“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

(If you have limited time, skip to Part 2.)

Sunday morning, January 26, when I (B.J.) woke up, one of my more exciting thoughts was, “Boiled eggs!” (Monday through Saturday, we have a buffet of corn flakes, granola, plain yogurt, fruit, pita & sliced bread, butter & jams, hummus, vegetables, cheeses, and thinly sliced meat for breakfast, but Sundays there are also boiled eggs.) Mike & I didn’t know that an encounter awaited us which would include eggs as well.

Part 1: Church

We worshipped at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer here in Jerusalem. There were several U.S. ELCA bishops present, in the Holy Land to celebrate the paying off of the mortgage of a church near the site of Jesus’ baptism, Evangelical Lutheran Church at Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan. Also, I think this was the fourth Sunday in a row that we saw Rev. Dr. Said Ailabouni, ELCA area desk director for Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Especially for a clergyman with so much global responsibility, Rev. Dr. Ailabouni is a humble, low-key man.

He urged Mike and me to tell the bishops in the pew in front of us, about ourselves. As soon as Mike started to talk about a covenant relationship with Christmas Lutheran Church, the bishop from South Carolina asked, “Are you with St. John’s in Salisbury?” We’re enjoying these serendipities.

Redeemer Pastors Carrie Ballenger and Fursan Zu’mot led this joint Arabic-English service. The gospel reading was from Matthew 4, including Jesus telling Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.” In Pastor Zu’mot’s sermon, he asked how one can fish for people in Jerusalem, with so much division and hatred.

He told a story about a group of Messianic Jews offering a playground where their children and Muslim children could play together. When the Messianic Jews offered food, at least one of the Muslims was skeptical: wasn’t any male wearing a yarmulke his enemy? But as the hosts shared Jesus’ love through their actions, maybe the Muslims could never think of them the same way, or maybe they’d have doubts about hating them, or maybe they’d at least count to 10 before considering them an enemy.

Part 2: A Man Named Israel

As Mike and I were walking to lunch and a 1:45 tour, a Jewish man, who said his name is Israel, struck up a conversation with us, asking if we’re Jewish. When we said, “No, we’re Christians,” he seemed defensive that we might automatically try to convert him. But he seemed interested in a dialog about God.

He showed us photos of his parents, whom he said are Holocaust survivors he was on his way to visit. He asked for help for them. I’ll show you photos in person, but not by e-mail.

I’ve been approached by so many people in so many places over the years, sometimes I feel like I must have a sign on my back saying, “Gullible sucker!” I try to be discerning — I think I’ve developed pretty good radar for scammers. But Mike and I both felt moved to engage with this stranger.

Israel asked where we’re from and why we’re in Jerusalem. When we told him we’re from the U.S., to volunteer at a pilgrim house on the Via Dolorosa, to see holy sites, and to meet “living stones” like him, Israel was incredulous. “You came all this way to work?”

He talked about the Jews being the chosen people, and asked about Jesus. Mike said, “I believe Jesus is the promised Messiah.” When Israel asked how Jesus feels about Jews, Mike said that Jesus was a Jew, and Jesus loves everyone. Israel brought up the age-old question which is, essentially, “How could a loving God allow evil like the Nazis?” Mike said, “I don’t know why God allowed the Nazis, or evil like child abuse and slavery. I just don’t know. But He gives us free will, and sometimes people make terrible choices. God hates the sin but loves the sinner.”

We talked about how God wants us to help others. I told Israel that, when we lived in another state, we had a Jewish neighbor whose husband was in the hospital. “I told her I was going to sleep in my clothes and, if she needed to go to the hospital at midnight, to call and I’d come stay with her girls. And that’s what happened.” It seemed like news to Israel that Christians are called to serve others. “So you’re commanded to help like Jews are?” “Yes,” I said.” ‘’Do unto others as you would have others do unto you’ – it’s called the Golden Rule.”

Israel seemed to think that we worship three gods. (We’ve heard that some Muslims have this misconception, too.) Mike and I took very different approaches to this. Mike emphasized our commonality with Judaism, saying, “We worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” I used the egg analogy to try to explain God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “An egg has three parts — shell, yolk, and white – but is still one egg. Three in one.”

Israel asked , “Can we step aside and talk?” I said we were headed to lunch, Mike said we had an appointment. “Just five minutes?” Israel asked. Mike said ok. Israel asked, “Can you pray for my parents?” We said, “Certainly.”

As we walked to a nearby bench, Israel said he tries to spend a lot of time with his parents, but it’s hard, with a family of his own. I asked, “Do your parents have nightmares?” He said, “They cry every night.”

When Israel sat on the bench, I asked, “Are you comfortable with us holding your hands in public?” He said yes. So we held his hands and prayed for him and his parents by name. Part of my prayer included saying, “The Bible says we’re to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” When we finished, Israel saw tears on my face. He said, “I feel bad. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

We said we wouldn’t give him money, but we’d buy groceries for his parents – what did they need? We went into a market with Israel and bought meat, milk, eggs, etc.

I took an Ecce Homo business card out of my pocket, scrawled on the back, “Mike + B.J. until March 25” in case Israel wants to visit us, and handed it to him. When we parted, Israel spontaneously hugged Mike, asked permission to hug me.

Two sayings come to mind: “Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread,” and “People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

I suspect that Israel did indeed scam us. But it was well worthwhile if he got the message that Jesus and these two American Christians care about him. We weren’t consciously “fishing” for anyone, but it felt like a fish jumped into our boat! If that “fish” scammed us for food, it’s ok. Fish have to eat, too.