In recent months a small group from Covenant has been in regular
conversation with our Jewish neighbors, primarily over matters of Israel and
Palestine. These conversations are typically vigorous and insightful, and, by
God's grace, we always like each other by the end of the evening. At one point
it became apparent that our Jewish friends held some concern about our
appreciation for their tradition. So, we decided to begin our next conversation
with a walk through our sanctuary.
We began on the eastern wall of the nave, where stained glass
captures the whole narrative of the Jewish scripture.
The first window on the
back right is the creation window, where we can see God the Creator tossing out
the sun and the stars with one hand, and with the other, the sea and the fowls
of the air.
Step forward a bit and we find the Passover window. The lamb has
been slain, the blood is on the lintels of the door, the angel of death passes
by. This day of atonement, now called Yom Kippur, is celebrated even to this
day.
The top lancet of that window includes the ten commandments, while other
windows tell the rest of the story.
It's striking that the faith story of Jewish people is literally
built into the walls where we worship. And in a recent passage
we studied from Mark (Mark 12:28-31)
Jesus suggests this is as it should be,
because at the heart of both traditions is the call to love God and love
neighbor. It is sometimes difficult to get
past the theoretical "what" and to the practical "how",
especially about loving God, as most folks find that elusive. However,
it is the most rewarding and important work we can do.
