Jerusalem

DAILY BYTE

In the scripture from yesterday, Romans 13 says, “salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers,” so it’s nearer now than ever before! The apostle, Paul, says the darkness of night time is fading away and the day is coming. Now is the time for us to wake up and notice the miracles happening around us and see if there’s a way we can be a part of it.

How can we be a part of the world around us through fulfilling our calling of being a people of peace?

When we think of peace and of peaceful places, we usually picture serene mountain streams and quiet retreats in the Berg. We picture solitude. And of course, it is the case that we need moments of uninterrupted Sabbath rest to feed our souls and restore us. But those moments of quiet restore our relationships – with God and with other people. We cannot stay hermits forever.

It is interesting to me that in our scripture for today from Psalm 122 that the place of peace described is not a quiet, tucked away place but a city.

Jerusalem, specifically – one of the most conflict-ridden cities in the world.

And of course when we think of such a conflict-filled city, our minds also go to our own homes and our city of Durban. Durban is often a difficult place to live – as we hear of and experience ourselves break-ins and other forms of crime – we can find this place significantly lacking in peace.

So what do we do?

We could say what we often say, which is that Jerusalem – and perhaps Durban and other cities where you live – have always been cities of conflict, and they will always be because people simply cannot agree to live in peace and just get along. We could examine new security measures, pondering if we should put up electric fencing – should we make our walls a little higher, guaranteeing that at least when we’re inside of them, we’ll be safe?

Well there’s no use being naïve about the true complexity and grief of the world in which we live. That would make us foolish.

But in the scriptures, Jerusalem is held up not as a city that is destined for perpetual conflict. It is held up as a vision – According to J. Clinton McCann, Jr. in his commentary on Psalm 122:

“Jerusalem represents in the psalms not just a place but a symbol of God’s presence in space and time.” He says “the city has often been viewed as a place to be possessed rather than a symbol of the concrete presence in the world of a God who cannot ultimately be possessed and whose presence certainly cannot be limited to a particular place. To enter Jerusalem is ultimately to experience the reality of God’s reign and to be transformed to represent God’s just purposes in God’s world.”

In other words, Jerusalem is not just a place – it is a calling for God’s presence and justice amongst us. Scholars think the word, Jerusalem, itself means “possession of peace” or “foundation of peace” (McCann, 1184).

What might that vision of a city of peace mean to us in our communities? How might we be called to wake up, see, and be a part of this vision?

FOCUS READING

Psalm 122:6-7 (NRSV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they proper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”