DevotionReader
Israel: A Journey to my Beloved's Homeland
By Rev. Shelley D. B. Copeland, M.A., M.Div.
“But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16
My love for him compelled me to know him beyond the superficial, and I made a vow to love the whole of him—which included his family.
I remember the first day I met his mother. I sent her flowers before our meeting, so by way of greeting, she kissed me on the cheek with thanks. Mike’s observant father looked deeply in my eyes and talked of life, faith and my true intentions for his son. That evening, I discovered a family and man I could fully embrace and we all fell in love—unconditionally.
I have always loved Jesus. That is why I have devoted my life to living by his example in word and deed. However, it was not until I visited my beloved Jesus’s homeland and cultural family, that I saw him in context. I have always wanted to know Jesus beyond the superficial. My trip to Israel helped me to do just that.
First, I gained new meaning to the phrase, "Jesus was a Jew." In other words, I came to understand with profound gratitude, the story of a people, given a land by God, through Abraham. Israel is not just a geographic place. Israel is a sacredly, ordained location that has been cultivated by the faith of an entire people for thousands of years. While we acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, we know the human Jesus studied the holy scrolls of the time that encouraged him to pray for the peace of Jerusalem; [Psalm 122:6] and always remember Jerusalem as his highest joy; [Psalm 136:6]. In other words, for Jesus, place mattered, deeply.
Next, in our discussions of the history of Jewish people and the various evil, systematic, multi-national atrocities levied against them, I remembered the context of Jesus' birth into the world. Herod the Great was the Roman king of Judaea who is best known for his role in the Massacre of the Innocents. At the time of Jesus' birth, Herod's government sanctioned the execution of all the young male Jewish children. In other words, Jesus was born to an oppressed people in the context of Roman domination.
Through our interfaith mission, I came to understand that Jesus’s ministry of healing individuals was not in isolation of the need to address injustice in the world’s systems. Jesus served the people of his day with political consciousness. His ministry did not separate him from addressing the harshness of the world He lived in. My journey to Israel reinforced my call to advocacy and social justice beyond the walls of the Church. If people of faith do not “speak truth to power” in government and hold them accountable, systematic violations of silenced people will prevail.
While in Israel, I heard someone say that, “The Holy Land is the heart of the world. Therefore, if the heart is sick, the rest of the earth is wounded as well.” So, as a woman of faith, I return to America with a new response to my love for Jesus, His people, and his homeland. The war in the Holy Land rages on—and I believe God is calling people of faith, to care about the Jerusalem of today—as well as the mystical location of our Bible stories. I cannot deny the call. My unconditional love, for my beloved, compels me to embrace His global family as I pledge my vow to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” and serve as a minister for social justice and world peace.
By Rev. Shelley D. B. Copeland, M.A., M.Div.
“But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16
| During the “getting-to-know-you” stage of dating Michael, the-man-I-was-to-marry, I felt it was critical to meet his parents and siblings to know who he really was. Some might say my interest in his family was old fashioned. We were well into our thirties when we discovered the goodness of each other, yet there was something inside me that pressed me to understand my beloved—in context. |
Rev. Shelley Copeland
|
I remember the first day I met his mother. I sent her flowers before our meeting, so by way of greeting, she kissed me on the cheek with thanks. Mike’s observant father looked deeply in my eyes and talked of life, faith and my true intentions for his son. That evening, I discovered a family and man I could fully embrace and we all fell in love—unconditionally.
My personal narrative is a “love” metaphor to explain the impact my recent pilgrimage to Israel had on my heart. When I walked the Holy Land, I fell in love with Jesus in a more intimate, meaningful way. My heart beholds Jerusalem and Israel, the homeland of my beloved—unconditionally.
In February, I left Connecticut with a group of 20 Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith leaders on an Interfaith Mission to Israel. The Anti-Defamation League of Connecticut sponsored the time of study to bring awareness of the Israeli/Palestinian crisis to people of faith in Connecticut.
Over ten days our group met with leading government officials, academics, journalists, and Israeli faith leaders to understand the Middle-East conflict from various perspectives. We had many tough days hearing the intensity of the current pain, but I also received a gift I will never forget.I have always loved Jesus. That is why I have devoted my life to living by his example in word and deed. However, it was not until I visited my beloved Jesus’s homeland and cultural family, that I saw him in context. I have always wanted to know Jesus beyond the superficial. My trip to Israel helped me to do just that.
First, I gained new meaning to the phrase, "Jesus was a Jew." In other words, I came to understand with profound gratitude, the story of a people, given a land by God, through Abraham. Israel is not just a geographic place. Israel is a sacredly, ordained location that has been cultivated by the faith of an entire people for thousands of years. While we acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, we know the human Jesus studied the holy scrolls of the time that encouraged him to pray for the peace of Jerusalem; [Psalm 122:6] and always remember Jerusalem as his highest joy; [Psalm 136:6]. In other words, for Jesus, place mattered, deeply.
Next, in our discussions of the history of Jewish people and the various evil, systematic, multi-national atrocities levied against them, I remembered the context of Jesus' birth into the world. Herod the Great was the Roman king of Judaea who is best known for his role in the Massacre of the Innocents. At the time of Jesus' birth, Herod's government sanctioned the execution of all the young male Jewish children. In other words, Jesus was born to an oppressed people in the context of Roman domination.
Through our interfaith mission, I came to understand that Jesus’s ministry of healing individuals was not in isolation of the need to address injustice in the world’s systems. Jesus served the people of his day with political consciousness. His ministry did not separate him from addressing the harshness of the world He lived in. My journey to Israel reinforced my call to advocacy and social justice beyond the walls of the Church. If people of faith do not “speak truth to power” in government and hold them accountable, systematic violations of silenced people will prevail.
While in Israel, I heard someone say that, “The Holy Land is the heart of the world. Therefore, if the heart is sick, the rest of the earth is wounded as well.” So, as a woman of faith, I return to America with a new response to my love for Jesus, His people, and his homeland. The war in the Holy Land rages on—and I believe God is calling people of faith, to care about the Jerusalem of today—as well as the mystical location of our Bible stories. I cannot deny the call. My unconditional love, for my beloved, compels me to embrace His global family as I pledge my vow to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” and serve as a minister for social justice and world peace.