Engage the Nations

 Reading Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as we prepared to take Communion with our Israeli and Palestinian brothers in the Holy Land.  It has been quite an incredible week here in Israel.  We have met with so many amazing leaders, both Christian and non Christian as we try to understand the complexity of their leadership context.  We also visited so many historical sites of great significance for the three faiths Judaism, Christianity and Islam.   There is so much to reflect on that I hardly know where to begin.  I have a couple articles to write for the Chanhassen Villager and the Chaska Herald Newspapers due this coming Friday.  I am hoping that as I travel back home, I will get some thoughts together around key issues of faith that I have encountered throughout my travels here in the Holy Land.   Abraham's Tomb inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.  For now, I feel a sense of brokenness and sadness. Echstasy of walking on the holy historical stones is temp

 Enjoying the Fruit Garden, Nazareth Catholic Guesthouse  As I write this, I am in Jesus’ home town of Nazareth, Israel. As the locals say, He is the most famous all-time resident of the city. Upon arrival I had a great meal consisting of sesame seed chicken, rice, pita bread, and a sour Mediterranean salad served to us by very nice Catholic nuns here at the Rosary Sisters Guest House. I was hungry after a long day and so I devoured it delightfully. I can’t help but wonder how different life was like for Joseph and Mary on these streets in the days before Christ was born. I wonder where it was and how the angel appeared to Mary in this little city to announce to her that she would be the mother to the Messiah. The two traditions, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox identify two different locations as being the place of the annunciation. Our guide suggested that it the Catholic tradition- Church of the annunciation, is the most probable rather than the spring of Nazareth which t