‘As the warning sirens sounded he asked me to preach’

Daryl Fenton, the leader of the Church’s Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ) for Israel, turned to me as the warning sirens went off for the third of six times and asked: ‘Could you preach at the morning Communion tomorrow at Christ Church Jerusalem?’

I informed him that I would be flying home on EasyJet and so unable. He handed me the lectionary readings and said pick a passage to preach on.

As we headed to bed on Saturday the shocking news of what Hamas terrorists had done was filtering out. The EasyJet flight was still scheduled to fly and I informed Daryl again that I would not be able to preach. ‘Let’s see what the morning brings’, he said with a smile.

At 3a.m. I checked my phone, and the flight was cancelled.

It was a privilege to preach at Christ Church Jerusalem on Sunday and as we used the Psalms of Assent as part of the Communion liturgy it was all especially poignant.

Psalm 122

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up –
the tribes of the LORD –
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD
our God, I will seek your prosperity.

The times of pastoral prayer both in the morning and evening service were emotional. Children of members of the Christ Church community had been called up to serve with the IDF (Israeli Defence Force). A son of one of the deacons, a special-forces soldier, was inside Gaza seeking to free hostages taken from Israel. Prayers for peace, prayers for the Palestinians, prayers for their children to be protected, to be good witnesses, to preserve life and not to add evil to evil. The evening preacher, a Messianic Jew who runs a business where three of his workers were taken hostage, preached a gripping sermon on Isaiah’s word to King Hezekiah who had brought the taunts of Sennacharib before the LORD, Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the LORD has spoken against him:

“Virgin Daughter Zion
despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head as you flee.”
Isaiah 37:21-22.

The church is called to intercession. Prayer is our work. The LORD brings the salvation.

We managed to fly out of Israel on 12 October. But some difficult days are ahead for Israel to restore peace, free hostages, deal with terrorists, mourn loved ones. Israel is at war. Young men and women in their early 20s are in uniforms holding serious weapons and heading into life-threatening situations.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for this land – including the Palestinian people, some of whom are fellow believers. Pray for Christ Church, Jerusalem as it seeks to be a place of worship and witness to the Messiah Jesus in especially difficult days.