I will set my face towards Jerusalem

I WILL SET MY FACE TOWARD JERUSALEM


“But the Lord God helps me... therefore, I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7 “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51

In mid-July, I will be leaving the country for three weeks and going to Jerusalem. This is not a vacation. This three-week continuing education program is sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. Jewish and Christian clergy will be in dialogue with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Israelis, Druze, and Palestinians to better understand the complexities and challenges facing those who live in the region. I have attended the education meetings and been in dialogue with program leaders about the challenge of peacemaking. I know there will be seminars and discussions about cultures and conflict. I will meet my hero, Bishop Elias Chacour, Archbishop of Haifa of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which gathers Arabic-speaking Greek Catholics from the Middle East. Reading Bishop Chacour’s book, Blood Brothers, helped me understand Jewish and Palestinian history and religious dialogue while in seminary.

As the day of departure grows close, this trip has added a layer of challenge to my faith. As we had our subsequent last study meeting last month, I realized more that I was also going on a spiritual pilgrimage. This undertaking of this trip has impacted me most significantly in the previous two weeks because Jewish and Christian clergy will visit holy sites that our faith groups value. I will be in holy places anchored to God's sacred word. I am nervous as I think of walking where Jesus walked or standing at the western wall of the Jewish Temple, which Jesus saw now called the Wailing Wall. I will be humbled to stand on the Mount of Olives or pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Remember Jesus set his face headed to Jerusalem with the determination to face the cross and fulfill God’s mission. To set one's face comes from Isaiah 50:7: "Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” Inthe Hebrew scripture, the virtually unbreakable flint stone describes a person determined to do an impossible task. I do not know what else God has to teach me, but I have decided with the strength of God that I will set my face(like a flint) toward Jerusalem. As I see the places that honor the earthly presence of God's Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray this pilgrimage to Jerusalem will lead me to a new understanding of myself as a Christian filled with Holy Spirit and lead me to my unique knowledge of the Word of God. I anxiously expect Holy Spirit will speak to me in a new wayin Jerusalem. Many congregation members have already made this pilgrimage, so maybe some identity with my feelings and thoughts.

I covet the prayers of all the people of God as I embrace this experience.

Submitted with humility, Rev. Imani