ISRAEL – MAY 2018 (Arriving in Tel Aviv the day before the opening of the new American Embassy)
 
Today, dear Jesus, I walked the broken streets you walked –
To Your death, on the winding Via Dolorosa;
And others, this day, died in Gaza, as they fought in the Promised Land –
Your lands, for they come from Our Father -
The Father of all life, all men, all creeds, all tribes…  
 
And I wrote a prayer and stuffed it in the Wailing Wall
Whilst smoke filled the skies at Rachel’s Tomb.
Not a drop of water for the thirsty
Intent on battle - not life, not love, not peace
 
I sprayed the Separation Wall with bright yellow paint
Writing ‘God loves you’ and ‘Jesus lives! And ‘Jesus loves…YOU!’
Right alongside Banksy’s letters and art –
Only he stains in ink the pain of the separated brothers,
Who want to live in trust and hope;
Where homes are safe and families, free from fear.
 
I saw the place where they beat You and put a crown of thorns on Your head –
For they knew not what they did, with that cruel piercing.
And still we don’t understand about peace and joy and love
For relentlessly the serpent, rears his ugly head –
Destroying and killing; sapping life and sapping hope…
For he despises Golgotha –
Where You conquered sin and death.
The split rock is still there, on Calvary.
Where I joined the many thousands to pay homage to its history
And to ponder mankind’s destiny
And touch the rock on which The Cross once stood.
 
Trump has a voice here in Israel – May, 2018;
And today a deal was set, as flags were blowing in the breeze.
Oh, great Jerusalem! Oh Jerusalem – what you have seen!
Once more a battle ground, with fire and stones, and rocks and guns;
Enemies on every side; Truth lost in No Man’s Field of lies
 
Love God and love your neighbour!
But always we pull away -
We drive a wedge and crucify You - again and again!
Brother fighting brother, as bullets fly and maim; as bullets pierce and kill
Thank God that You are God, Who alone can judge man’s will
For our hearts are so deceptive - so deaf and blind to truth.
 
I saw the star in Bethlehem, where in a manger You’d laid;
I touched this ‘place of grace’ - what perfect grace, had I!
I rested in the Milk Chapel, where Mary and Joseph had lived –
And with You, through her generous Fiat, protected God’s Precious Gift.
 
I went into the Shepherds’ caves and saw where a meteorite still stood –
Was this Your fallen star, which had led the Wise Men there?
Meanwhile, some 50 miles west, the shots continued to fly;
And bombs were falling; and colonels calling;
And mothers, crying; and soldiers dying and people lying;
And voices sighing, and asking why and why and why…?
 
From the land of triumph, where hope and life are set in stone
Redeem us, Saviour of the World!
 
The following day I wept, kneeling at Your tomb;
And thought of all the tears You’d shed
As you looked at Jerusalem below -
For I’m here on the Mount of Olives
And at Dominus Flevit, on which You had once stood,
Knowing what dangerous seeds, we’d continue to sow.
In Gethsemane’s garden, the olive trees still stand
But hate has wasted many lives, and Innocence has fallen.
No olive peace for us – instead we let the devil in
Whose seed is always sin.
 
In the silence of my prayers at Mass,
I hear a Latin incantation,
Its humble solemn tone, with devotion expresses Truth
For the Franciscan priests are on Holy Watch,
And they glorify our King – a reminder of all that happened
In this most Holy Sepulchre,
Where the Son, our God, He sent.
 
Then reflecting on Gaza’s battleground…
I imagine all the wounds –
Scars made of anguish, bitterness and hate
Inflicting sin on innocent flesh.
How can we, Your people, withstand such pain and tests!
 
I saw a poor young boy throw rocks at the Wall of Loss -
In Palestine, in Bethlehem, in a place of suffering;
At the checkpoint of insanity
victim guards are targets of hate.
Here we find denial, unforgiveness and division;
Where people rant and rave – choosing an open grave.
Confusion and angry pain have created a sour melange –
Injustice, fear and dismay reign on this tragic day.
They stifle the chance of solution
As evil drives the world mad.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Come and show Your power.
Come and cast Your mercy,
Release Your perfect peace
Man needs the kindness of the King!
 
I’m sitting on the shores of Ein Gev
Looking out across the sea.
Tiberius with its tall towers
Is framed by palm-laden hills.
But here, in a place of calm beauty
I remember the recent news – bombs flying over from Syria.
Landing in the Golan Heights; and causing a quiet hysteria.
The threats and war drums are still sounding.
In Galilee, where Jesus raised the dead
We fill people’s hearts with fear -
And for good measure, plenty of dread
 
I am capturing the sun as it flickers on the lake
Watching waves roll gently now on to the burning sand
Near by Jesus once healed a Gerasene son -
You folk of Kursi, blindly witnessed the conquering King!
The blistering sun up above
Cannot blister or damage our souls, as does the Evil One
Who produces only darkness, not light!
 
Who defended You, Jesus,
When you walked the land in peace?
Healing, and freeing people, from Satan’s tyranny?
Turning water into wine,
And calming the storm upon the sea,
You taught and preached life,
For You told us of true liberty.
I held the volcanic black rock
At Saint Peter’s Primacy’s shore,
And touched the rock from which You taught
Taught love and peace and truth.
 
Deep in the Golan Heights
In ancient Caesarea Philippi
We found the Temple of Pan –
Where men sacrificed men for a lie
For the sake of History’s false gods
Unknown gods that continue to take life –
Have you ever seen their mercy, or forgiveness, life or love?
In this place a paradox emerges,
As the springs of Jordan’s flow are sourced -
What irony! for there Jesus asked His Apostles: ‘Who do you say I am?’
And Peter answered freely: ‘Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God!’
John’s Baptism in this river offered blessing – a certain grace for new life
 
The sun-baked Galilean hills remind me of the dryness of lives
Which know not the hope and peace – blessings offered by Jesus Christ.        
 
Pretty birds fly low over the easy waves
As children play so happily in the fresh-water lake.
Reality seems up close and personal;
Yet a mist softens Mount Arbel in the distance
Which on ‘Jesus’ Trail’ we’d once climbed.
My thoughts are blurred by memories…
On foot we’d set off from Nazareth’s hostel,
A pilgrim’s journey - to walk where Jesus had walked!
But peace now saturates mind, body and soul –
Oh, sweet relief at Ein Gev, an oasis of calm!
 
In Tiberias that night we met a group of Christians
Who were singing the praises of our God –
Joyously, they proclaimed the Word of the King.
The sun’s heat is still intense
And we know that miles away
There is great pain, and intense suffering.
As the slain are buried in Gaza,
God’s heart must surely be breaking,
At man’s inhumanity to man?
Save us, we pray, from ourselves
And let us receive Your Son’s peace!
 
Today – Friday - I’m on the Via Dolorosa.
A Franciscan brother, Paul, is leading us.
We walk and stumble on The Way,
Meditating and reflecting, praying and kneeling.
How lost we are – as man digresses from truth
And rejects the way of peace – a peace only You can give!
‘Save us, Saviour of the world
For by Your Cross and resurrection, You have set us free -
You have set us free!’
Paradoxically, we erect mighty walls, in the hope of peace –
Divided minds; divided hearts; broken hope; shattered love.
 
In every alleyway, on every corner, in every shadowed place
Trinkets and artefacts, T-shirts and souvenirs are peddled –
But where is their value?
In objects we store reminders of the hell we create
As we fight for peace in a world ablaze with anger!
 
In the Chapel in the Holy Sepulchre, I study the Stone of Flagellation.
Flowers have been placed next to it – a bittersweet reminder of the Son
Whose blood fell hard, under the mad beating of the foe.
Have mercy on us all, as we resist the Road of Perdition.
Throngs of people fill this Church – hustling and bustling.
Their faces bear many expressions – awe, bewilderment, love, confusion,
Fatigue, adoration, indifference;
Oh, where were you when they crucified our Lord?
And still, we crucify the Son of the Living God!
 
In a small shop in Saint Mark’s Street, we met an aged tailor –
The Mayor of Jerusalem’s Syrian people.
Aloud in Aramaic he prayed the Lord’s Prayer
And spoke of the dignitaries he’d served –
Cannon White, the Bishop of Baghdad
And others of great renown.
Our God of surprises – surprising us in the sweltering heat of the day.
 
Pentecost Sunday – early morn, baking hot
We squashed into the place of King David’s tomb
Where the Jewish people were celebrating their faith.
Heading for the Upper Room, we were denied entry and so hot-footed
To the tomb of Jesus, for a solemn Mass –
Thank You, oh Great Provider, for giving us sanctuary and blessing!
 
3 PM - Pentecost - on spec we entered the Upper Room,
Gathering so joyfully – Oh! a special Ceremony about to start!
The Patriarch of Jerusalem entered
With a blessing for us all; a blessing for all men!
And he blessed my palm with holy oil
And we invited in our King.
Come Holy Spirit and renew us all - renew the face of the earth!
Electrifying, mesmerising, all-consuming hope -
Thank God for Christ, Who opened the doors
To offer love from His abundant store.
 
In the Garden of Gethsemane, we pondered the ancient trees
But interspersed with flowers in bloom
We remembered His crown of thorns.
And we touched the rock on which He’d slept
As Condemnation approached –
Oh, melancholy wood, which marks where its Maker knelt:
‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me;
Yet not my will, but yours be done.’ For I am Your Son.
 
Many times we knelt where Calvary’s Cross once stood
Where millions have paid Love homage
And where millions have sought the Truth.
And we’ve basked in Israel’s beauty
Warmed by the people we met –
Of every kind and every creed
Of every nation, and every age;
By the atmosphere of this holy land
And the mystery God’s holds in His hands