ChristianWeek

For Canadian Christians thinking of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, now is a better time than ever to do it. Counter-intuitive as it sounds, here’s why.

Israel’s important annual policy convention in Herzliya highlighted one important change in tone since Sharon supported a withdrawal from the West Bank last year. Palestinian Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and Abdullah II of Jordan are now closer allies than ever to the tiny democracy in the Levant—all united against Iran.

But let’s not talk too much politics. A pilgrimage is a search for the new and the perennially old, the physical trial of stark geography and the questions within. In Jerusalem—a place that defies categorization—one finds something new around every corner. One comes less to judge than to imbibe the centuries through the smell of the soil and to laugh and discuss with real people in all quarters.

Last month, I was fortunate enough to make a whirlwind tour of the country along with five other Christian journalists. I walked on 2,000 year-old pavement, sat in the synagogue of the Zealots on Masada, visited that “cursed” town of Capernaum, ate St. Peter’s fish from the Sea of Galilee and entered the empty garden tomb.

Sure enough, the garden tomb matches the description in Mark of an angel sitting on the right hand side as you walk in. In Luke, the angels say “why do you look for the living among the dead?” For many pilgrims, this is a contradiction. They are looking for the way, the truth and the life in a place that has been carved out of the rock by a rich man.

What many find instead is a tourist paradise. Almost always on a tight budget, pilgrimage means brushing shoulders with tourism. Fortunately, Israel couldn’t be a better place that. In a couple hours you can be skiing in Mt. Hermon, trailblazing offroad, trekking up Masada, or scuba diving in Eilat. For some, the fact Malta has outperformed Israel three to one as a tourist destination in recent years is very sad.

Did I mention the roads are also much better than Winnipeg’s? Mark Twain cynical account of pilgrimage to the Holy Land, The Innocents Abroad (1867), is frequently quoted by Israelis hoping to compare the “mournful, and dreary, and lifeless” landscape of the past to the amazing modern developments of the present. It’s not hard to see. A grove of date palms now grows beside the Dead Sea, and Caesarea Maritima—the artificial port built by Herod the Great—is just miles away from the “silicon valley” of the Middle East.

Politics aside, the secular state of Israel is an envigo- rating place to be. From the new Yad Vashem Holocaust museum to the bustling nightlife along Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem, one is never in want for something to explore. And since the pope’s visit in 2000, countless shekels have been spent developing historical sites.

Although security was high, I felt safe at all times.

I was also able to revisit the sight of Tel Rehov, an archae- ological dig I volunteered on six years ago led my Amihai Mazar. Now more than ever, exciting digs forge ahead—and most are open to volunteers (see www.findadig.com). More and more of the City of David is under excavation. The pool of Siloam has been found, along with a staircase up to the Temple Mount. Huge cisterns shed light on the mysteries of Hezekiah’s tunnel.

As Condoleeza Rice gave a press conference in our hotel, I was wandering Old Jerusalem, navigating streets, swimming through crowds at prayer time and worshipping in Crusader-era churches. Near sundown on Shabbat, I sat at the Western Wall and encountered some young Argentine Jews who invited me to study the Torah. “What does it mean for Passover to have happened exactly at midnight?” We tackled the passage from all angles.

Our secular Zionist tour guide encouraged us to visit Palestinians and meet real people. Perhaps friendship— the kind that is experienced between Israelis and Arabs every day—is a pre-requisite to peace. But for this, physical proximity is necessary. To understand, you must look into human faces.

It is in this proximity that one comes up against a kaleidescope of perspectives to sort out. Visiting the land is a drop in the bucket of understanding. But visiting the land can also give you a bucket to contextualize the study of Scripture.

As you walk along ancient stones, you cannot help but think of the spirit of King Herod the Great—envy, greed, jealousy, empire—it is very much alive today. His signature stones can be seen lodged in the Western Wall and David’s citadel. As a pilgrim, one cannont help but find the spirit of King Herod within as well.

After a day’s wandering through the Old City of Jerusalem you get back to your hotel and sit in front of a mirror watch- ing the news. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Visit Jerusalem, and see for yourself.