Saturday, September 1st, 2012click here for past entriesThe Living Word
From the first day that I landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, I started hearing words of Scripture in my head. Not like hearing voices, mind you (just in case you were worried), but simply constantly being brought to mind. The Scriptures were coming alive for me.
The very first instance happened on the way from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We left the city of Tel Aviv, got out into the rolling hills, and it wasn’t long before I saw a city built on a hill in the distance. Of course! “A city built on a hill cannot be hid” (Mt. 5:14). Apparently, Jesus knew what he was talking about. 
Another similar experience kept happening every time I walked across the courtyard at St. George’s College to attend Evening Prayer in the cathedral. The path passes under a fig tree, which is labeled as such. And I kept hearing Jesus say, “I saw you under the fig tree” (Jn. 1:48). Of that I have no doubt – me and Nathanael. Jesus saw us both.
On a different day, in Galilee, we stopped by a spring of water and Father Kamal taught us. He brought to mind the parable of the sower as we looked at the path and the thorns and the rocky ground (cf. Mk. 4:1-9). Further down the path we came across the kind of thorns that Jesus must have been talking about. They absolutely covered the ground so that no seed that fell there could possibly grow. And I heard in my head, “[some] seed fell among thorns” (Mk. 4:7).
Close to the end of our time in Jerusalem, we visited the Church of the Resurrection (sometimes called the Holy Sepulchre). Father Kamal spoke to us about Mary Magdalene and her encounter with the risen Jesus in the garden. In that encounter, at first Mary does not recognize Jesus and thinks that perhaps he is the gardener. However, as soon as Jesus calls her by name, Mary immediately recognizes Jesus and knows that he has been raised from the dead (Jn. 20:11-18). Father Kamal concluded by praying that each of us would hear Jesus calling us by name during our pilgrimage.
Later, I was standing near Calvary with crowds of people all around. As I stood there, taking it all in, I heard my name being called several times. Each time I looked around to see who was calling me and couldn’t see anybody trying to get my attention. Each time, the voice was male with a Palestinian accent.
As I made my way back to St. George’s through the crowded marketplace, my name was called once again – this time by shopkeepers who could see my name-tag! In this case, it was quite clear what they wanted: Come on in and buy something!
Finally, a story from Cana: One day we had a wine tasting – Cana Wedding Wine to be specific. We were told that we would be tasting wine from Jesus’ time. Later, on the bus, Father Kamal asked, “So what do you think? Was the wine you tasted from Jesus’ time?” After various uncertain answers, he asked another question: “Is Jesus alive or dead?” Of course! This, too, is Jesus’ time.
Thank you for allowing me the time and space to be able to have this experience!
In Christ,
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
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