Visit the Holy Land - August 31 2010

Daily Lectionary for August 31, 2010
Psalm 122
Job 12:1, 13:3-17, 21-27
Acts 12:1-17
John 8:33-47

Psalm 122
Following visits to the Holy Land in 2000 and 2001 this became one of my favorite Psalms.  "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord!'  Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem."(v.1,2)   And further on, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem".(v.6)  A quick commercial.  If you have any inclination to travel to the Holy Land, I'd encourage you to do it.  There is nothing like it.  The land is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Gospel and it is hard for me to come up with a better description or a more compelling rationale for going.  If I could make it a requirement for seminary students to travel to the Holy Land I'd do it.  One can absolutely be a person of faith and never go near the Holy Land, it's not that there is any magical quality that makes you a better person.  There is, however, such wonderful insight into Scripture to be gained from standing alongside of the Sea of Galilee and walking the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem.   I am greatly looking forward to having the opportunity to return to the Holy Land in January of 2011 - this coming January!  If anyone is interested in traveling with the group that my wife and I are going with please contact me at jhgclove@windstream.net.   The trip is for ten days and leaves January 19, 2011.  The cost is $2298 (plus about $600 taxes and fees) and covers flights, rooms, breakfast and dinner and all admissions to sites.  The price is not inexpensive, but if you compare it to other packages traveling to the Holy Land I believe you'll find that it compares rather well.  This is the same group that I have travelled with before and they are very good.  Please feel free to contact me if you are interested or have any questions at all - I love talking about the Holy Land.  One need not fly out Louisville as their first leg.  Flights can connect from other cities to our common departure point.

Acts 12:1-17
This is another great passage.  Peter is arrested and in jail.  "While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently for him."(v.5)  They may have prayed fervently, but perhaps not expectantly.  Peter is delivered from prison and goes to the house where folks are gathered praying for him.  A maid, Rhoda, comes to the door - she is so overjoyed to see Peter that she fails to let him in, instead running to tell the assembled praying church the good news that Peter is standing at the gate.  To which they do not respond, "Yes, we knew this would happen, we've been praying for just that."  No they resond, "You are out of your mind!" and then when she refuses to stop they say, "It is his angel." (v.15)  One can imagine them saying, "Stop bothering us with these stories about Peter being delivered from prison and let us get back to praying for poor Peter to be delivered from prison."  How often do we fervently pray with no real expectation that the thing we are fervently praying for will happen?  Prayer is powerful and prayer matters.