Back Home!

So, I am back in the States, finished with this summer's world tour. Recovery is slow. We had three more days in Israel since my last post. Places traveled were Mt. Carmel, Caesarea, and Jerusalem. The climb at Carmel is grueling but well worth it when you hear the faith lesson at the top about Elijah's fiery passion. Caesarea was yet another location that demonstrated the ultimate futility of living life like Herod. All of his architecture has crumbled, his riches are gone. The Kingdom of Heaven is still here. Jerusalem was amazing, and there was so much to see and learn. Hezekiah's tunnel, the pools of Siloam and Bethesda, the Western Wall, and the Mt. of Olives are just a few places that we visited.

So what is next? At AHUMC we will be focusing on both local and international mission. Fishing Under the Bridge and the Foundry are a couple of great opportunties for those of you who would like to impact the world in our own backyard. We will also be gathering information for future mission trips to Piedras Negras, Mexico and Los Guidos, Costa Rica. Please send me an email if you would like to be connected to any of these ministries or have any questions.

rjacobson@ahumc.org

"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?"

Isaiah 58:6

Catching Up

Wow. It’s only been a few days since I posted anything, but the days are so full here that I feel far behind. You are just going to have to ask me about these experiences for me to really be able to communicate to you the learning and blessing that we are all receiving. Here’s a quick list…

Qumran – We learned about the dedication behind the transcription of the scripture. The people group likely here were Essenes who were extremely devout. Their faithfulness is amazing, but they are shut off from the rest of the world. A very tough climb!!

Ein Gedi – The desert oasis. David spent time here while running from Saul. The faith lesson was on the reality of living water in the desert and what it means when Jesus tells us that he is the living water. If you know Travis Wert, ask him about the awesome gift he gave us here! We are so proud of this young man!

Capernaum – Here we learn about where Jesus claims to derive his authority, or as the rabbis call it, smicha.

Korazim – Community!!! We study the communal way of life of the first century Jewish community that Jesus was a part of. The families were close knit and lived in what was essentially one home with a central courtyard

Bethsaida – Peter, Andrew, Phillip, James and John are from this tiny fishing village. We think of them as children and the potential that our own children have. We also learn of the dedication that they grew in and here the story of the martyrdom of Phillip.

Tagbha – a small spring on the shoreline of the Galilee. This is likely the spot that the disciples were fishing when Jesus meets them at the shore.

Gamla – Home of a group of Jewish zealots. Their story is powerful and sad. This is the passion that Jesus draws on. He calls at least one and perhaps two identifiable zealots to join his disciples.

Caesarea Phillippi – One of my favorite teachings. Disgusting worship of the pagan god Pan was centered here and Jesus proclaims that on this rock he will build his church. Inspiration and an invitation to go to the tough, hard, perhaps nasty places and show them some true love.

Jordan River – We learn of John’s baptism of repentance and the necessity to approach the world with wet feet.

Beit She’an – One of the cities of the pagan Decapolis. We learn to appreciate G-d’s created beauty and not our own faulty creations. We get a taste of the Hellenistic world that Jesus’ message seems to denounce at every turn.

Susita – Another city of the Decapolis. Here we discuss the absolute necessity of each of us telling our own story trough a study of Jesus with the demon processed man on the other side.

Mt. Arbel – Another very tough climb. We learn the power and importance of prayer, especially prayer guided by G-d’s own words.

Nazareth Quarry – A long walk from here to the next location. We learn of ancient boundaries, uncut corners, and a couple of tectons from nearby Nazareth.

Zippori – Another taste of the culture of Hellenism in this world. We also study the strange interactions within the Herodian family and how Jesus uses the present stories around him in his ministry.

Tonight closed with an awesome boat ride from the eastern shorline to our kibbutz on the western shoreline. The wind was blowing and the sea sprayed all over us. We were soaked and exhilarated by it.

Bless G-d for his awesome creation and his willingness to let us inhabit it. Bless G-d for the story he told us through his word, and the story tells everyday through each of us.

Time in the Desert

I have a feeling this may be a short post. We have been wandering in the desert for the last few days and it has been absolutely amazing. The trip has been eye opening and promise-fulfilling and I am pretty well tired. Not exhausted, but very tired.

Yesterday began in Arad, where we learned how ancient covenants were cut between two men. G-d made his covenant with Abraham and walked the blood path for his part of the agreement, and then walked through again for Abraham's part. That moment condemned Jesus to die when we failed to live up to our end of the bargain. Arad also has a smaller version of Solomon's temple. We learned the layout. The temple here is strange for a couple of different reasons. First, it is a temple to the Lord that is not the Jerusalem temple. This already should throw up a flag or two and questions should be raised why sacrifice and worship of G-d was happening here. The second peculiarity, and the much more alarming, is that two masabot, standing stones, were found in the Holy of Holies. The second stone is thought to represent Asherah as the Lord's wife. This was scary to think about as we stood there staring at the stones. Lunch was with a group of Bedouins and it was an amazing experience to feel the love and hospitality from these people that have next to nothing. The day finished at Masada, one of Herod's strongholds. We explored part of Herod's story and heard the story of the final days of the final zealots to fight against Rome 70 years later.

Today began at Timna. The place is stunning and imposing. We learned much of the Israelites wanderings and the 40 year road of recovering from centuries of slavery. We explored where we are still enslaved personally and communally and asked our Father to free as as he did his children then. Finally, we hiked down the Wadi Zohar. Again the terrain is breathtaking. We talked more about slavery, and explored more deeply the idea of G-d's overwhelming love and power and will to take people out of it.

The desert has been amazing thus far, and we still have a little more time in it. G-d dwells in the desert and it is his. When we experience desert times in our lives he is holding us, shaping us, and growing us. At the end of the desert is a promise. It could be the promised land as with the Israelites, or it could be something else deeply powerful and personal for us. It is a gift from G-d and a promise that we can trust will be good and would probably blow us away if we realized his true intentions and will for us.

Thank you, Father, for forming and defining us in the desert. We would not be who we are without it. Thank you for when we emerge from the desert. Thank you for your promise at the end.

First Fruits in the Holy Land

It has been an exhausting travel time thus far. We should have been landing in Tel Aviv about three hours ago, but the delay in Charlotte prevented that. The delay was caused by bad weather in North Carolina and exacerbated by a few grumpy passengers. One was escorted off of the plane in Charlotte before we even took off and another was arrested upon arrival in New York. Add to these a number of commuters that shouted to be let off of the plane as we taxied to our gate and we were having a regular ole hootin good time. With how much I’ve been on planes in the last few weeks, I was somewhat annoyed by the fact that we would be missing some daylight in Israel, but knew that I wasn’t in control nor would I ever be so I might as well roll with the punches.

We entered the chapel in the New York airport for a quick word from Scott and prayer. We then moseyed over to the synagogue and were greeted by an enthusiastic rabbi. He gave us a very quick synopsis on the present reality of the Kingdom of G-d and the meaning behind the use of the word Holy three times so often in our text and exaltation of the Lord, as in Isaiah 6. “Kodosh! Kodosh! Kodosh!” is said to mean, Holy on earth, and holy in the heavens, and holy forever and ever. The man was articulate and passionate. Bless G-d for such a gift!

The company of folks on this trip are amazing and we will be returning with a lot of exciting new and deepened old relationships. Through the delay in Charlotte I can only imagine what the other passengers thought of us. We were able to preserve our joy and we let it ring pretty loudly at times. I hope that it resonated from us and into some of our fellow passengers. Smiles are abundant in this group as are random outbursts of song and prayer. Absolutely beautiful.

At the initial security checkpoint, I was the last one of our group through. I ended up surrounded by a number of the El Al workers for one reason or another and heard Scott from a few yards away say that I should share with them. I replied that I was trying to understand the Hebrew they were speaking and that every other word wasn’t quite enough. This brought some smiles to the faces of the rather young Israeli security team. They asked about my studies and the meaning of my necklace. I wear a pendant that has the Mogen David (Star of David) set around the cross. Perfect! I told them that I follow Jesus as my Rabbi and that I love to study the world in which he walked. I told them that as such, I greatly appreciated the life that our messiah led as a Jew in the first century world of Israel. I love the aspect of my faith that is found in these Jewish roots. I am just a wild branch grafted in, and try my hardest not to become arrogant at this favor from the Lord. The team around me smiled more, and I couldn’t tell if they genuinely appreciated my words or if they were just thinking, “What a naïve little Christ follower!” Either way they were kind and I pray that G-d blesses them. We finally made our way onto the plane to Tel Aviv. The plane lifted off at midnight New York time, much later than our originally planned 7:00 pm departure. Oh well. G-d will bless this trip and will pour out on each of us and each of you who have followed us in heart and spirit. He really has already begun.

DAY 1

We unloaded in Tel Aviv quickly and met with our Israeli guide and Scott’s fellow Ray Vaander Laan talmid, Tim Becksvoort. We got on the tour bus and headed to Gezer. We are asked the questions, “Who are you? Why are you here?” We will soon find out. There are dead stones in Gezer. Standing, yet the story they tell has been long forgotten. For us to be living stones as Peter tells us that we are, we need to tell the story: the story that G-d has told for centuries and the story that he is telling today through each of our individual lives and especially through our relational and communal lives.

Bless G-d for this beginning. He is good and his love endures forever.

DAY 2

Today started pretty early. Ben and I woke up pretty early and were able to take our time getting ready for the day. After breakfast we went down to do our morning devotional. We discussed ho G-d sometimes asks us to push an immovable rock. He doesn’t ask us to move it, but just to push. In this way something mundane and regular may be strengthening us for whatever purpose G-d has for us, and even when we may tire of the mundane task at hand.

We traveled first to Zorah, the birthplace of Samson. The hike was not too rough to start with. We discussed the mistakes that Samson made, the mistakes the tribe of Dan made in moving from this land of Shephelah. The comparison of the response of the perpetrators of these two sins has some real implications. Samson makes the hall of the faithful in Hebrews 11 despite his reckless and selfish life because of one small turn at the end. Dan, however, appears to be lost as they are left out of the sealed tribes in the book of Revelation.

From there, we made our way to Azekah. Azekah over looks the valley of Elah, the location of the famous fight between David and Goliath. We learned that David’s use of a sling was an everyday mundane activity for a sheperd boy, and how that activity became immensely valuable in the face of the 6 cubit tall Philistine. We made our way down into the valley and were each able to find 5 smooth white stones in the very wadi in which David found his. Ask me about all of the implications of the numbers used in this passage!!

The day closed at Lachish. We saw yet another result of what happens when a mighty man mocks the almighty G-d and what happens when a small man opens his heart to G-d’s will.

The day ended with a drive south into the desert. Upon entering the Negev, I could not help but to let some tears fall. The desert is where G-d defined his chosen people. Today G-d uses deserts in each of our lives to define and grow us. I have recently been in my own desert, and was overcome with joy at the transformation resulting from the experience, but also somewhat afraid of transformation is yet to come. We wander out tomorrow.

The final bit of the evening was blessed by a dip in the Dead Sea. Let me just tell you that it was absolutely amazing.

Bless G-d for quirky creations, quirky people, and the quirky situations that we find ourselves in. He has blessed us more than any of us will ever know.