Pondering Jerusalem

This morning looking out my window I watched a flock of maybe 20 sparrows, I think they were, fighting over a piece of pizza crust that was lying on the road. Each one would get close and try to drag the piece away but it was too big and unwieldy and someone else would come and snatch it up. This went on for maybe 15 minutes before they gave up and went away. It was sad to me because I felt that if they would stop snatching then everyone might have got enough to please them.

After that I picked up one of the books I am currently reading: A History of Jerusalem by Karen Armstrong. It seems a well-researched and thoughtful book and, so far as I am able to tell, not particularly biased. And that issue of bias seems especially appropriate in speaking about the history of this particular city.

Almost from the very beginning, starting with Jews, then in time, Christians and then, finally the Muslims, the city has been considered to be a SACRED city. Each of the three religions at various times, claimed it as THEIR sacred city and usually, in the process, attempted to wipe out the shrines, temples and sacred memories of the others. 

It seems there has hardly ever been a time of peace there. Without courageous leadership - or so it seems to me - the city's inhabitants continually fought over their scraps of pizza - or the religious equivalent, and so no one very often, called them to try to live with one another and respect one another's gifts of spiritual insight. Everyone had to be right and therefore had to attempt the complete annihilation of the other. So much for sacred.

This book certainly helps me to understand the current state of tension in the city and the fighting over who should 'control' it. It is also quite discouraging because it is hard to see how it gets resolved when the hostilities are so deep and so long-standing. But I do believe that if there were courageous leaders who could stand up for attempting peace, there might be hope.