The Holy Land We Remember

The Holy Land We Remember

Commentary by Pete Haug | FāVS News

I first walked Palestine Park in 1953 as a teenager. It’s a soccer-field-sized scale model of the Holy Land, sculpted in 1874 along the southwestern shore of Chautauqua Lake in upstate New York. The park served as “visual aid for teaching Biblical history and geography to the Sunday School teachers that were Chautauqua’s first visitors.”

Twenty years later, Jolie and I visited the real thing, then recognized as “Israel,” a country young, vibrant, and full of hope. We were pilgrims to Baha’i holy sites: first, the Shrine of the Bab, resting place of the faith’s forerunner. Later we visited the site most sacred to Baha’is: the Shrine of Baha’u’llah, where the faith’s prophet-founder is interred.

We also sought shrines sacred to other faiths. We walked shore of Galilee. Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount above this spot. Green and peaceful, it’s one of our fondest memories. We visited Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus. He taught for a scant three years before his cruel, untimely death. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher now marks the site of that crucifixion.

Old Jerusalem

Within the crowded, narrow streets of Old Jerusalem two huge sites, one atop another, are prominent. They’re holy to both Jews and Muslims. Between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE, Solomon’s Temple was, for Jews, the “Holy of Holies” until razed by Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BCE. Some scholars dispute this narrative, but tradition here is strong. Immediately adjacent is the Western Wall, a retaining wall that helps support the ancient Temple Mount. Because Israel’s government restricts access, this Wall “is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray.”

Rising above the Temple Mount is the gold-domed Al-Aqsa mosque, the world’s oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture. It is built over the “Foundation Stone,” significant in all Abrahamic religions because it’s believed to be “the place where God created the world as well as … Adam,” and also “where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son.”

As the spot “towards which Jews turn during prayer,” it’s considered “the place where God’s divine presence is manifested more than in any other place.” Muslim traditions connect it to “the creation of the world” and to the “Night Journey of Muhammad.”

The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel killed more than 1,400 individuals, “the vast majority civilians.” At this writing, Israel’s continuing response is resulting in Palestinian deaths estimated at many times that number, and growing.  Oxfam reported that “starvation is being used as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza.”

The Bible says …

Current strife in the Holy Land recalls millennia-old direction from the Torah (Exodus 21:24-25) urging reciprocal justice: “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth…,” and much more, underscored in Deuteronomy’s (32:35), “Vengeance is Mine….”

But that’s not all God said. During three trips to Israel, we’ve prayed for peace and unity at sites holy to warring religious factions. Phrases from two 1960s folk songs come to mind: “Last night … I dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war.” And, “… when will they ever learn?”

Mt. Carmel

Overlooking the northern seaport of Haifa, Mt. Carmel — in Hebrew, “Vineyard of God” — rises from the Mediterranean. Its landscaped terraces lead the eye upslope to the gold-domed Shrine of the Bab. When we first visited fifty years ago, this rocky slope was barren except for the shrine, a shining beacon visible from Haifa Bay.

That desert now blooms as the Baha’i World Center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An arc of marble buildings nestle beneath the mountain’s crest. Centermost is the seat of the Universal House of Justice, chief administrative institution of the Baha’i Faith. It’s flanked by an International Teaching Center, an International Archives and a Center for the Study of the Sacred Texts. A library is also planned.

Baha’u’llah’s Hope

Baha’u’llah anticipated these In 1891 when, visiting Mt. Carmel, he began a tablet, brimming with hope, that would become the charter for this world administrative and spiritual center of the Baha’i Faith:

ALL glory be to this Day, the Day in which the fragrances of mercy have been wafted over all created things, a Day so blest that past ages and centuries can never hope to rival it, a Day in which the countenance of the Ancient of Days hath turned towards His holy seat. Thereupon the voices of all created things, and beyond them those of the Concourse on High, were heard calling aloud: “Haste thee, O Carmel, for lo, the light of the countenance of God, the Ruler of the Kingdom of Names and Fashioner of the heavens, hath been lifted upon thee.”

Recent events in this land, holy to four world-embracing religions, sadden me deeply as I recall our three visits. All these faiths share visions in common: hope, a message of love, a promise of world peace.

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.