There and Back Again

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:"Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."-- Mark 4:1-9

Four days were spent in Sweden again, this time in Gothenburg for a visit with Daniel and his wife and two children. As with Malmö, my visit to Gothenburg was daring to open an old wound for me. Since unfairly being denied that great job there four years ago, I've been searching for clarity and definition to what work God has designed me for. The chance to meet Daniel is what finally drew me back to Gothenburg. With a seminary education, which Daniel and others there wish they could have themselves, my visit is a continuation this quest for clarity about whether I might be used by God again to build his church in Scandinavia.

Daniel is a sharp, thoughtful and servant-hearted church planter who shares with me not only love for God and the Gospel, but also for Reformed theology as well. He and his wife Hannah, after serving Muslims in the Middle East, have been planting a church for the last three years in Gothenburg. Growth is slow, but there is remarkable depth among the small group which I met. Three of these men are also very gifted and share with Daniel the tasks of preaching and evangelism. If only the harvest were plentiful; the soil is rocky (shallow comfort-seeking) and choked with weeds (materialism). After the small group bible study, my visit was spent mostly just hanging out with Daniel and his family. Talk about faith-related matters was simply woven into the fabric of our days together. We took advantage of the rare (sunny) weather and went to the archipelago beaches for two of the days. It so happened that on the way we bumped into another church member with his family, and he decided to join us again for the next day as well. Both he and Daniel were thirsty to know what life is like for me studying under such revered teachers as I have at Trinity, whose leadership and books they have read and benefitted from. My visit was an encouraging time for them. They would like me to come join them in their labor for the gospel in Gothenburg. Daniel wants to be strategic too, though, hoping to train more leaders to do as he is doing, not just in Gothenburg.

From there I made my way back to London. I was just in time for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Just in time to see James Bond escort the Queen to her helicopter for their secret mission. Just in time to see them sky dive into the stadium. The Queen, unlike the Queen Mother, is never late. But neither was Bond.
"Ahem..."
"Hello, James." Finishing her letter, she put down her pen and turned to face him sternly. The evidently important but mysterious mission now lay before them with pregnant anticipation.
"Your Majesty...."

The prime minister later congratulated her on the performance. She played herself marvelously, he said.

For me, it was Mr. Bean, however, who stole the show with Chariots of Fire, embarrasing himself in a live orchestra performance as only he could do! Just as I sometimes daydream of being other places while playing my small part in orchestra rehearsals and concerts, Mr. Bean was also transported to the halcion sands of England's shoreline, running withthe 1914 English Olympic team. It's a dream I often had myself, though Mr. Bean's dream was much more realistic, and conniving, about his capabilities. It was fun seeing Sir Simon Rattle get so rattled.

On a more serious note, while in London I had the chance to speak for an hour with my waiter Paul, an Indian from Syriac Orthodox Christian background who is being mentored by Catholics and is considering becoming a Carmelite monk if things don't work out with his girlfriend. I encouraged him to read the Bible, and look forward to staying in contact with him.

Finishing it off in London, I went to visit my British/German friends from Trinity (and my church) who have just moved back to the UK, Matt and Chrisi. I got to worship with them at their family church outside London. It was an encouraging service. The people there were exubrant in singing, very friendly, and the preaching was powerful, instructive, and encouraging to me. After that I had a tasty lunch with the family, prepared by Matt's mother, which included lamb with a zingy mint sauce. What would a trip to the UK be without lamb? Matt them drove me to Heathrow, we prayed together one more time, but hopefully not our last time, and so ended Nate's Summer Across the Pond. There and Back Again, The End....

No, not quite. After an exhausting 12 hour overnight layover in JFK airport I made it safely back to Kalamazoo, MI, yesterday. Along the way I sat next to an 18 year-old Jewish boy named Joseph who was also just returning from a month in Israel, his first visit ever. We spent the greater part of three hours talking about our experiences in Israel, about Judaism... and the Christian Gospel of grace.

Now in Kalamazoo, I am recovering from the tiring trip and enjoying a restful visit with Ken at his home in Frank Lloyd Wright's "The Acres." Today Ken is making some improvements to my Heckel bassoon. When that's finished, I plan to roll back to Chicago in my proudly Swedish Volvo, and tomorrow to swing back into student life at Trinity. I'm planning to finish up some detailed map work from my study tour of Israel and then get a head start on the new semester beginning in three weeks.

Thanks for walking with me through my tour of Israel and Europe these past two months, especially those of you who have prayed for me. There is lots more I could share with you than I have revealed in this blog, of course, and I look forward to seeing many of you again, giving you a fuller picture of all that I have learned and experienced by the goodness and grace of God.

Shalom!
Ha det bra!
Hej då!
Peace out!

Bye Bye Ben Gurion

At midnight the man [Boaz] was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer." And he said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.--Ruth 3:8-11

I passed through the highest levels of interrogation yesterday. Even got a full body check in a back room. Then, it happened. My knee brace. He frisked me and felt it. Alarm ensued, the red button kind. On the wall, three times. Ten men rushed into the room. The curtain pulled back in wonder.

How could I?

"You didn't tell me about this when I asked you if you had anything underneath. Why not?"

"You only asked me to empty my pockets." That was my honest response. Besides, it was only neoprene rubber. I injured my knee working out three months ago, and its been acting up lately.

Going to Ben Gurion airport was sort of like going to church back home: I got the wrong kind of attention for overdressing. From the moment I approached the entrance to the airport, my three layers of warm clothing drew suspicion. Never mind that I can get cold in air-conditioning and that I had no room in my luggage for the sweater and hoodie. I was passed from one security officer to another, some rude and some pleasantly apologetic. Nonetheless, I understood their concern for security, and I was happy for the last-minute bonus-round tour of Israel which they gave me free of charge--behind the locked doors of Ben Gurion airport security. I noticed that even these doors had Mezusas, which my escort religiously touched while entering. All this was much more interesting than waiting in line like all the others, and in the end, after winning an argument with the rude guy about whether IATA regulations allowed me to take my instrument as a carry-on, I was escorted past the lines to the boarding area. Along the way, my escort grinned and apologized, telling me I really got the full monty--the red button alarm only happens about 20 times per day-- a big deal, but not a big deal really.

Arriving in Malmö, Sweden, last night, I stayed with an old friend, Samuel, and then took a bus today up to Gothenburg, Sweden, where I'm staying with the kingpin of Sweden's Reformed believer's network. In my visit with him, I hope to gain a better understanding of how, and indeed if, God wants to use me for his kingdom work again in Scandinavia. His small group just met this evening. Most of it was in Swedish, which I understood pretty well. There are three other guys in the group though who are all theology buffs and were wrestling with the translations, trying to get at the meaning of John 16:16ff, especially concerning the meaning of praying in the Name of Jesus.

Since leaving the Holy Land yesterday, and during the hours spent soaring above the Mediterranean world of the New Testament lying in darkness below me, a different question has been occupying my thoughts, however. Under what circumstances, if someone is divorced, are they free to remarry?

For the choice good Boaz faced 3000 years ago, he knew what was right and acted on it. He saw beyond the condemning lables, Moabite and alien, and saw the beauty, the worthiness, of Ruth's heart. He saw the grace of God working in and through Ruth's life. He married the accursed alien, the Moabite widow. It was controversial, but the brave and good thing to do. That's the way grace is. It redeems. It can turn an act of faithlesness and disobedience-- Naomi leaving the promise land for (accursed) Moab and then marrying her sons to Moabites--into the greatest of blessings: faith for an accursed Moabite, Ruth, and a child (not just any child) for a childless Israelite, Naomi. Boaz came to understand what was right. But the choice for Boaz did not come without a cost. To be a Redeemer, as the Messiah was himself, implies sacrifice.

Be It Scandinavia

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.--Psalm 23:1-3

These last four days I have been staying in Beit Scandinavia, a hostel run by Christian Scandinavians on the beach in Haifa. Because it has been so crowded, I was put on the rooftop porch. I love it! The crows wake me up early in the morning from their nest in the tree tops beside me, and the crazy locals screaming at night from the street below play their part at all hours, but the cool sea breeze is so soothing in the heat, it puts me right to sleep. Now, at 11pm, there is some repair work being done to a transformer across the street which caught on fire today. And i just learned that there ae giant bats hanging out in the tree too. How can one sleep with all this excitement?

The last three nights there were two Finnish ladies and a Norwegian as well also sleeping on the porch. I enjoyed getting to know them. Today another terrific Finnish lady has come as well as an entourage of Danish folk. It is great talking with all the people here. Sometimes I even get to speak Snorsk, my blend of Svenska and Norsk!

On Friday night we celebrated the Sabbath together with a meal lead by a local Jewish couple. I was asked if I would play my bassoon for the group, and they had some music for Jewish and Christian worship, so I was happy to oblige. The Scandinavians were very quiet mostly, but our Jewish hosts were very excited, and sang along for the tunes they knew, like Hava Nagila, one even playing along on her recorder. Ron, our Jewish MC, was eager to talk about my excavation project, and the theological implications of it. He asked to meet with me again later to talk more about it, and I suggested we read some of the Hebrew Bible together, with his help. This we did tonight, looking at Isaiah 53 and 11. It has been a delight for me, and him as well-- he wants to stay in contact by email, which I hope he does.

The Sabbath continued for me the next morning with a visit to the Messianic Jewish congregation that Daniel suggested. The preacher talked about rest, and it's importance for our bodies, souls, and spirits. Beit Scandinavia has been much of that for me these last few days. Nazareth was hard on my bad knee; the streets are very steep, and I've been having some pain eversince, so I've been taking it easy here at the house mostly. I am glad for the opportunity to have such good contact with the great people that come through here.

Now, before I go to bed, it is time for me to get a picture of those bats!

Melting Pot

He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. --Isaiah 11:12

The dig is winding down this week, but I took an early exit along with 2/3rds of the other diggers, so I don't get to see what the final results will be until they are published. Saturday, my group took one last trip through the Holy Land which I had hoped to join but needed to use the time to travel to Haifa instead, so that I would not be late for an Arab wedding I was invited to. My friend Daniel is an Israeli Finnish-Arab whom I was flatmates with in Norway and is visiting Israel at the moment with his three young children and Norwegian wife. I've has a long-standing invitation to come visit him in Israel, so I'm happy to finaly make good on it for the last week of my stay here.

Public transportation grinds to a halt every Sabbath day. Even though Israel is a secular state, it is still very Jewish! My only options for transportation from Jerusalem to Haifa therefore were with Arab-run shared taxis or by hitching a ride. With all my luggage, I chose to pay 20 bucks and take the two-hour taxi ride, though hitchhiking would have been fun.

In the taxi vans I met some noteworthy characters. One was a North African dressed in a nice suit. But notice his socks! If you look closely you'll see soccer balls. I also sat next to a 19 year old blonde from Russia named Olya who is now serving in the Israeli military. We had a very friendly conversation in English, in which I shared with her my love for Israel and for the gospel. She listened very attentively, I even got to explain to her for some time Isaiah 53 after we got out of the van. Many, many Russian Jews, secular and religious, are emmigrating to Israel, as well as Jews from other countries like Ethiopia. It is a little odd to see a blonde Russian girl serving in the Israeli Defense Force, but even more of an adjustment is it to see black Africans in IDF uniform. All naturalized Jews, no matter what their origin, are required to serve two to three years in the military if they are young enough. They are also given a free car and a tax exemption on buying a house. But when applying, don't check the box telling the government you are a Christian Jew. Their computer program will inform you that you are not eligible for citizenship!

Regardless, into this melting pot of cultures and nationalities has also come a fast growing Christian church, despite the officially funded persecution. I visited a Messianic Jewish service two weeks ago. It was conducted in a pretty similar way to poorly funded evangelical gentile services in America, the only differences being the pastor was obese, his sermon was translated into Hebrew from English, and the praise songs were sung in Hebrew.

My visit to Jerusalem's Great Synagogue was a great experience by contrast. I was surrounded by men with all types of Jewish religious garb, who rocked frequently while praying out loud, each in his own rhythm and time. The service was led by a cantor who faced away from the congregation the whole time, and who was accompanied by a men's choir. The service lasted about an hour and a half. It consisted almost entirely of a sung liturgy in Hebrew, the congregation responding to the cantor and choir. The cantor could easily have been a star tenor on any opera stage, and the music was very western and classical in composition, though with distinct traces of middle eastern motifs blended in. A grandfather in a long black silk gown and fedora helped me follow along. His squirrely 4 year-old grandson came to join him half way into it. People could come and go very freely. A few times another older man, but without the austere garb, began to intone words loudly, while singing and chanting continued around him. Then all the men near him would answer loudly in response, and on it would go for several more rounds. It all seemed so ordered yet also disorderly at the same time. After the service my guide introduced me to his eldest son, also named Nathaniel, and then I left the sanctuary. The women, who had been sitting in the balcony, joined us men in the stairwell and basement. There a group of boys in suits and fedoras were gleefully arm in arm jumping, dancing and singing loudly together. Such are the typical sabbath celebrations here.

This week with my friend Daniel and his family, I've been in Haifa and Nazareth. Here I've been experiencing the Arab side of life in Israel. My first night I went with them to the wedding of one of Daniel's cousins. The ceremony was very American. The party after was Arabian with a vengence! The groom, an American, was a good sport. An engineer, he did his best to dance in Arabian fashion as required, however awkward he was at it. Thankfully, Daniel's wife brought earplugs for her infant, and there were extras for me! My ears still rang a bit after it was over. I had fun dancing Arabian-style though, even though the clothes loaned to me were way too big and would have fallen down to my ankles without a belt. I think I managed to look decent enough. But Daniel and his close relatives were careful to guide me through the dance etiquette so that I wouldn't bring shame to anyone. Daniel was hoping I would let loose eventually though, when everyone was a little looser, since he remembers how good a dancer I am. I asked two of his cousins to dance. That was fun. Daniel was suggesting I consider these cousins wife material. But nothing has transpired yet, though one, Diana, stopped by the next day to see Daniel, as is the custom for visiting family.

Diana, like Daniel and many other Arabs in his family, have or will find a way to leave the country. Many do so through marriage to a foreigner, often found by studying abroad, as the wedding's bride did. Diana hopes to go to England soon to study. She is a nurse and soon will have a law degree. Why the desire to escape? I'm sure the reasons are varied, but for those I have asked, it has mostly to do with the Arab culture of corruption and dishonesty found here. If it is hard enough knowing who to trust, it is still harder knowing that you are not trusted.

Today I went on a guided tour of a 1st century reconstruction of Nazareth. It was moving to hear some of the teachings of Jesus made plain and more tangible by the architecture and landscape. It was also moving to experience this with the help of a
Messianic Jew as our guide, and a large group of Chinese American Christian families who expressed their joy in faith and discovery so audibly alongside me.

Jesus Christ Superstar

"Everything's alright, yes, everything's alright, yes. Close your eyes, close your eyes, and relax" --From the musical

Here are some photos of places seen in the motion picture musical. A heretical work at points, but good music, an fun to remember while visiting the sites.

Brushing with Danger

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.--Hebrews 4:13

After five days of digging at Qeiyafa, our group embarked on three days of touring in the southern regions Israel.

The digging has been hard work, with not much of any significant discovery, and a break was very much looked forward to by all.

First, about the digging. Against the wisdom and experience of our leader John, our young and eager site foreman asked us to lift some heavy stones. I, along with many others, stood by to watch. I was already feeling a little sore in my back. Only one or two of the foolhardy followed him into the fray. It was not more than a few minutes before our foreman cut and badly bruised his finger, needing bandaging, and one of our youngest and most athletic gave himself what is likely a hernia. Our foreman is back to doing some light work now, but Andrew got a plane back to the US yesterday morning, cutting his stay short by a few weeks. Today, a back-hoe did the heavy lifting, and thankfully, it will stay that way.

There have been other dangers presenting itself to us along the way as well. Yesterday morning, for example, I was so tired, after waking up at our usual dig wake-up time of 4:00AM, that I crashed to the floor trying to sit down where a chair was--last week! Digging this week hasn't uncovered anything important for our group, but we did uncover four scorpions, a few large spiders, a poisonous millipede, and today what looked like the venomous Palestinian viper. All these hang out under the rocks we dig up. I'm doubling up on my gloves now.

Groups at other sites in the ruins are finding some very exciting stuff. One group has uncovered a "destruction layer" where many intact vessels from the Iron age are lying. Qeiyafa, unlike many other ancient fortresses in the middle east, only has evidence of construction in two periods of history, the Iron Age (c. 1000 BC) and the Byzantine period (c. 300 AD). Many other ruins have layers upon layers of history, which can be very difficult to discern because they get mixed together. Because ours has only two layers, you would think finding the Iron Age layer would be much easier. However, it seems that where my group is situated, at the Citadel, evidence of the Iron Age walls and artifacts have been few. We have just today opened up about 50 more square meters of topsoil which is promising, however. There, about a foot below the surface we have found large stones which are evidence of a massive collapse. Welcome back back-hoe! We will treat the driver very nicely.

Now about the sight-seeing. Our travels this time were restricted to the southern half of Israel. First, about Beersheba. Getting there brought us much closer to Gaza and Hamas rocket range than John was planning. Our bus driver now is Ozmir's nephew, Na'el. That is actually his Arabic nickname; Natanel (Nathaniel) is his full name. He is very new to the job, and had trouble finding the safer route. But in all other respects he is a huge improvement over Ozmir, and John is especially happy about the change. Beersheba is an ancient ruins with many layers of excavation. There, a well still exists from the days of Jacob. At least in part because of the increased elevation of the ruins--layers upon layers--the well is now about 60 meters deep. That is, it took a rock about three and a half seconds to reach the water from the time we dropped it. The sound it made was like a giant bass drum. Pretty cool.

We also saw a few other ruins, namely Arad, Masada, and Qumran. I'm told the old TV mini-series with Peter O'Toole is very good, and our leader, John, was actually a Roman soldier in it. Something I'll check-out from the library when I get home. (See photo of movie set's siege tower.) Qumran was also interesting, simply because it gave us a chance to see what has become the most important Biblical find in recent history. (see photo of Qumran ruins with caves in the rock wall, taken from "cave 6".)

For fun and refreshment we also traveled to the springs and waterfalls of nearby Engedi ( see photo), where David went when he was in trouble, and also for a swim in the Dead Sea (see photo of me reading my geography lesson.) it was a fun sensation to float like a cork, but the beach was not a pretty picture. After that, I think I've seen enough of retirement-age, over-exposed and overweight Eastern Europeans with mud all over them. A smelly, dirty tourist trap, John called it the closest thing, for him, to Hell. Funny that it does happen to be the lowest point on Earth. As Hebrews says, all creatures are naked and exposed to the eyes of God. Not a good thing. I know because I've been to the Dead Sea.