Jerusalem: City for All Time
Sermon
WIND THROUGH The VALLEYS
Sermons for the First Third of the Pentecost Season
"If you want one simple word to symbolize all of Jewish history, that word would be Jerusalem." So wrote Teddy Kollek in 1981, then mayor of the city. He explained it further. "I do not think you can find any Israelis who are willing to give up Jerusalem. They cannot and will not. This beautiful golden city is the heart and soul of the Jewish people. You cannot live without heart and soul."
Similar words, though probably without military overtones, would express the feelings of many Christians. Moslem Arabs have the same attraction for the city. The events that have taken place in Jerusalem and their meaning for three of the great world religions make it a city for all time. We consider Jerusalem, in this sense, as a place, a prayer, and a promise.
First, As a Place. It was King David who brought Jerusalem into the Jewish history books. It was an act of wisdom that had him see the great future of the place. When the Hebrews settled Palestine under Joshua, they did not succeed in taking the city from the Jebusites. It was a rock fortress, surrounded by valleys. David's capturing of the city is described in our reading. However, the key verse, verse eight, is not clear in the original language. In part it cannot be translated. The controversy over whether the attack should be directed against the water shaft of the city or the windpipe of the defenders is not yet settled. The reference to the blind and lame in verse eight seems to be an addition of a later editor. But that David conquered it around 1,000 B.C. is beyond dispute.
His reasons for wanting the city are obvious. He had been king of the southern tribe of Judah for some years. He had, just now, been accepted as king of the ten northern tribes. To solidify the nation, he wanted to place a capital near the border between the north and south. Jerusalem lay there. It was equally accessible from both north and south, and it could be easily protected.
Jerusalem, however, had a history as an important place long before David's soldiers stormed into it. The city is mentioned in the Ebla tablets found in Syria, dating back to around 2,300 B.C. Canaanites lived there before the Jebusites, and even after David conquered it, the city had no rest. The Babylonians conquered it. The Jews returned. Then the Greeks took it and, in turn, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Persians, the Arabs, and the Christian Crusaders held it for about one hundred years. Then the Turks had it, then the British, then the Arabs again and, finally, after the six-day war of 1967 the Israelis took full possession. During its known history, Jerusalem was conquered and destroyed seventeen times! No other city on the face of the earth has suffered like that. But it still stands there. Though it is the capital of the Jewish nation of Israel, it contains many cultures. Within the Old City now there is a Moslem Quarter, a Jewish Quarter, a Christian Quarter, and an Armenian Quarter. Those same people, as well as scientists around the world, join archeologists each year in digging into the ruins, uncovering the past. The discoveries and the almost universal interest in the city support what has already been said: Jerusalem is a city for all time.
You may not have been there. Maybe you have. You may wish you could go, but you don't need to have been there to appreciate the city. Extreme interest of a place, in fact, or pride of a place can blind one from its greater importance. Jerusalem is more than a place; it is a prayer!
Second, As a Prayer. In the early years of Mohammedanism, its people turned to Jerusalem in prayer. Only later was the direction changed to Mecca. In New Testament days people swore by Jerusalem! Though Jesus warns against that practice in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37), it indicates that the people held the city in high regard as a source of power.
For Christians, the chief interest in the city is that it was the center of the life of Jesus Christ. It is the scene of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is the place that God had chosen to work out his redemption. That's why Christian pilgrims have gone, and continue to go there. It is not the sites in the life of Jesus, however, that make Jerusalem a prayer, but what happened at those sites. The meanings of those experiences in the life of our Lord are for all time, and they become our prayer.
It was Jesus who said of his own crucifixion experience outside the walls of Jerusalem, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32) There was, of course, no other reason for Jesus to draw people to himself except to draw them to God! He knew that by his suffering and death he was being a mediator. He knew that on him were being laid the sins of the world. He knew that he was the answer to humanity's biggest problem: how to be the friends of God. The Today's English Version translates well Paul's words from Romans 5:9, 10: "By his death we are now put right with God ... he made us his friends through the death of his Son." The particular faith and unique message of Christianity is that there in Jerusalem, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has opened the way for all people to him, and has extended his arms of love and forgiveness. That all people might be drawn to God, that all people might be his friends, is the Jerusalem prayer of Jesus. It is our prayer. It is our prayer for all time and for all people. As our prayer, it also becomes our mission.
Jerusalem is a prayer in another way. What happened there in the death of Christ is also to draw people to each other. In the Letter to the Ephesians we are told that it is through the very blood of Christ, shed on the cross, that peace comes between people. In the death of Christ, shed on the cross, that peace comes between people. In the death of Christ "the dividing wall of hostility" is gone, and two people become one. Reconciliation is made. Divisive differences are erased. (Ephesians 2:13-16) The very mention of the name Jerusalem should be like an announcement of peace! But the city has yet to experience it.
We quote again from Mr. Kollek, mayor of the city: "We want Jerusalem to remain a multi-cultural city - a mosaic of people. The bottom line is that Jerusalem must never again be divided with barbed wire down its center. In this undivided city our objectives are free movement of people and goods, the reduction of inter-communal conflicts and the satisfaction of international interests." Mr. Kollek restates the Letter to the Ephesians. The death of a reconciling Christ in Jerusalem ought to make that very city the seat of harmony and peace, not only for the people who live there, but for the people of the world. Jerusalem is a prayer.
Jerusalem is a place. It is a prayer. Third, Jerusalem is Also a Promise.
For the Jew, Jerusalem is the promise of an ethnic and religious future. The prayers recited at the Wailing Wall are for the restoration of the city and the temple. The Zionist Movement holds out hope for many Jews to return to live there. At the close of every annual family Passover meal, there is the expression, "Next year in Jerusalem!"
For the Moslem, Jerusalem holds the promise that the prophet Mohammed will return to that site, at the end of time, and bring the faithful to Allah. This explains the crushing number of gravesites and gravestones near the city wall.
For the Christian, Jerusalem is a promise in a different sense. Saint Augustine wrote: "In the progress of the city of God through the ages, David first reigned in the earthly Jersualem as a shadow of that which was to come." (City of God, XVII. 14.20) There is something beyond the city as it stands there today. It is the promise of heaven. Jerusalem is a type of the City of God yet to come. For this reason it is especially a city for all time.
The letter to the Hebrews speaks of people who walked the paths of this life by faith. About them, it says, "They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he had prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:16) The Book of Revelation presents a picture of the future city. "I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God ... and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people ... he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.' " (Revelation 21:2-4a)
These are words of promise. They lead the Christian to sing, "Jerusalem, the Golden, what bliss beyond compare!" And, "Jerusalem, whose towers touch the skies, I yearn to come to you." Again, "Jerusalem, my happy home, would God I were in thee!" These hymns express life under the perfect reign of God. They relate the joining of the saints forever. And they tell of the Christian yearning to be there, to be with him, to experience eternity.
Jerusalem is a place. It is a prayer. It is a promise. It is a city for all time, a happy home. From Psalm 137: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!"
Similar words, though probably without military overtones, would express the feelings of many Christians. Moslem Arabs have the same attraction for the city. The events that have taken place in Jerusalem and their meaning for three of the great world religions make it a city for all time. We consider Jerusalem, in this sense, as a place, a prayer, and a promise.
First, As a Place. It was King David who brought Jerusalem into the Jewish history books. It was an act of wisdom that had him see the great future of the place. When the Hebrews settled Palestine under Joshua, they did not succeed in taking the city from the Jebusites. It was a rock fortress, surrounded by valleys. David's capturing of the city is described in our reading. However, the key verse, verse eight, is not clear in the original language. In part it cannot be translated. The controversy over whether the attack should be directed against the water shaft of the city or the windpipe of the defenders is not yet settled. The reference to the blind and lame in verse eight seems to be an addition of a later editor. But that David conquered it around 1,000 B.C. is beyond dispute.
His reasons for wanting the city are obvious. He had been king of the southern tribe of Judah for some years. He had, just now, been accepted as king of the ten northern tribes. To solidify the nation, he wanted to place a capital near the border between the north and south. Jerusalem lay there. It was equally accessible from both north and south, and it could be easily protected.
Jerusalem, however, had a history as an important place long before David's soldiers stormed into it. The city is mentioned in the Ebla tablets found in Syria, dating back to around 2,300 B.C. Canaanites lived there before the Jebusites, and even after David conquered it, the city had no rest. The Babylonians conquered it. The Jews returned. Then the Greeks took it and, in turn, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Persians, the Arabs, and the Christian Crusaders held it for about one hundred years. Then the Turks had it, then the British, then the Arabs again and, finally, after the six-day war of 1967 the Israelis took full possession. During its known history, Jerusalem was conquered and destroyed seventeen times! No other city on the face of the earth has suffered like that. But it still stands there. Though it is the capital of the Jewish nation of Israel, it contains many cultures. Within the Old City now there is a Moslem Quarter, a Jewish Quarter, a Christian Quarter, and an Armenian Quarter. Those same people, as well as scientists around the world, join archeologists each year in digging into the ruins, uncovering the past. The discoveries and the almost universal interest in the city support what has already been said: Jerusalem is a city for all time.
You may not have been there. Maybe you have. You may wish you could go, but you don't need to have been there to appreciate the city. Extreme interest of a place, in fact, or pride of a place can blind one from its greater importance. Jerusalem is more than a place; it is a prayer!
Second, As a Prayer. In the early years of Mohammedanism, its people turned to Jerusalem in prayer. Only later was the direction changed to Mecca. In New Testament days people swore by Jerusalem! Though Jesus warns against that practice in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37), it indicates that the people held the city in high regard as a source of power.
For Christians, the chief interest in the city is that it was the center of the life of Jesus Christ. It is the scene of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is the place that God had chosen to work out his redemption. That's why Christian pilgrims have gone, and continue to go there. It is not the sites in the life of Jesus, however, that make Jerusalem a prayer, but what happened at those sites. The meanings of those experiences in the life of our Lord are for all time, and they become our prayer.
It was Jesus who said of his own crucifixion experience outside the walls of Jerusalem, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32) There was, of course, no other reason for Jesus to draw people to himself except to draw them to God! He knew that by his suffering and death he was being a mediator. He knew that on him were being laid the sins of the world. He knew that he was the answer to humanity's biggest problem: how to be the friends of God. The Today's English Version translates well Paul's words from Romans 5:9, 10: "By his death we are now put right with God ... he made us his friends through the death of his Son." The particular faith and unique message of Christianity is that there in Jerusalem, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has opened the way for all people to him, and has extended his arms of love and forgiveness. That all people might be drawn to God, that all people might be his friends, is the Jerusalem prayer of Jesus. It is our prayer. It is our prayer for all time and for all people. As our prayer, it also becomes our mission.
Jerusalem is a prayer in another way. What happened there in the death of Christ is also to draw people to each other. In the Letter to the Ephesians we are told that it is through the very blood of Christ, shed on the cross, that peace comes between people. In the death of Christ, shed on the cross, that peace comes between people. In the death of Christ "the dividing wall of hostility" is gone, and two people become one. Reconciliation is made. Divisive differences are erased. (Ephesians 2:13-16) The very mention of the name Jerusalem should be like an announcement of peace! But the city has yet to experience it.
We quote again from Mr. Kollek, mayor of the city: "We want Jerusalem to remain a multi-cultural city - a mosaic of people. The bottom line is that Jerusalem must never again be divided with barbed wire down its center. In this undivided city our objectives are free movement of people and goods, the reduction of inter-communal conflicts and the satisfaction of international interests." Mr. Kollek restates the Letter to the Ephesians. The death of a reconciling Christ in Jerusalem ought to make that very city the seat of harmony and peace, not only for the people who live there, but for the people of the world. Jerusalem is a prayer.
Jerusalem is a place. It is a prayer. Third, Jerusalem is Also a Promise.
For the Jew, Jerusalem is the promise of an ethnic and religious future. The prayers recited at the Wailing Wall are for the restoration of the city and the temple. The Zionist Movement holds out hope for many Jews to return to live there. At the close of every annual family Passover meal, there is the expression, "Next year in Jerusalem!"
For the Moslem, Jerusalem holds the promise that the prophet Mohammed will return to that site, at the end of time, and bring the faithful to Allah. This explains the crushing number of gravesites and gravestones near the city wall.
For the Christian, Jerusalem is a promise in a different sense. Saint Augustine wrote: "In the progress of the city of God through the ages, David first reigned in the earthly Jersualem as a shadow of that which was to come." (City of God, XVII. 14.20) There is something beyond the city as it stands there today. It is the promise of heaven. Jerusalem is a type of the City of God yet to come. For this reason it is especially a city for all time.
The letter to the Hebrews speaks of people who walked the paths of this life by faith. About them, it says, "They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he had prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:16) The Book of Revelation presents a picture of the future city. "I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God ... and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people ... he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.' " (Revelation 21:2-4a)
These are words of promise. They lead the Christian to sing, "Jerusalem, the Golden, what bliss beyond compare!" And, "Jerusalem, whose towers touch the skies, I yearn to come to you." Again, "Jerusalem, my happy home, would God I were in thee!" These hymns express life under the perfect reign of God. They relate the joining of the saints forever. And they tell of the Christian yearning to be there, to be with him, to experience eternity.
Jerusalem is a place. It is a prayer. It is a promise. It is a city for all time, a happy home. From Psalm 137: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!"
