It's Complicated

Some people are so complex and so conflicted that it is almost too painful to love them.  It’s the same way with some cities.  Jerusalem is like that.  You begin to get to know her, and then you grow to love her, but it’s complicated.

The city was divided from 1948 until 1967.  Even though it is ostensibly “one city” now, there are many formidable divisions which exist just beneath the surface and surround you just like the air that you breathe.  Nearly everyone you talk to wants peace in the land with all their heart, but what they have to settle for is an uneasy, guarded coexistence.  Everyone has a deep, secret hope that this mutual toleration will evolve into real peace, but they fear that the leaders of the country and the leaders of the various constituencies will never allow that to happen.  Christians, Muslims, Jews, and “secular” people all try to live together.  But there is too much history.  It’s complicated.

Every one of the ancient churches, with the exception of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, has been built, almost demolished, and rebuilt again and again.  It’s complicated.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Church of the Nativity, and the Church of the Assumption are all ruled by something called the “Status Quo Agreement,” which parcels out authority over the holy sites and acts as a referee to keep the competing Christian traditions from destroying each other and bringing disgrace to the very Gospel in the process.  It’s complicated.

As we rode the bus across the city one last time the other day, I looked at the Jerusalem I have come to love.  The Hasidim with their black hats, beards, and temple curls; young mothers with their flowing dresses and scarves; people reading their prayer books on the bus; Arab shops on the sidewalks; outdoor cafes and tall apartment buildings with laundry hanging out to dry; big beautiful places of study and higher learning; some structures older than recorded history; some people living almost as in a third world country, right next to some of the most advanced technology in the world.  Yes, it’s complicated.

The Bible tells us Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives where I was yesterday, looked across the Kidron Valley at the beloved city, and cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” and he wept. 

And Rachel still weeps for her children (Jeremiah 31:15-17).

I get that now.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.  It’s complicated.  And we love you.