Still Thinking -Peace in Jerusalem

In 2007 I had a three month sabbatically with one month spent in Israel. In Jerusalem I stayed at St George’s College in East Jerusalem.  On the afternoon when I arrived I was given a tour of the campus by the College Chaplain.  After the tour I asked him about walking around the old city.  Was it safe?  Could I do it by myself?  Are there any places I should, or more importantly, should not go?  His answer was simple, “Walk out the front gate of the college, turn right and about three hundred metres down Salahadeen Street you will see Herod’s Gate.  Walk through the gate and then just get lost in the city!”  While to a newcomer that was a bit frightening nevertheless, I took his advice and got lost in the Old City.

In fact, it would be difficult to get lost in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Walled on all sides it has eight entrance gates (one is bricked up for theological reasons) and is an area of about a square kilometre.  I don’t think you really can get lost – as distinct from not knowing where you are – because the old city is a maze of never ending streets, lanes, stairways and footpaths.  And if you show any sign of not knowing where you are there is always a helpful local willing to take to one of the sacred sites - at a price of course.

Many will know that the old city is divided into four quarters – Christian, Armenian, Jewish and Moslem.  One can wander freely between the quarters and while there are not clear boundaries between the quarters they are each distinct in their own way.   Now while it maybe difficult get lost physically in Jerusalem, it is certainly possible to get lost in the sheer diversity and complexity of the place.  To the outsider everyone seems to get along well together, but as our lecturer and guide Rev Dr Kamal Farah said, “In Jerusalem we do not live together we merely co-exist.” I suppose this is the technical meaning of the word tolerate.  The three dominant religious faiths in Jerusalem presently tolerate each other.

Now while the old city is about many things the two that strike the tourist or pilgrim are commerce and sacred religious places.  From the stalls that line the narrow streets traders will sell you anything if you can haggle with them to arrive at the right price – a skill I discovered I didn’t have.  But it doesn’t take long in this city to get lost in the profundity of its religious significance.  Much has been written about the importance of Jerusalem to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  Each religion claims a sacred connection to Jerusalem.  Each faith feels a God give right to be here, in Jerusalem.  It was a remarkable experience to in one day, visit the Western (Wailing) Wall; the Dome of the Rock; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Each of these places sacred to its tradition and yet each has at some time in its history been occupied by at least one of the other faiths.  While the city is central to religious faith and pilgrimage, war and conflict over these sacred places has always been present in Jerusalem.

Two of our guest speakers during the course, one a Palestinian Christian, the other a Jewish educator used the same illustration about visiting Jerusalem. They both said, “After someone has been in Jerusalem for a couple of days they feel they could write a book; after a week perhaps a chapter; after a month a sentence and after a year they struggle to find a word.”  And I know what that is word.   I suspect we all know what that word is.  It is Al-Salaam, in Arabic Shalom, in Hebrew, Pax in Christian Latin and Peace is English.  All traditions see peace as more than the absence of conflict, more than mere tolerance and co-existence.  Peace in Christianity, Islam and Judaism is the restoration to wholeness - completeness.  The very experience of prosperity both physically and spiritually, but most importantly not just for me or for my tribe but for all people.

It was the Catholic theologian Hans Küng who said, “There will be peace on earth when there is peace among the world religions."  This Christmas 2011, let us prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, peace between religions and peace in our world.

Christopher