Newsletter 15 June 2008
Wonders Await You
Connie Cillman
When I’m asked about my trip to the Holy Land, a sentence or two simply cannot capture the experience. So, I say, “It was wonderful, you should consider going”. Perhaps I might even say it was like being on an archeological dig or participating in an anthropology study. Or even, it was like walking the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. All of these are true, but it was Mary, the Mother of Jesus that illumined my trip.
By day five, I had already had several
wonderful cultural experiences and seen many beautiful sites. I was therefore,
unprepared for the emotional experience I had at the Church of the Annunciation.
As I stood looking at the incredible Madonna art from around the world, I
was overwhelmed by Mary’s faith in and love for God. When she was visited
by the angel Gabriel and told she was to be the Mother of the Son of God,
she did not argue with God’s plan. She simply accepted His will for
her.
Mary’s legacy stayed with me through the rest of the trip. She was the
mother of Jesus, and yet she was, as am I, a mother. I saw the pain of mothers
throughout the Middle East, the pain of the war, the hate, the devastation
of the land, and the fear of the future for their children.
And yet Mary’s faith for a better world was present in our conversations
with the people of Israel, of the West Bank, of Jordan and Egypt. Palestinian
Christian and Muslim high school students, who are clearly tired of the war,
working and learning together. Young Israeli women “on strike”
from university, because there is no money for tuition assistance told me
they are sad because all the money goes to security. Mothers living in a horrible
refugee camp starting a school for their children. Hope and faith.
As we visited more sites— the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of the Beatitudes,
and the Church of the Multiplication of Fishes and Loaves— I thought
of Mary and her love for Jesus and even her fear for him. And when we walked
the Via Dolorosa, I felt Mary’s sorrow to witness her son being tortured
and crucified.
As I entered the Church of the Resurrection, I prepared myself for the site
of the crucifixion and burial. I did not know I would see another site—
the rock where Jesus was laid after being taken from the Cross. A beautiful
mosaic depicts Mary helping prepare her son’s body for burial. I felt
such grief and sadness for Mary and for the world.
The tomb is the next stop and it is empty— a reminder of Christ’s
resurrection. Mary’s joy to know her Son was raised from the dead became
my joy and hope.
The Holy Land trip was, above all, an experience so profound that it is with
me still. And if you ask me about it, I’ll say, “It was wonderful,
you should consider going”. And if you do, wonders await you.
Connie Dillman is from Indianapolis, Indiana
