A Thought For The Week Of December 11, 2017

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem ..." (Psalm 122:6a) The city of Jerusalem has been much in the news lately. I have my opinions, but here I'm not really interested in the politics around the status of Jerusalem. I'm interested in Jerusalem as a symbol; Jerusalem as a spiritual hope - an appropriate issue to reflect upon during Advent. The city plays an important role in the biblical story. It's the centre of the home of biblical Israel; the place where the temple was located. It's a troubled city - not just today but for millennia, and the Bible portrays that. We aren't asked to pray for the peace of a city that enjoys peace, after all. It was devastated by Babylon as the exile approached; it was declared to be troubled (or frightened, or disturbed) by the news of the birth of Jesus; Jesus referred to it as the place that killed the prophets; and it was, of course, the place of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and later of the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. Although the temple has never been rebuilt, the city remains the symbolic centre of religious life for the Jewish people, and for the Muslim world it's the home of the Al-Aqsa mosque, considered the third most holiest site in Islam. Many Christians consider it holy - although, to be honest, I consider the city more important historically than spiritually. But as a spiritual symbol, Jerusalem matters. I take the concept of the "New Jerusalem" very seriously. Revelation 21:2 speaks of "... the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God ..." As a symbol, Jerusalem (the former home of the Jewish temple, and the only place, really, where such a temple could be rebuilt) represents the dwelling place of God. The idea of a New Jerusalem to come reminds me that the day will come when all that separates God from humanity will be removed - and there will be peace not only between God and humanity, but among humanity as well. This New Jerusalem will be a place not to be contested among nations, but to be open to all peoples. This New Jerusalem to come won't have walls or boundaries to keep people out. Instead, it will have the presence of God welcoming people in. It will be whatever reality it is that God will call into being at the appointed time, when righteousness will rule and perfect reconciliation will be achieved. When we "pray for the peace of Jerusalem," of course we're praying for the peace and security of all those of any religious faith within the earthly city - but we are also praying for the inbreaking of God's Kingdom; the establishment of God's reign on earth. To "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" is, in a sense, another way of saying, "Come, Lord Jesus, come," with the establishment of peace that Christians believe his return will mean.