Eighteen days ago I had no idea what I was about to embark on. I knew that I was having the amazing opportunity to experience Syria, Jordan and Israel for the next five weeks. But I had no idea the way in which this would happen, the amazing things I would experience, the challenging things I would see and have to wrestle through, and the biblical/political history I would be thrust into. I must admit that the last eighteen days have been a total and complete hurricane. I have been inundated with information, dates, historical events, political statements and spiritually challenging thoughts, and religious history. If it wasn’t for journalling I would have lots way too many of these things because no human can retain all that has been pushed onto my plate the last few weeks… But what an amazing adventure I am able to be on! I am so thankful, so blessed, and still so very surprised that I am where I am right now.
I must admit that Syria completely rocked my world. When you think of Syria what would you expect to see? I was expecting a desert wasteland as far as the eye could see… And while part of Syria’s landscape is certainly desert wasteland (they have the Syrian desert) there is so much more than that. There are snow covered caps, there are lush, lush forested regions, there are rock deserts, there are rivers, there are rolling hills that would make Kentucky jealous, there are olive trees as far as your little eyes could take your vision, there are the most loving, kind and hospital people you have ever encountered. The Biblical history is rich in Syria, the Islamic tradition has many routes in Syria, and our own Christian history is far, far beyond what I had expected to see in this land.
I spent one week in Syria and instead of writing about everything that we had the opportunity to do (because that would be several, several hours of writing) I will just put down in point form the things I was able to see… If you have any questions about anything I saw I have absolutely no problem talking to you about it… But if it were me trying to read someone else’s blog I would be far too intimidated by a blog that went on forever, I would much rather just get the short and to the point facts… so here are the incredible things I was able to experience in Syria:
-Had a discussion with the Mufti of Damascus about Islam/Christianity, a “spiritual discussion between East and West on Contemporary Human Problems.”
- Went to the Sheik’s house after the discussion. It turned out to be a several hour time of just having community with our Muslim friends from Damascus… Amazing night!
- Musee National – an incredible museum with artifacts from all time periods and civilizations
- The Souk – a RIDICULOUS shopping strip in Damascus
- Umayyad Mosque – A huge mosque at the heart of Damascus. Also, I saw the shrine where John the Baptist’s head is kept (so they claim).
- Salahuddin’s Grave – the Muslim hero (he defeated the crusaders) grave
- Azem Palace – A palace right next to the Umayyad Mosque
- The House of Annanias – To commemorate Annanias’ bravery for praying over St. Paul
- Straight Street - Acts 9
- St. Paul’s Church – A Church to commemorate his escape from the walls of Damascus
- Ma’aloula - the only city where Jesus’ language, Aramaic is still spoken as a primary language
- St. Serge and Bacchus’ Convent
- St. Theckla’s Divide – Where an amazing story (we read about it outside the canon) of an early Christian saint, and the first female convert of Paul’s miraculous escape from evil pagan sorcerers.
- The Krak Deschevalier – An incredible castle the Crusaders were involved with (here is where I had the most ridiculous fan club of about thirty boys)
- Salahuddin’s Castle (built into a mountain)
- The site where St. Simeon the Stylite lived on top of stylite for his escape to ascetism
- Church of the Forty Martyrs – The church dedicated to an amazing group of early Christian martyrs, what a powerful story this is (ask me about it, if you are curious!)
- The Citadel in Allepo – Another castle, but from Salahuddin’s son
- Palmyra – INCREDIBLE Roman Ruins (including a Temple dedicated to Baal)
- Monastery of Moses – Desert Spirituality
- Bagdad Café – it was talked about in National Geographic
- The place commemorating (believed to be)where Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus
I think I will talk about my very favourite part of this trip… and that is all wrapped up under the idea of desert spirituality. Both the Monastery of Moses and the place of Simeon the Stylite have direct relations to desert spirituality. First, the crazy, crazy man Saint Simeon the Stylite. He grew up in a Christian home and at the age of 13 he developed an intense zeal or passion for following Christianity with all that he was. For him, to be a Christian meant denying anything other than Jesus, and for him it was such a strong conviction (almost a compulsion) that it drove him to do some very wild things. When he was still a young man (before 16 years old, most likely) he decided to fully embrace the monastic lifestyle and went to live in a monastery. He denied his body foot (he went all of lent without eating or drinking, which many considered a miracle), he fasted, he committed to standing for long periods of time so that his feet were swollen and badly injured, he would tie things around himself so tightly that it would cut himself, and eventually he decided he would deny himself everything but the very basics. So he went to live in a narrow space, Simeon went to live in a narrow mountain crevice/room. But so many people heard of what Simeon was doing and they sought him out for wisdom/counsel as he lived in this mountain that he decided he would live atop a pillar. And that is what this site was all about, it was the place that this pillar he lived on was, and part of his pillar is still there.
Secondly was the Monastery of Moses. This was a monastery in the middle of the Syrian Desert nestled in the heart of some Syrian mountains. This monastery’s purpose (to this day) is for people to escape from the madness and craziness of everyday life, from the chaos, confusion, hectic pace of life and to retreat to, well, essentially nothing. This is a monastery that mimics the example Jesus laid out for His believers when He went to the mountains, hills, and deserts and prayed to God, fasted, and lived a simple life… Also what John the Baptist did, Elijah, David, etc…
This whole idea of desert spirituality is so challenging for me because I am such a “go-go-go” type person. I am always on the move, always running around, always busy… and in many ways that is how I thrive. But how often do I truly retreat from the madness and busyness of my life and just be still, silent and quiet before my God? Rarely! It is something I need to work on, something I need to be challenged to do (and have been lately by some special people in my life) and something I need to continually strive for, always. I bought a postcard from this place to keep in my Bible as a continual reminder that as I read my Bible I ought to be still, silent and quiet before God…. Something that is always difficult for me to do, but something that I am (and you are!) biblically commanded to do. Now do not worry, I am not going to go all Simeon the Stylite on you, I have no plans to live atop a pillar, for me, that is not my style. But I do need to do a better job of retreating from the madness of my world and dwelling in the calming and peaceful presence of my God.
One more thing that was completely eye-opening for me while being in Syria was that for the very first time I heard the call to prayer. I had never heard it before nor had I experienced the commanding presence that the call demands. On a purely musical level I think that it is beautiful. And on a religious level I love how religiously people adhere to the call to prayer. No matter where they are, what they are doing or anything else they will stop and pray when the call goes off. But in many ways it completely broke my heart and I made a point to pray to MY God for the Muslims as they prayed to their god. As you drive through Syria (and Jordan, and Israel even) no matter where you are at any point at any time of day you can point out a minaret. I think they are beautiful in creation and idea, but it was heartbreaking for me to see just how lost and confused these people are. In many ways they are not so far off, much of what they hold and adhere to is very Biblical… but they are one step off and that is the revelation of who Jesus is… Much like Saul of Tarsus, they are so close to the truth, but they are ONE step off and that step makes all the difference. The people I met in Syria so desperately and badly need Jesus.
But, at the end of my time there I can stand back and say that I absolutely LOVE Syria. I had an amazing time being in community with our Muslim friends at the Sheik’s house, and I had a pretty hilarious encounter with the thirty boys from Allepo at the top of the Crac Deschevalier. I love the Syrian culture and landscape and people.
Much love friends,
-kAt
No comments:
Post a Comment