If it had not been the Lord who was on our side. ~Psalm 124:1
The three Abrahamic faiths perpetually collide in Jerusalem. For instance, to visit the Dome of the Rock, which is a Muslim holy site, a Christian pilgrim must pass through a checkpoint staffed by the Israeli military just a stone’s throw from the Western Wall, where devout Jews pray at all hours of the day and night.
A huge volume of history hangs in the air, filling the spaces between people. Warfare, both ancient and modern, reverberates. Scars from bullets and bombs are evident in stones once raised by an empire.
I sense how easily we humans choose sides — then cockily assume that God is on our side. Even scripture can undergird this notion. The Psalmist speaks of God being on “our side.” If there are three Abrahamic faiths, what does “our side” mean?
My seminary training kicks in. The central question of biblical scholarship is deceptively simple: What did the verse mean then? And what does it mean now?
But as a pilgrim, those “simple” questions become less cerebral and more visceral. Which is perhaps a good thing. Faith is not lived only above the neck.
How might you put yourself on an opposite side this Lent, perhaps by exposing yourself to other faith traditions?
Prayer: O Lord, may I be on your side, instead of assuming you are on mine.
This material is adapted from my book, Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land.
The photo is mine, taken in the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2018. I regret that I don’t have information on the artist. If you do, please leave a comment and I will rectify this omission.
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