We visited the heirs of the man of peace: Francis of Assisi! On the bell tower of the Church of the "Custody" a huge sign recalls the 800 years of the presence of the Franciscans in the Holy Land. "In two years we will also remember the 800 years of the meeting of Saint Francis with Sultan Malik al-Kamil," said the new Custodian, François Patton.
His approach illustrates the virtue of every visit! We hope that the following 20 visits we make these days will serve to the peace of Jerusalem!
For us Christians, the peace of Jerusalem is linked to the cross and the empty tomb. After listening to the vision of Jesus Celebration 2033, calling Christians to unite to celebrate the 2000 years of the resurrection, Brother Francis tells us: "There will surely be something here, for Jerusalem is the place of resurrection. It is important that during this march towards 2033, each Church becomes more aware of the sensitivity of others".
Appropriating this function recently, his impression is that good steps are being taken to move forward in Jerusalem towards greater unity among the churches, despite tensions and resistance. Certainly diversity is a wealth. We must keep "ecclesial biodiversity", but Christians feel that they are Christians above all. Each confession is a minority of minorities. When a church has a problem, the others support it.
A single date of Easter in 2033?
The recent ceremony marking the end of the restoration of the Holy Sepulcher states "In front of the empty tomb of Christ, we sang and prayed Our Father, each in his own language. All the churches of the old town were present. It was the most ecumenical ceremony, for without the resurrection there is neither faith nor life. The road towards 2033 is therefore open ".
For Brother Francis, the question of the date of Easter is not the central problem (in 2033, Orthodox Easter will take place on April 21, one week after the others). On the occasion of 2033, he hopes all churches will agree to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of Christ: "I believe that this will be possible if presented as an exceptional opportunity. If the officials agree, everything is done. But the people of God must also invite them. In Jerusalem and everywhere else!"
The logic of the resurrection confronts the logic of the world
Crossing the souks, we arrived in front of the "Muristan", seat of the Lutheran Church to meet its bishop, Munib Younan. We were warmly received and offered Arabic teas and coffees. Next to his desk sits a large panel seen together with Pope Francis.
During the first part of our meeting he shared his great joy as President of the Lutheran World Federation to have been able to experience the historic event of the opening celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden.
The bishop of Rome and himself have signed a commitment of ecumenical collaboration. An important step towards more visible unity! For him this was an event of the Spirit that may not be repeated soon: "Everything was timed. I had prepared a 10-minute homily, but I felt the Holy Spirit and spoke five more minutes. The Pope did the same!"
The presentation of the vision of JC2033 evoked in him a memory of a common celebration between the churches on the place of the nativity in Bethlehem for the year 2000. "All the leaders were there, even the Orthodox. It was beautiful, but we did not go far enough. This event should have been followed by other joint initiatives".
For 2033, he advised us to focus on the meaning of the life and mission of Jesus. His birth in a stable, his simple life, his death on a cross, call into question worldly logic. "God acts in a non-logical way in this world. Jesus brings a salvific power, not economic or political. What does it mean to confess him as Savior today? We cannot separate the life of Christ from the mission. To make him known is the vocation of the Church".
Now is the time to start!
In the early evening, Moses Jarjoui picked us up to take us to the Arab Orthodox Club he presides at Beit Hanina, between Jerusalem and Ramallah. We entered a multi-story buzzing hive! All generations are together. On the terrace were adults playing cards, children's rooms, teenagers, young people playing music, chatting, having fun.
Moses and his team took us to visit this large recently restored house which is just a stone's throw from the wall built after the second "Intifada". Impressive to discover this right in front of us.
"My biggest fear is that in 2033, there will be no more Palestinian Christians, because many emigrate," Moses told us, showing us a picture of 1943, with the men who founded the club. "All have emigrated, and there is no family left here!".
Three youth leaders, Gabi, Elias and Christos expressed a real joy on their faces when they were presented with the vision of JC 2033. They found it beautiful and told us: “start, otherwise we will never get there. It is up to us to bring together the Christians and find the forms that fit our context."
They absolutely want to keep in touch with us. “I believe we have found in them, partners for building the future." says Olivier.
