We make this road by Walking

Brian D McLaren has a book entitled "We Make the Road by Walking".  I have been reading this book off and on for the past several months.

Today was all about walking .

I wish I knew how many miles that I actually walked but in the long run it's not the miles that you cover but what you do while you are walking the road.

When we walk there are people whom we are able to meet and have conversation with that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to see the depth of who they are and the strengths that they extend into the fellowship of life.

This morning I was able to walk through the Western Wall Tunnels.  It's a tour that takes you beneath the modern day Western Wall.

{Short history lesson: our Jewish brothers and sisters Mount Moriah is the holiest place for their faith.  It is on the Foundation Stone that Abraham walked with Isaac, willing to give his only son to Yahweh.  It is believed that this is the spot where the angles were 'walking' /climbing up and down the ladder in Jacob's dream.  This holy of holy place is foundational and at the heart of the First and Second Temple.  After the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans the Jewish community began making their way to simply pray at the wall.  They had lost their temple, their gathering place, so they walked to the wall that could get them as close to God as possible. As the temple was rebuilt they simply took the focal point of a bridge and began building what we know as the current Old City}.

I got to literally walk on the stones that were so intricate   laid for the First Temple.  It was breathtaking to realize that thousands of feet had walked upon the stones and that so many men spent their lives making such amazing pieces.  This walking gave me an incredible opportunity to talk with our Tour Guide about her journey as a Jew.  The road was made by walking and it was in the walking that I heard her speak about the reality that she did not grow up in an observant home but moved here from Canada and married.  She shared freshly baked muffins with me, was open about what it was like to learn the 'laws' of her husband's Jewish traditions. She talked about a new movement within a Jewish group form America that wants to take down the barriers at the Wall and for the genders to pray alongside one another. She was candid about the struggles that is causing for those observant Jews here in the City and the many reasons why that would be difficult.  She was extremely gracious and invited me to walk with her to place where the City has made accommodations for this group or any person who wants to have a place to pray among mix genders.

This conversation, this greater insight into the Jewish faith was only made possible because  we made the way by walking toward one another in a spirit of finding the common ground and answering tough questions.

This was just the beginning of my walking today.

I walked through the Zion Gate and down across the Easter Wall of the Old City {for those of you who don't know this is known as East Jerusalem and is part of the West Bank, yes Jerusalem itself is divided into two territories}.  I walked along the top walk way and stood in awe of the Muslim cemetery that laid on either side of me. I looked across the street and there before me was the white wash of Jewish tombs.

I made my way down and over to the Mount of Olives because I wanted to sit at the Church of All Nations and read.  As I sat there one of the employees noticed me and told me that he was concerned for me because I was not wearing a hat (honestly I had just walked off and left it in my room) and it was about 100 degrees (40-41C). Concern for a stranger, care that I was sitting there studying and the shade had turned to sun and I needed to move.

The way was made by walking the city and having conversations.  I had spoken to a shop owner yesterday and today when I was so tired I merely walked into his store to ask if I could have some tea and if I could stand in his store where is was a bit cooler.   Of course he allowed me to stand there, he went to get my tea and offered me the gift of hospitality.  He knew I wasn't going to purchase anything.  I simply need a bit of respite from the days heat the journey that I was on.

The way was made by walking.

The way of getting to know other people's stories.

The offering of hospitality.

The way was made by walking.

I want to walk as a child of God who stops and listens.

I want to walk in the ways of God that are higher than my own.

I want to walk in such a way that invites others into the Spirit and wholeness of Jehovah.

I want to walk as someone who holds out the lantern so that others will see.

I want to make the way by walking.



{this is a side note:  for those of you who have been here to the Holy Lands this is how much walking I did in one day:
I cannot express to you how much walking I did.  If you pull up a map of the Old City Jerusalem find the Muslim quarter and I'm in the Austrian Hospice.  I walked from there, down to the Western Wall for my tour.  From there out the Dung Gate to the left along the eastern most wall, then down and over to the Mount of Olives, then back and up passing the Dung Gate to the Zion Gate (which is uphill the entire way).  Once inside the Zion Gate I walked left toward David's Tower/Jaffa Gate. Jaffa Gate into the core and up and out the Damascus Gate and a bit up to the east (another crazy story) and then back into the Damascus Gate, down the Muslim quarter back through the entire city to the Dung Gate and to the left to the City of David.   Back up and through the Dung Gate to the Muslim quarter for quick change and then back up and through the Damascus Gate to the Legacy Hotel (which is about 10 minutes)....then finally I walked from the Jaffa Gate back through the city to the Muslim quarter to my Guesthouse.}