Humans Want What They Can't Have

    As a second-semester high school senior at a Christian school, my thoughts pretty much revolved around having a "fun" summer break and making money.  My thoughts changed, though, when my "Biblical Ethics" professor asked me if I would be interested in taking a trip to Israel in June of 2022.  "This trip will make the Bible come to life for you.  It is like going from watching a movie in black-and-white to color."  I was sold.

    The New Testament of the Christian Bible says somewhat explicitly not only that one does not need to be in Jerusalem (or any specific place) to worship, but that in many ways it is better to pray and worship in private spaces.  In Matthew, Jesus says to not pray out in the open for public acceptance as hypocrites do but to find a private space and pray to the Father (Matthew 6:5-8).  Jesus is telling his followers that it is better to pray to God in an informal, private setting.  This is obviously extremely contradictory to the worship practices of the Israelites of the Old Testament.  Further, Jesus tells a Samaritan woman, "a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks" (John 4:21-23).

    However, with the uncovering of the tomb in Jerusalem, "the events of Christ's life became vivid" for Christians in a way they hadn't been before (Armstrong 184-185).  Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths says it is human nature to want to see where believed events took place (Armstrong 183).  Even Eusebius, who didn't at all care for "the whole notion of sacred space" was touched deeply by the discovery of this tomb (Armstrong 184).  

    People can be such predictable creatures.  It is a human desire to feel as close to their diety as possible, and closeness means walking where the diety has been.  With that said, this pattern is almost ironic for Christians.  When Jesus told the Samaritan wom
an that she could worship in the Spirit in John 4, she was likely thrilled because she had been separated from her God and was now united with him.  Now, though, Christians make pilgrimage to the holy land so that they can see the Bible "in color."  I will admit that walking in the places that Jesus walked is a powerful experience.  I now read the Bible with vivid images of where the stories and events took place, but I believe the Christian message calls us to rise above the need to see the places.  We should be fulfilled by worshipping the Father through the Spirit.  The Spirit is all we need.