" (Chapter 78).

And so the biblical scholars argue one way and the other.

An so what about my personal visit to this traditional site of the birth of Jesus? Well, it left me all a little confused and, I must say, not spiritually uplifted because of my time there. My main memory of the Church of the Nativity is the small (low) entrance door. It is easy to see where the name Door of Humility came from. One really has to bow low where entering the building. Inside can be seen the old stone work which outlined the original entrance - much larger and grander. We were told that the entrance had been purposely lowered so that horsemen were not able to ride their steeds into the church. True or another urban myth?

Stooping low to enter the Church of the Nativity.

And the cave in which the Altar of the Nativity covering the fourteen pointed star was situated was very crowded with people eager to stoop down and photograph or kiss the star and meditate on the birth of the Lord. It was nearing the end of a long and tiring day during which many holy sites had been visited, and unfortunately this place did not receive the attention from me which it merited. The church next door awaited with its own caves and stories.

And let's face it. Most Christians are quite happy with the usual nativity scene we are used to seeing today. This is the one in which as many of the elements mentioned by Matthew and Luke (and some not mentioned by them) are crowded into a stable. We must not let the true facts (if indeed they can be discerned) stand in the way of this romantised  version.

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Yiddish music

A Magical Musical Moment

Years ago in previous life, or so it seems, I operated a modest antiques shop, not stocking expensive European goods but having a range of late 19th and early 20th century Australian furniture. It was my interest turned into a small business. Stock for the shop was obtained from a variety of sources, one of which was buying the complete house contents of deceased estates. This, as one could well imagine, would yield a whole range of articles, some on which a profit could be made, others which were not always suitable for my style of shop. These had to be sold on to other types of outlets or given to charity. Amongst these house lots there were often surprises.

In one situation, I remember receiving a number of boxes of music - tapes and vinyl records. The tapes, written in either Spanish or German, were mainly classical, orchestral renditions of the European masters. The records were predominantly Jewish and Yiddish music. Here was something new for me. Listening to various of these open up a whole new area. Previously for me, Jewish music was Fiddler on the Roof, Havah Negilah and The Andrew Sisters singing Bei Mir Bistu Shein; Oh, and Tzena, Tzena!

This was something else. Now here was a wonderful, engaging rhythm which drove the music along and I loved listening to them, scratches and all. They were mainly religious - cantors singing, orchestral, choirs and smaller groups. Many were of chassidic melodies, something I had never heard of. The rhythms of Russia, Ukraine and Poland, on which these songs were based, put a whole new slant on "church music" for me. They bounced from the bright and cheerful to the solemn and majestic, but in all these varying moods bringing out the joyousness of the people's faith. Many of the dance-like melodies built up to climaxes so intense that they seemed suited to more ebullient celebrations than one would expect in a church. But that's my conservative Protestantism speaking.

I was often reminded of King David of Old Testament fame, when he was bringing the Lord's ark back to Jerusalem. Check out his attitude in 1 Kings, 6:5; "David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals."  And a little later King David became even more excited which embarrassed some of his citizens. "David, wearing a linen ephod danced before the Lord with all his might while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and sounds of trumpets" (6:14).

One magical moment in Jerusalem brought the joy and rhythms of that Chassidic music back to me. That was at dinner in the Dan Hotel on Sabbath evening. A voice from among the large group dining next to our sedate group began breaking out a rhythm. He was soon joined by others and thus began an interlude of joyful singing welcoming the Sabbath. I had no idea what they were singing about but the joy and excitement was so evident. Blessed indeed are those who find such happiness in their love of the Lord and express it so positively.

When I arrived home from Israel I dug out some of those old vinyls to replay them. They relive for me some of these sounds of joyful worship. Yes, I still had some from 30 years ago in spite of my wife's "Don't tell me you've kept those old scratched Yiddish records!"

I quote from the dust cover of Chabad Nigunim : "A special flavour of originality attaches to these ancient melodies of a century ago and more. The listener is immediately taken back to that wonderful world of soul-stirring purity and elevation, experiencing a yearning for holiness and spirituality combined with inner joy of the Chassidim."

Mt Temptation

Mt Temptation

"At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals and angels attended him" (Mark 1:12-13).

The three synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) recorded that after Jesus was baptised he spend time alone in the desert preparing for his ministry. This follows a pattern in Scriptures, readily recognised, where people spend time in the desert being strengthened and tested for what lies ahead.

Moses, you remember, spent the second forty years of his life shepherding his father-in-law's sheep in the desert around Horeb, the Mountain of the Lord. This prepared him for the next, and last, forty years when he guided the Israelites in their wandering to reach the promised land. Paul also spent a number of years in the desert of Arabia after his conversion and before he started on his missionary journeys. Elijah, too, searched for God in the solitude of the deserts. Now, before beginning his life's mission, the gospel writers have Jesus preparing himself mentally for what was to follow.

Few would dispute the statement that we do not really know to where he was led (Matthew & Luke) or sent (Mark). Tradition has it that he spent this time in a cave half way up a mountain which overlooks the town of Jericho. This location seem logical enough, for the baptism apparently took place in the Jordan basically east of Jericho. Assuming that he wanted to stay within the borders of his homeland, west of Jericho would fill the bill.

After taking the sky road up to the Greek Orthodox Monastery which is built around that Jesus cave I thought: This isn't really a desert location where one is away from it all. What a great view. It goes right across the Jordan valley and down to the Dead Sea. I'm sure this would have been a distraction for Jesus in his meditations. Sitting alone, hunger pains biting, the green inviting oasis of Jericho would not have helped in the effort of working out God's ultimate plan for him. I could imagine him thinking: Where did that caravan come from? What are those priests doing? Whose donkey is that? Those people are working on the Sabbath.

But I accept that we must be advised by tradition. For centuries this mount has been known as Mt Quadrantania (Latin for forty). Locating Jesus' desert experience here goes back to Byzantine times.

Looking down from above. It's a long way to fall!

My thoughts on reaching the monastery were, I must admit, not about the temptation of Jesus. The first was: What a great view. Second was: One wouldn't want to be afraid of heights living up here. And again: I hope there's not an earthquake and this building decides to fall down onto the plains below. Then I did find it hard to convince myself that Jesus spent forty days and forty night up here in a cave wrestling with the devil.

What it did do was to spur me to look up once again the biblical record of this event in his life. And I did this not simply by reading one of the three accounts but considering them carefully side by side. I laid down each account ( Mark 1: 12-13; Matthew 4: 1-11; and Luke 4: 1-13) next to each other and then I carefully marked how they vary from each other, keeping in mind that Mark was written first and that Matthew and Luke had access to Mark's account when they wrote theirs. I then try to discover, through reading other commentaries or making my own suppositions WHY the differences (if indeed there are any)?

Some examples:-

1. An obvious difference. Mark's account is very short, but two verses long, saying that the Spirit sent him into the desert for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil, lived with wild animals and angels attended him. Both Matthew and Luke, in their own way, expand on this by describing three specific tests (or temptations) that Jesus had to undergo. Note that they give THREE tests. There is that number three again! Whenever I see this number I become wary. Why did they choose to expand the story?

2(a). Perhaps less obvious. Mark mentions that "he was with the wild animals" and Matthew and Luke both omit this. Question: Why did Mark include this and what does it really mean? If Jesus, as mentioned above, spent most of the time meditating in a cave half way up Mt Quadrantania, wild animals would hardly have been an issue. And why did the other two synoptic gospel writers leave the sentence out completely?

(b). Still considering Mark's account where his last sentence reads, "and angels attended him", Matthew's version suggests that angels came and attended him after the devil had left him. Luke omits the detail of "angels attending Jesus"' but adds something interesting. He writes that the devil left him "until an opportune time". Here's something to think about. Did that "opportune time" ever arise?

3. Did you pick this up? Matthew and Luke present the three temptations in a different order.

Matthew: 1. "stones to bread". 2. Highest point of temple. 3. Very high mountain.

Luke: 1. "this stone to bread". 2. a high place. 3. Highest point of temple.

It is interesting to consider why Luke might have changed Matthew's order.And so I could go on. Some people tell me that this is nitpicking and I'm missing the main point of the story.

So what is the main point of this account (these accounts) of the temptation of Jesus? Did climbing - oops! taking the chair lift to - Mt Quadrantania get me any closer to the main point?