Tag: Peacemaker

Fire in the Face of God

What would you do if you came face to face with God? What would you do if fire destroyed what you loved? How do you prevail in the midst of complicated struggles? The story and fate of Peniel is a metaphor to me of the YMCA, America, and our faith.

Fire! It’s a cry of alarm when the flames stretch forth, unwanted, under protest, against what you treasure.

Fire! It’s a shout for joy when the sparks take hold of the dry tinder, the night is brisk, the stars are out, and your friends are ready to gather around to warm up and tell their stories.

Fire! It’s a sign of judgment, a cause for destruction, a threat of scorching pain. It’s also a means to survival, purification, and transformation.

Haaretz.com photo credit/firefighter at Peniel

Fire unexpectedly scorched beautiful Peniel, a YMCA haven of rest in the Holy Land, a little piece of heaven on earth.

A shock to the soul in 2016!

Why would God let this happen here? What does it mean? How do we interpret the flaming disaster?

And what now in 2020?

YouTube.com/Guy Shacar, three weeks after the fire
Four years after fire swept through the Tiberius coast, Peniel is a burnt hull.

When Archibald C. Harte retired from his remarkable career with the YMCA in the 1930’s he purchased a plot on the Sea of Galilee and transformed it into Peniel, a beautiful retreat for weary YMCA workers and travelers from around the world.

Beautiful Peniel in Tiberius, along the Sea of Galilee

Peniel means “face of God” and comes from the Hebrew Scriptures, a story where a traveler named Jacob wrestled with God, lost, was renamed Israel, and limped away transformed.

Jacob named the place Peniel for he had struggled with God (hence the name “Israel”) face to face and lived.

Over the years Peniel became a thin-space for YMCA workers, where it did seem that heaven met earth there, and folks could experience a face to face encounter with the Lord in their soul.

Spectacular vista from Peniel patio of the Sea, Golan Heights, and the sunset
Lush walkways throughout Peniel, shaded picnic areas, a sunny beach
Harte Memorial Chapel, the heart of Peniel, a sacred YMCA thin-space
The overgrown, desecrated chapel; broken windows, vandalized; yet holy.

So when fire ravaged the “face of God”, many who had strong roots and formative memories at Peniel grieved the loss deeply.

How to make sense of it, and what to do now?

The legal and cultural situations quickly became complicated.

Meanwhile entropy emerged on the property through vandalism, desecration, squatting, and the weather.

Through wise, collaborative, and patient leadership, plans for restoration of Peniel are being formed.

A renewed purpose is being prayerfully considered.

YMCA workers around the world are seeking the face of God for inspiration, direction, and open doors for the rebuilding of this sacred space in the Holy Land.

My visit to Peniel was through the OnPrinciple cohort, a strategic YMCA program through the Harold C. Smith Foundation.

It brings together Christian YMCA leaders from across the United States to grow in their capacity to strengthen the Christian mission of the YMCA in the 21st century.

This training in agile learning and adaptive leadership skills is mediated through an online curriculum supported by venerable Springfield College, an immersive sojourn with YMCA’s in the Holy Land through the guidance of Friends of the Jerusalem YMCA, and an intensive series of seminars with the Global Leadership Summit.

The cohort of 12 learners and 12 mentors is an innovative, rich and transformative YMCA program that brings together our dual emphasis of Christian principles and diversity, inclusion, global.

Archibald C. Harte of the YMCA and Peniel

Archibald C. Harte was a visionary leader, making possible the construction of the Jerusalem International YMCA.

His love for the Lord, the YMCA, and the Holy Land, combined with his commitment to peace, solidarity, and friendship, inspired our OnPrinciple cohort still shapes the purpose of the JIY today. Read more here.

Peniel, a safe place for all to rest and enjoy good company
Peniel patiently awaiting restoration and renewed YMCA hospitality

The YMCA has long been a Christian organization which authentically strives to be welcoming for all.

Especially in the Holy Land, Jews, Christians and Muslims all work together in friendship and solidarity at the YMCA.

The Jerusalem International YMCA, which oversees Peniel, is renown for their diversity and inclusion of Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, all sorts of faith backgrounds but one thing in common: love for the YMCA mission and legacy.

Dedication stone at Jerusalem International YMCA, set by Archibald Hart.

So in a world still full consumed by violence and bigotry, hatred and war, poverty and oppression, how can Peniel be a crucial thin-space again for all, for transformation through the sacred struggle together?

Christians believe that in Christ Jesus we see the face of God; we also believe that we are sent into the world as “little Christ’s” meant to embody his grace and truth in love.

We believe that when we love, care and serve in the world like God in Christ does, through the gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit, people can still experience the transformative face of God.

Christian hospitality becomes a way to co-create thin spaces in the world where spiritual transformation, sacred struggles, new names, holy purposes can be given and received.

Fire in the face of God is consuming yet purifying, burning but illuminating, painful yet transformative.

May Peniel become a renewed site on the Sea of Galilee where YMCA workers can experience a purifying fire in the face of God, amidst their struggles feel again the call to go and be the light, to be the good news of God in our burning yet beloved world.

Thanks to Mike Bussey for most of the beautiful pre-2016 Peniel pics, and some post-fire ones.

What Are Ways The YMCA Is For All In The Holy Land?

Since 1878 the YMCA has worked in Jerusalem to work for holy and loving peace among Jews, Christians, and Muslims as well as between international political and ethnic powers seeking to control the land.

There is still much more peace-making work to do in this place that sits at the center of the universe.

The Y is in the middle of it, striving to nurture loving, caring and serving with flourishing for all.

Let’s find a way to join in it.

The Holy Land is revered by millions of Jews around the world, along with billions of Christians and Muslims.

Jerusalem is a sacred city, the epicenter of the story of these three Abrahamic faiths that make up the majority of the world population.

The Psalms call us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem – one that we would all love to see answered in our lifetime.

For the religious among us, it’s almost as if Jerusalem is the center of the world, the point where heaven and earth have met, still meet, and one day will reconvene.

To be a peace-maker in the Holy Land is to embody the deepest hopes and calling of those who identify as children of Abraham.

And yet war, terror, fury, revenge, and hate corrode the foundations of what is most beautiful about the Holy Land.

So what is the YMCA doing in this land?

As an organization with Christian origins and heritage, with a commitment to living out the kingdom of God in the world harmoniously and for the common good, it ends up having a unique role in many communities across the world.

Especially in the Holy Land.

What does it mean for this kind of organization with this kind of Christian legacy to advocate for inclusivity amongst its membership and leadership?

At one level it creates space for Jews, Christians, and Muslims who do want to work, pray and play together to do so.

The synergy and love that develops around their efforts together not only becomes compelling attractive but healing as well as inspiring.

For those that feel like their only options are withdrawing from violence into safe enclaves of like-mindedness or wading into the conflict to show how right they are, there are other ways of being a peace-maker without being identical.

There are plenty of similarities and differences between the Jews, Christians, and Muslims who serve with the YMCA in the Holy Land.

But it’s the inclusive nature of the mission that both allows them to draw on the best of their faith traditions without requiring strict adherence to their religious doctrines or spiritual practices.

Mutual respect, compassionate caring, genuine honesty, and mature responsibility go a long way in allowing talented people of different faiths to do YMCA mission-work together.

Within Christian traditions, there can be the belief that God will only bless his people when they are holy and loving.

Thus there is always a striving to be more holy and more loving.

The problem is that these two desires can sometimes (often) cause conflict with each other.

Sometimes to be more holy I might feel the need to withdraw from those who are different or less pure than myself.

But to be more loving is to be more compassionate and healing to those least like me.

We can see this tension being played out in the stories of God’s people throughout recorded history. Including in the YMCA.

Since 1878 the YMCA has worked in Jerusalem to work for holy and loving peace among Jews, Christians, and Muslims as well as between international political and ethnic powers seeking to control the land.

There is still much more peace-making work to do in this place that sits at the center of the universe.

The Y is in the middle of it, striving to nurture loving, caring and serving with flourishing for all.

Let’s find a way to join in it.

(featured image is the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the foreground, the Dome of the Rock mosque in the middle, and a Jewish cemetery in the far background)

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

In this Advent season of peace, let’s be the ones to light the way, let’s stand with people and cultivate as much common ground as we can. It’s easy to focus on our differences, it can be darkly energizing to polarize our positions – but that will be our downfall.

What can the lights of peace look like in our world? Does peace mean the absence of violence? If so, can there ever be peace on earth? But what if we can choose a Christmas peace that illuminates and unites amidst the dark turbulence in our homes, our hearts, our nation?

What if being at peace was less about naively ignoring what is destructive around us, and instead, staring it straight in the face, trusting instead of despairing that even now the Jesus of Christmas is working for peace to prevail among us?

dont-give-up-quote-1As we walk through the gospel of Jesus Christ according to Mark in the New Testament, we read a fascinating story where Jesus is misunderstood by his own family– his actions of peacemaking are interpreted as causing dark demonic chaos. Just when you think you’ve struggled with being misunderstood!

In this story Jesus has once again entered a home with his disciples to share a meal together with the host. When the crowds realized he is in town, they swarm the home such that no one could dine. Jesus adjusts, stands, and turns the chaotic moment into a teachable one about the way God works in the world.

But Jesus’ family, and the teachers of the law from Jerusalem believe that Jesus must be filled with a divisive, impure spirit, maybe even a demon – possibly Satan himself! How else to account for the chaos Jesus causes when he comes into town? It’s interesting isn’t it, tragic even, how we can choose to interpret stuff.

If Jesus is really filled by an impure spirit, what advantage would he gain by casting other impure spirits into the abyss? Jesus calls the misunderstanders in close and then uses logic to dismantle their slanderous accusations.  He teaches, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.”

Christmas reminds us of Jesus coming to tie up the evil one who was dividing and plundering the people of Israel. The season of Advent reminds us that Jesus will come again to finish what he started with the evil one in the world: Satan’s end will come.

dont-give-up-1So don’t give up on peacemaking. Despair divides.

Christmas teaches us that peacemaking is difficult, it means standing up to evil, not running away from it, it means forging unity among those who misunderstand, and it means patiently explaining yourself and proving yourself through your actions.

To make peace we will need to forgive all those who sin against us and every slander they’ve ever uttered, like Christ will do for us when he returns. Bitterness divides.

When Jesus comes again, there will be those who will see the just and merciful peacemaking work he’s done and accuse him of chaos-making, of causing dark evil, to be in league with the devil. There is nothing Jesus can do for them – if they see the Holy Spirit in him and call it demonic, they don’t want Jesus’ terms of peace. Yet….

Jesus mother, brothers and sisters eventually came to recognize him as the Lord of Israel and the whole world. It took awhile though for them to see the light and join God’s will to make peace. Reconciliation takes patience, persevering kindness, healing honesty, and sacrificial grace.

don't give up final posterSo if you’re feeling misunderstood, if it seems like chaos is creeping in on your life, if this season of your life isn’t turning out how you thought, don’t give up on being a peacemaker. Keep cultivating more common ground!

Stand by the power of Christmas: that same spirit of Jesus comes still to light our way and unite us, so don’t give up on him, others, or yourself.