Holy Thoughts from the Holy Land

By Howard Coop

After more than one trip to the Holy Land to study the geography and history of that land and several years of study, research, and writing about that biblical land, Holy Thoughts from the Holy Land was written. It is the hope of the author that these devotional meditations will be inspirational and encouraging for those walking the sometimes rough road of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512784824

Howard Coop

After 42 years as a United Methodist pastor of small rural churches, county seat churches, and large membership churches, Howard Coop is retired. At present, he writes a column AN ENCOURAGING WORD that is carried weekly in ten newspapers and monthly in another publication.

Book preview

1

The Rooster Crowed a Second Time

I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times.

—Mark 14:30

T he first morning in that land called holy was a memorable one. After traveling for over thirty-six hours, we arrived at the Mount Scopus Hotel in East Jerusalem a little after two o’clock in the morning. Tired, weary, and with knowledge that a wake-up call was to come in a little over three hours, sleep came quickly.

A few minutes after five o’clock, a strange noise outside the window of our room shattered the quietness and interrupted my sleep, jarring me to complete wakefulness. At first I thought it was a dream, but a few minutes later, it came again. Then I knew it was real; the sound was unmistakable. Beneath the window of our room, a rooster was crowing loudly to signal the dawn of a new day.

Immediately, another incident involving the crowing of a rooster in Jerusalem came crashing into my mind. On the Mount of Olives following the last supper in the upper room, Simon Peter, impetuous and quick-spoken, made bold professions about his loyalty to Jesus, only to be reminded, today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times (Mark 14:30). Later that evening in the courtyard of the Fortress of Antonio when Peter was confronted with his involvement with the accused, he denied Jesus three times, and Immediately the rooster crowed the second time (Mark 14:72). Remembering what Jesus had said to him a few hours earlier, Peter broke down and wept (Mark 14:72b).

That morning, after the rooster crowed a second time, it was too late to go back to sleep. As I waited in the predawn darkness for the wake-up call to come from the desk clerk downstairs, I struggled with the question of denial that can be such a real part of daily life. However, I knew it wasn’t enough to think about what Simon Peter had done almost two thousand years ago or what someone else might do under similar circumstances. I searched my soul for subtle ways denial of my Lord might slip into my life.

I thought about what I had done in the past and what I might do in the future that might be an opening for denial to enter. The crowing rooster beneath the hotel window forcefully reminded me that bold professions are not enough. Professions of loyalty become meaningful only when words are backed by faithfulness that does not waver in the presence of the most intimidating circumstances.

Prayer: Loving Father, when I am tempted by the world around me to deny, help me be to be true to you under all conditions. In the name of Christ I pray. Amen.

2

May Peace Be with You

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

—Luke 24:36

A fter finishing an early breakfast in the hotel dining room, I went outside to breathe the fresh air of Jerusalem, look around for a moment at the city of peace, and greet members of our group as they came out to board the bus for an exciting day of adventure and sightseeing.

Almost as soon as I walked out the door of the hotel, I saw a man walking across the parking lot toward our bus, and I recognized him. He was Joseph Shimitshek, the Israeli guide who would be with us for the next several days. He must have recognized me from a previous visit to the Holy Land, for he increased his pace and approached me with a broad smile. With an extended hand, he greeted me warmly and enthusiastically with, Shalom!

During the next several days, we heard Israeli after Israeli greet one another with, Shalom. We also heard them greet American visitors with that same word.

Shalom is the common word used by almost everyone in the Holy Land both as a salutatory greeting when they meet and as a benedictory blessing when they part. It is the Israeli form of the ancient word for peace, and it suggests more than the mere absence of hostilities. It implies a condition that is the opposite of strife and the existence of reconciliation that results when a broken relationship is restored. Shalom conveys serenity of mind even in the context of strife.

In the Holy Land, which has experienced so much trouble and tragedy through the centuries and especially since 1948 when the modern state of Israel was created, the people understand that one of the greater blessings that can be experienced is this kind of peace, so Jesus’s words Peace be with you is a prayer that is uppermost in their minds and always on their lips.

For everyone, shalom is more than a greeting—it is a prayer to be prayed, a dream to be hoped for, and a reality to be worked for.

Prayer: O Lord, may shalom, the peace that passes all understanding, abide in the world and in the human heart. In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.

3

The Basis of Peace

I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.

—Leviticus 26:6

A ccording to pictures and reports released by the news media, it is obvious that the land that, for centuries, has been called holy is not treated as holy. Indeed, that land is constantly embroiled in a state of unholy turmoil. Tensions run high, and there is deep antagonism between those who look upon that land as their homeland.

Almost every day there are media reports of clashes between Arabs and Israelis. In pictures depicting these clashes, even small children vent their hostilities and frustrations by hurling stones at police or military personnel who are in a given area. From the message conveyed by these pictures and reports, it is obvious that, at this point in human history, neither the wolf and the lamb nor the leopard and the kid are in a mood to lie down together and dwell in peace, and the inhabitants of that land both hurt and destroy in those holy mountains.

Early in the morning on November 12, 1970, I witnessed an ugly display of the intense feelings between the inhabitants of that land. After boarding a bus in front of the Mount Scopus Hotel, we departed for a trip northward along the ancient highway through the Judean mountains that took us through Judea and Samaria and into Galilee. Before we were out of Jerusalem, our bus passed an Arab school with a number of students entering it. Emotions flared when those young Arab students saw the Israeli bus. They shouted angry words, shook their fists defiantly, and threw stones at the bus.

Neither our Israeli guide nor the Israeli bus driver appeared to notice the activity of the school children. But when asked about tensions in the area, our guide, Joseph Shimitshek, indicated that they are deep seated and of ancient origin. When pressed for details, he cited an Old Testament passage, Genesis 16:1–16, that tells the story of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar. The implication was clear.

Indeed, peace is fragile. In the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world, the basis of peace is forgiveness and acceptance of and respect for the dignity and personhood of others.

Prayer: Eternal God, Father of all, help us to lay