It is well with my soul

Today was the day that I had looked forward to the most, among all the days that I would be spending here in the Holy Land. It was because today we were to 'taste and see' the sites that are most meaningful in the history of Christianity. I had hoped that as I follow the footsteps of Jesus in his suffering, death and resurrection, somehow I would understand more about Christianity and the experience would make a profound change in my life.

But my experience of the city of Jerusalem from the day before was already making me think that it would be difficult for me to get what I've been looking forward to. And what I was thinking seemed to come true as the day went by. It was really hard for me to concentrate on following the footsteps of Jesus through the sites of Gethsemane(where Jesus prayed before he was caught), Garden Tomb(alternative site for Jesus' crucifixion and burial), Via Dolorosa(the roads that Jesus carried his cross on the way to Calvary) and even the Church of Holy Sepulchre(the place of Jesus' crucifixion and burial that majority believe).

Because to me, the overwhelming presence of the vast number of tourists from various nations, shouts from the local merchants trying to sell their wares to the them, loud noises of honks and sirens from the traffic near the sites, Muslim prayer calls that sound over the whole city, the controversy over where Jesus was really crucified and buried, and even the big churches placed over the significant sites and the excessive ornaments that decorate them, were all distractions that lead me away from contemplating on the significance of events that took place there.

So near the end of the day, I was sitting on the bench next to the pool of Bethesda, which was our last place of visit. I was feeling very disappointed, like the invalid man who had been sick for 38 years and wasn't quick enough to go into the pool first when the angel stirred the water, that I had missed an opportunity to somehow make a significant change in my life.

But as our group entered the church of St. Anne's and sang so beautifully in its perfect acoustic hall the hymn "It is well with my soul", together with the students from Western Seminary, God made me understand that the deeper understanding of Christianity and also the change in my life will not come just from looking and touching the 'holy' sites, but from living out the reconciling work of Jesus Christ, which was the purpose of his suffering, death and resurrection.

Through his blood, Jesus reconciled us with God. And moreover, he reconciled us with each other, as his loving children. As children of God, gathered and united in his presence, let us put aside all the trivial differences that divide us and work together for the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I'd like to end with verses from the Gospel of John that we read while we were in Gethsemane today. The prayer of Jesus.

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."