FAITHFULLNESS and bullet holes at the Zion Gate

They had been trapped for months, experiencing starvation, water rations, and every night for the last month, 10,000 pounds of artillery rained down on them in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City --compliments of the Arab military. Only about one-thousand five hundred Jewish civilians were left occupying about two-thousand square yards of space in the Jerusalem Quarter defended by thirty-five Israeli soldiers who could still fight. And so it was that the birth of Israel resulted in the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.

The Zion Gate had the closest access to the Jewish quarter, and so on the night of May 18, 1948 22 Israeli soldiers attacked the Arab army there with the hope of reaching and rescuing the stranded Jews still inside the city. It was a bold move, as the opening of the wall there is barely wide enough for a small car to pass through and its “L” shape made for a great defense position as invaders could not see directly into the city. Nevertheless, the exhausted Israeli soldiers pounded the Zion Gate with their 9mm Sten semi-automatic rifles in the cover of night and miraculously gained control of Zion Gate much to the relief of the Jews trapped in Jerusalem.

One of my favorite memories from our Jerusalem trip was tracing my fingers over the tight grid of bullet holes in the rock on all sides of that gate. I had stood there marveling at the determination of that small band of Israeli soldiers who faced impossible odds to make the daring rescue.

But just a few hours after taking the Zion Gate, it once again fell to the Arabs, and by the end of May, the Arabs would control the entire city and kick out the remaining Jews. No Jew would see Jerusalem again until The Six Day War of 1967, almost 19 years later when the Israeli Army took control of the city and the Jews were able to come home again.

Home. We all have a strong spectrum of feelings for “home”, particularly at Christmas. Some of us would do anything it took to get there, and others of us would do anything it took to leave there. Certainly the Jews have proven themselves willing to do whatever it takes to stay home—even to the point of being trapped and enduring artillery fire every night as those 1,500 Jews did during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. They are also willing to do whatever it takes to reclaim their home—including a plan to invade Jerusalem that took 19 years to put in action. I admire them for the strong sense of “home” that they have.

But what about us as Christians? What is “home” for us?

Jesus makes it clear in scripture that we are aliens in this world (John 17:16). Foreigners. Just visiting. Renters.

So if this planet is not “home”, what IS home for Christians?

Oh, if you really search your heart you know the answer. Home is with The Lord.  

I need to be reminded of that, don’t you? For even in those times when I have felt trapped, starved and scared, Jesus has refused to be separated from me (Romans 8:38-39). He rips down the walls I have built around myself and finds me (Luke 19:10). Wraps me in His arms (Song of Solomon 2:6) and sooths me with His song (Zephaniah 3:17) as He wipes away my tears (Revelation 21:4). And each time, I close my eyes and relax knowing that this is home. Here in His love. Here in His peace. Here in His grace. Here with Him who is faithful.

Home is not a place, Beloved. Jesus is our home. And on this Christmas night, we need to look in the manger, relax and know that HE IS HERE. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HALLELUJAH!!