Dinner, Fellowship, and that dang Wall

Part of the Honeymoon of the Heart series, originally published October 2, 2012

I am struggling with something, wrestling with it really. We went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum today. Whew. The displays and the sights were absolutely unbearable, yet something everyone should experience and have the chance to understand.

(Sidenote: Did you know that early in the war and entire cruiseliner of Jewish refugees tried to escape the Natzis, cruised all the way to the USA, and then were turned away at our borders? They were not allowed to dock in Cuba, either. So, they had no other choice but to turn around and cruise back to Europe where 4/5 of them were slaughtered. That is shameful. My heart hurt to see my country's name as part of that display.)

The Holocaust started as separating the "less desirables" from the self-proclaimed better race. It grew with evil fervor. It was horrifying. Movies are made and books written and survivors heralded...all rightfully so.

But here I sit in Bethlehem tonight after having met someone who will likely never be allowed to travel five miles to his grandparent's birthplace and his family home. He is forced to live on this side of a great wall--not just a wall of stone, but a wall of hate, distrust, hurt, disunity, discord, strife.... He is not allowed on that side of the wall, but he has no rights on this side, either. We had dinner tonight and he sat with us because the restaurant owners graciously agreed to allow him to come in (because they know he's a friend of the ministry and it's kind of a package deal), but he is not allowed to eat.

How can I go to the Holocaust museum in the morning, and then sit by and eat my dinner while he drinks a cup of water? I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I know there are some things that just are the way they are, and I know there is a reason why Israel maintains tight borders, but I also know that God is a god of unity and peace and love. I saw today where Christ was crucified to bring unity and fellowship to God and man, yet mankind works hard separating ourselves from those unlike us. Oh, so much for one Midwestern Girl mind to process all in one day.

I know God brought me here because He wanted to show me something, and I think this unity piece will echo in my soul and challenge my heart for days, weeks, and months to come. Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world"; Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So, what does that mean for today?

Here I am in the Middle East, recognizing millennia of history and hurt while wrestling with all I am seeing and learning about the world. So, what change did I want to see in the world today? I wanted a kind refugee to be able to eat in a restaurant with his visiting friends. Would the restaurant serve him? No, probably not. Are they bad people? No, they just don't know any different. But Jesus called ME to love my neighbors as myself and today my neighbor was at a dinner party with no food, so I smuggled in food for him. We communed with Special-K protein bars, Luna coconut meal replacements, and Quaker Oats breakfast squares. He broke his pieces apart and passed them around the table for all of us to share. And while it didn't bring world peace and that stinkin wall still stands tonight, we had a chance to have dinner with a friend and that, today, is where unity begins.

Please pray, my friends, for the peace of Israel. It is more important than I ever knew.