For Sunday
worship a colleague and I returned to a site visited yesterday, Ratisbonne,
which now serves as a seminary of the Salesian Brothers of France. It was one of the very early structures (19th
century) on a prominent hill in western Jerusalem, and it has provided
education and refuge for many, including displaced Jewish persons when
territorial lines were re-drawn.
In addition
to its seminary work, the old monastery hosts various immigrant populations
working in Jerusalem. This morning I
attended the service tailored to the many Filipinas who serve as caregivers in
the city. Readings and music and homily
offered in both Tagalo and English made us welcome. (My colleague had grown up in the Philippines,
and so he needed the English less than I!)
The primary
lectionary texts for the service were Genesis 18:1-10, where Abraham and Sarah
welcomed the messengers from God, and Luke 10:38-42, where the sisters of
Bethany welcome Jesus. Hospitality was clearly the theme; listening to God and
making space for the “other.” And the
congregation lived up to the essence of these passages.
As Rob Nash
and I sat in our pew, one of the members invited us to share in the
presentation of the gifts of the people to the altar. We were instructed how to carry the candles
and where to place them. As strangers, we were given a place of honor as we
participated in the liturgy. We managed
to bow at the right time as we processed, and our small contribution to the
work of the people was warmly received.
In a sense,
I have experienced an extended Sabbath.
On Friday evening, the Shalom Hartman Institute hosted us for the
Shabbat dinner on the stone patio between the buildings. The coordinator of the Christian Leadership
Initiative, Dr. Marcie Lenk, had spared no element of gracious hospitality. The American Jewish Committee, the primary
architect of this program, ensures the most constructive opportunities for
CLI. Cool weather, a bright moon, and
good food and conversation made it a most enjoyable occasion. Great kindness welcomed us Gentiles into the
time-honored ritual of enjoying sacred time in spacious freedom.
We return
to the work (and joy) of the Beit Midrash (house of study) this afternoon as we
join with rabbi colleagues to probe issues concerning Jewish peoplehood as it
relates to the nation of Israel. Once again, our cohort will be the recipients
of hospitality as our leaders share frankly—as if we were no longer
strangers—their perspectives on matters of abiding significance.
Molly T.
Marshall
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