Throughout the entire trip I kept waiting for that "ah-ha" moment when it would really hit me that I was in THE HOLY LAND. Truthfully it never came. I kept wandering through holy site after holy site, amazed by what I was seeing but not being truly moved.
Tonight, sitting at Crossgates UMC, I had that "ah-ha" moment. Visiting the sites alone doesn't make a trip to the Holy Land magical. You have to live the moments of the Bible and remember being in those sites to get the true blessing of a Holy Land trip.
Tonight is known as Maundy Thursday in many Christian churches. Tonight is the night during Holy Week that Jesus held the Last Supper with his disciples in the Upper Room. The origin of the word "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, which is the first word in the phrase "Mandatumnovum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" or "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you".
This week many have placed one of two symbols on their Facebook pages, supporting one of two stances on the sacrament of marriage. This blog is not about politics and I am not here to judge the convictions of others. However, I ask that all of you remember the great commandment. Also remember that the cross is the most humbling of all Christians symbols. Should we use the symbol to exclude and condemn those unlike us or should it be used as a humbling reminder that we are all sinners, seeking the forgiveness of God?
Maundy Thursday has always been one of my favorite services of the year. At the end of the service every bit of decoration of the church is stripped and we are left with a bare alter. In every Holy site we visited there were adornments, candles, cupolas, etc. It becomes hard to remember the true significance of the place among all the adornments. However, the Upper Room was just a bare roomwith no decoration. A simple room with simple walls in the middle of Jewish,Muslim, and, Christian holy sites.
Tonight let us strip away the symbols of our convictions and replace them with a bare,clean heart that loves instead of judges. Let us love one another as He loves us.
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