Bridging Boundaries

Stepping into another world can be done as easily as changing your clothes, walking through a door, and letting yourself become absorbed into your surroundings. Your mind passively begins to relax into a new attitude, and your focus shifts to the simple and important realities of life. When you enter the ?land,? you take on another perspective, one of a simple, humble village dweller, spending each day in the sun working to support and sustain yourself, finding meaning and contentment by creating life-giving interactions. By allowing the everyday realities of the past to seep into your experience, history becomes holistic as it connects to your developing perspective of the present.

We spent most of our week volunteering at the Nazareth Village, a microcosm located within the larger, modern Arab city of Nazareth, a place that takes you back, right to the time when the city?s most famous citizen walked the same streets, reshaping all subsequent history. The village is a functioning recreation of the setting of Jesus? youth, authentically depicting the true context of first century Jewish life. The goal of Nazareth Village is to accurately show the life of Jesus to the world by creatively reaching out across geographical, cultural, and religious definitions and showing the powerful story of a humble man that can speak to us all.

When we were in Nazareth in 2002, we spent a week volunteering at the village, working with the staff to serve in various roles, constructing footpaths and building the foundations of a first century house. This visit left a lasting impression on me?not necessarily only because of its novelty, but because it radically took my understanding of Jesus back to the roots, reshaping the way that I understood certain parts of his example in a fresh and invigorating light. Seeing the ways that Jesus lived in Nazareth provoked questions within me, asking why this example seems to stand in such direct contrast to many institutionalized forms of Christianity that have settled comfortably throughout the world ever since. Experiencing Jesus where it all began taught me the humility, the power, and the reality of a message that incited hope in the midst of a region of the world that is in constant conflict, dividing people with violence and hatred.

The realities of the conflict(s) in the Middle East are something that it is impossible to completely understand without being here and living amidst the people. It seems that many sojourners who absorb part of the pain and desperation that people endure here find it difficult to regain hope in the midst of such debilitating horror and intentional destruction. But yet, most of us need to find a way to make sense of all of this, or at least need to find a direction to walk that will show both the oppressed and the oppressors of the world that there is hope in discovering a path out of the cyclic death of violence and prejudice. For me, it was only the example of Jesus breaking down walls that divided people, by showing an unwavering invitation of peace, and personifying hope by becoming our resurrection.

Many of our days working in the village consisted of pulling weeds out of stone terraces as tourist groups would pass by, listening to the various parables the guides would teach using the land and taking photos of us, legitimate first century fill-ins fully decked out in clothing that made us blend right into the flocks of sheep and green hillsides. Throughout this time we were able to know the staff and interact with them through their various roles, both inside and outside of the village, leaving lasting impacts on our lives.

Abu Saeed, the kind-spirited Muslim man who runs the donkey plow on the lower field, day after day. Evone, who calls herself the mother of us all and welcomed us into her home and showed us the 50 sets of cutlery for all of the guests she loves to feed. Abu Tofiq, the carpenter who was always cracking jokes in one of his seven languages he had learned by traveling and living ?with the people.? Mira, the young woman who taught us who to make crowns of wildflowers to put around our heads and invited us into her home for a delicious Arabic dinner and a showing of her sister?s wedding video. Sameer, the fatherly man who waited on our arrival and went out of his way to build us a shower while we camped out on the village land. Michael, who continues to pursue this dream fully and creatively, driven to extend the example of Jesus to the ends of the earth. Each person at the village comes together in extending their service to the village, to Jesus, and to the world. Their unity and hospitality could speak their purpose alone.

Our Israeli friend Maoz has been a continual thread of blessing throughout our time in the Middle East. Our relationship began last fall when I emailed him to ask about information on backpacking the Israel National Trail. His eagerness to help us with the trail led us into many more interactions, spending a weekend together at his place in Tel Aviv, hanging out at his brother?s birthday party on the family moshav, and reminiscing about our past travels in South America. As we got to know each other and learn from each other, our paths continued to cross in many more ways.

Maoz has an interest in Nazareth, specifically in starting a backpacker hostel, a place of low budget accommodation for international travelers to come together and get connected into the local culture. I have been impressed by Maoz from the beginning, but this vision brought that appreciation to an even newer level. For an Israeli to step out and do something like this in an Arab town is not something that happens every day. When Maoz shared this idea with us, we told him that we would be volunteering at the village for a little while and invited him to stop by and check it out, possibly to begin developing a relationship that could be mutually beneficial and could continue to bring different types of people together. It was our hope to be the bridge that could begin to span some of the divides that often seem to tear this region apart?

Maoz came to visit late one afternoon as the staff was preparing an evening dinner under the Bedouin tent. The purpose of the occasion was an appreciation for some past volunteers, and the air was cheerful and full of celebration. Past experiences of prejudice made me wonder how an Israeli would be invited and received by a mostly Arab staff, especially one with an unknown identity and purpose. But as the evening progressed, I just sat back and watched the interactions take place, and all of my fears were steadily replaced by a form of deeply accelerating hope for the future of this region. As Maoz and the village staff conversed as friends, almost as family, I again caught a glimpse of the type of relationships that are required to work towards true shalom. If only we all could be this willing, this risky, and this visionary to reach out in love?what could the world be?

Since my last visit to the Middle East, I have continued to be drawn here. There is something about this place that I have not been able to get out of my consciousness, and upon leaving in 2002, I knew that I would return, unsure only of the circumstances. The contrasts here are so profoundly vivid and personal: life and death, doubt and faith, despair and hope. Empathizing and embodying these dichotomies pull us apart to the point where we spill out and need to come back together somehow; we need to find hope and move on down the road. I have never experienced despair anywhere as I have in the Middle East, and because of that, I have also never been able to match the exhilaration of watching people find hope here. And I have realized that this drives me incredibly.

A large part of this year-long journey is to seek my personal calling for the rest of my life, and with my interest in this part of the world, I was eager to see how I might feel after returning. As we prepare to leave at the end of this week, the feelings are still here; this place is alive through its struggle, and consequently, I am also alive. The essence of conflict remains the same, and hope through Christ always seems to work through it. I have often wondered what it would feel like to leave the same land for the second time, and I am now waiting for this time, right in the middle of a transition. I have learned that leaving the future open to God?s will is one of the secrets of life, and I don?t want to make even any subconscious commitments to my future as there is still a lot to experience this year, but I do know that if I come here again, it will not be for a visit. I would intend to come and stay for a while.

Each day here, people feel the effects of violence and hatred. Walls are being built, a race of people is being dehumanized, and an attitude of fear can be felt in the air. Often it?s about all you can do to keep from giving up. But when I look back on my experiences throughout this land, I remember that my Israeli friend Maoz is working this week to build Arab relationships for his vision, the staff of Nazareth village is determined to creatively show the true example of Jesus to a diverse world, and that we celebrated the death and resurrection of Christ nearly 2000 years ago in Jerusalem on Sunday morning. I feel and know that there is hope. And if our presence here and now has been a bridge towards life, this entire trip has been worth its effort.

Email Update from Maoz (May 4, 2005):

Hi there!
I'll do it short.
We are going to open an Inn (New Zealand stile backpacker) in...Nazareth.
The largest Arab city in Israel!!!

You can see pictures here:
http://www.photo-print.co.il/photoAlbum/albumAllPic.aspx?sid=104&albumID=2746
I wrote a blog and till we open our own web site you can see it on our trail journal:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=96181. It will be updated tomorrow.

You are all invited to come and have a look (It's less then hour and a half from Tel Aviv. North...). I'll be there everyday starting next week. Give me a call to make sure I'm there. There is a map attached.

There is a lot of cleaning and painting to be done. So, is you want to come and give us a hand plus be among our first guests (We are going to open 3 rooms as soon as possible) you are more then welcome.

See you
Love & Peace in The Middle East
Maoz