Steps
I've been thinking about steps a great deal today.
Currently my fitbit tells me that I've walked 13,642 steps since I put it on this morning just before breakfast.
While I have been thinking about the physical steps that we've been taking each day today I was thinking about steps on a very different level.
We began our morning sitting on the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount. The steps are the steps that pilgrims from the southern end would have terversed in order to enter the top of the Temple Mount. The view is breathtaking. But something happened on the steps this morning that bothered me and clung to me for the remainder of the day. The four of us were sitting, reading our Bibles, walking through the reflection questions that I had crafted for this holy space and another large group came and seem to overtake the space without any regard for the time of prayer that we were having. Sharing space isn't/was't the problem because here in the Land of the Holies space is limited and is meant to be shared. The difference was that the pastor acted as if we were invisible. Due to the size of the group they all had earbuds that are used in order to allow the guide/pastor/leader to speak to the entire group without disturbing other pilgrims. This pastor jokingly made a comment about how loud he could be and proceeded to talk at (yes at and not to) his pilgrims.
I felt invisible.
I lost my concentration.
I felt as if where I was in my journey was not as important as his ego and getting his point across.
I was bothered.
Again, the words and the feeling clung to me.
Later in the afternoon we were again sitting in a quiet court yard at Peter in Gallicantu..the House of Caiaphas writing in our journals and another group evidently did not see us. They literally invaded our space to the point that I was forced to duck my head so that I would not be hit with a backpack. The group was not discussing or reflecting; it was merely a time in which they wanted to sit down and gab. Frustration rose and in my journal I began asking God, why in the world we could not have one experience today that allowed for the presence of the Holy not to be interrupted by some sort of self-centered talking. When they left, I turned to the others and said; are we invisible and do we not count.
I'm sharing this story because it all came full circle today as we sat in the Church of All Nations in the Mount of Olives. Jesus was a man of steps. He didn't merely climb the steps to the Temple Mount, he took the steps to meet people where they were.
He stepped toward those who were lost.
He stepped toward those who were invisible.
He stepped toward those who were broken by the circumstances of their lives.
He stepped toward those who did not believe or uphold the exact same traditions as himself.
He stepped toward those who were facing challenges.
He stepped toward relationship instead of law.
He stepped toward love instead of hate.
Have we merely built our churches so high and lofty that we are unable to see those sitting?
Are we so consumed with our idea of Christianity that we look over those who are not in our group?
Are we so consumed with ourselves and our ideology that we have made others invisible?
Do we think so highly of ourselves that we cannot see that others are on the journey but that it might look different than our own?
Have we stationed our lives one presidential candidate believing that they are going to be our savior and in the mean time stepped over or around someone else because they are not voting for the right candidate?
If I am going to be a follower of Jesus Christ and walk in his steps then I must be wiling to take steps toward those who are invisible. I must be willing to step toward those who are different. I must be willing to step in love instead of hate. I must be willing to step into relationships.
Are you willing to take a step?
Currently my fitbit tells me that I've walked 13,642 steps since I put it on this morning just before breakfast.
While I have been thinking about the physical steps that we've been taking each day today I was thinking about steps on a very different level.
We began our morning sitting on the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount. The steps are the steps that pilgrims from the southern end would have terversed in order to enter the top of the Temple Mount. The view is breathtaking. But something happened on the steps this morning that bothered me and clung to me for the remainder of the day. The four of us were sitting, reading our Bibles, walking through the reflection questions that I had crafted for this holy space and another large group came and seem to overtake the space without any regard for the time of prayer that we were having. Sharing space isn't/was't the problem because here in the Land of the Holies space is limited and is meant to be shared. The difference was that the pastor acted as if we were invisible. Due to the size of the group they all had earbuds that are used in order to allow the guide/pastor/leader to speak to the entire group without disturbing other pilgrims. This pastor jokingly made a comment about how loud he could be and proceeded to talk at (yes at and not to) his pilgrims.
I felt invisible.
I lost my concentration.
I felt as if where I was in my journey was not as important as his ego and getting his point across.
I was bothered.
Again, the words and the feeling clung to me.
Later in the afternoon we were again sitting in a quiet court yard at Peter in Gallicantu..the House of Caiaphas writing in our journals and another group evidently did not see us. They literally invaded our space to the point that I was forced to duck my head so that I would not be hit with a backpack. The group was not discussing or reflecting; it was merely a time in which they wanted to sit down and gab. Frustration rose and in my journal I began asking God, why in the world we could not have one experience today that allowed for the presence of the Holy not to be interrupted by some sort of self-centered talking. When they left, I turned to the others and said; are we invisible and do we not count.
I'm sharing this story because it all came full circle today as we sat in the Church of All Nations in the Mount of Olives. Jesus was a man of steps. He didn't merely climb the steps to the Temple Mount, he took the steps to meet people where they were.
He stepped toward those who were lost.
He stepped toward those who were invisible.
He stepped toward those who were broken by the circumstances of their lives.
He stepped toward those who did not believe or uphold the exact same traditions as himself.
He stepped toward those who were facing challenges.
He stepped toward relationship instead of law.
He stepped toward love instead of hate.
Have we merely built our churches so high and lofty that we are unable to see those sitting?
Are we so consumed with our idea of Christianity that we look over those who are not in our group?
Are we so consumed with ourselves and our ideology that we have made others invisible?
Do we think so highly of ourselves that we cannot see that others are on the journey but that it might look different than our own?
Have we stationed our lives one presidential candidate believing that they are going to be our savior and in the mean time stepped over or around someone else because they are not voting for the right candidate?
If I am going to be a follower of Jesus Christ and walk in his steps then I must be wiling to take steps toward those who are invisible. I must be willing to step toward those who are different. I must be willing to step in love instead of hate. I must be willing to step into relationships.
Are you willing to take a step?
Thanks, Amanda. Great insight!
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