Lent 2, Genesis

Genesis 15.1-12, 17-18

“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,’To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…” Gen 15.18

The Al-Haram al-Ibrahimi or Haram al-Khalil, or Tomb of the Patriarchs is the most significant pilgrimage site in Hebron—built by Herod the Great in the first century CE, on the site believed to be the cave of Machpelah, where we are told Abraham buried his wife Sarah after purchasing the land from Ephron the Hittite (Gen 23). Abraham and Sarah lived in Hebron as aliens among the Hittites, one of the Canaanite peoples. Genesis later recounts that Abraham (Gen 25.7-10), Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah (Gen 49.29-32) were buried here as well. The building that stands today, the only fully surviving structure built by Herod, is thus sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Photo: Tomb of the Patriarchs, Hebron

Last week, on February 21, Israeli Prime Ministry Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Tomb of the Patriarchs (and another burial site, Rachel’s Tomb, or Bilal Ben Rabah Mosque, in Bethlehem) would be included in the list of some 150 national heritage sites that his government plans to protect and renovate under a $170m restoration plan. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights notes that the announcement was made on the eve of the sixteenth anniversary of the massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers at the mosque by Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler. Hebron is a town of 160,000 Palestinians and a few hundred Jewish Israeli settlers, who have set up residence in the area at the center of town, near the market and the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

On Monday in Hebron about 100 Palestinians rallied to protest this move. Rock- and bottle-throwing protests continued during the week, and on Friday Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad attended prayers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, as a sign of Palestinian opposition to Israel’s actions.

Read how the events were reported in Al Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/02/2010225111933403649.html
In the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/02/21/world/international-uk-palestinians-israel-sites.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=tomb%20of%20the%20patriarchs&st=cse
In the Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=169404

Although there is no final peace settlement, I’d like to note that Hebron is in the West Bank, the area that most of the world thinks will some day become a state for Palestinians. Under the Oslo Accords in 1993 and a subsequent agreement between the PA and Israel in 2000, Hebron is designated Area A, under full Palestinian Authority control. Nevertheless, Israeli soldiers patrol Hebron….to protect the Israeli settlers.

As we read this week’s lesson from Genesis and ponder Abraham’s faithfulness, we see in the patriarch an example we might follow—of engaged, questioning faithfulness to God, who has also provided us with uncountable blessings and wealth. News from Israel and Palestine will also remind us of the ongoing struggle over these promised lands today. So what do we make of it all?
Abraham took seriously God’s presence and power in his life. Abraham challenges us to notice where God is present today—even in seemingly hopeless places like Hebron. For, above all, God is revealed to Abraham as a God of foolish, unreasonable hope—for childless Abraham and Sarah……and for us, living in a world of seemingly irreconcilable conflicts.

God of Abraham and Sarah, we confess that we underestimate your goodness; we limit your love and mercy by our own narrow interests. In this Lenten season, open our hearts to your love, and make us witness to your limitless love for all. Amen.