A young CNN journalist had heard of a very, very old Jewish man who went twice a day to pray to the Western wall, since forever. Thinking of the story this might hold, she goes to the spot and sees a very old man walking slowly towards the wall. After two hours of prayer and as he slowly moves away, pressed on his cane, and she approaches to interview him.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. What's your name? "
"Moshe Rosenberg" he answers.
"How long have you been praying here? "
"More than 60 years" he answers.
The reporter marveled " 60 years! This is amazing! And why are you praying? "
" I pray for the peace between Christians, Jews and Muslims. I pray for the end of all wars and hate. I pray for our children to grow safe and become responsible adults, who love their next one."Then the reporter asked "And how do you feel after 60 years of prayers? "
"... I feel like I'm talking to a wall....... "
The congregation laughed. The rest of Pastor Ray's sermon then stressed how God is trying to break down the walls within us and between us and expressed the deep, personal desire within so many of us to become part of the Christmas story, the story of Jesus.
The opening of the sermon has continued to haunt my thoughts far more than I expected. I keep coming back to the image of an old Jewish man at the Western Wall, which is also called Wailing Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem. The wall is a place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people. It is the only remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, held to be uniquely holy by the ancient Jews and destroyed by the Romans in 70 ce.
This wall now forms part of a larger wall that surrounds the Muslim Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqṣā Mosque, Jews and Arabs have frequently disputed control of the wall and, often, right of access to it. That conflict has been particularly heated since the Israeli government took full control of the Old City in the wake of the Six Day War of June 1967. There is a rabbinic belief that “the divine Presence never departs from the Western Wall.” Jews lament the destruction of the Temple and, in fact, many pray for its restoration.
However, the old Jewish man in this story is praying at this particular place; not for the restoration of the wall / temple; but for peace between Christians, Jews and Muslims. His simple response to the reporter's questions becomes more and more nuanced upon subsequent reflections.
At first the unvarnished, worldly truth of his answer is apparent. Praying at this location, facing a wall is truly is what he is doing. This description of prayer reminds me of a memorable bit of dialog in the film The Ruling Class. The film's story is that Peter O'Toole, as the 14th Earl of Gurney, has come to know that he, personally, is God. When asked why he knows this to be true he responds "Simple. When I pray to Him, I find I am talking to myself."
This old man has directly answered the reporter's questions but does not reveal what she is really asking in the last question. His answer does not communicate what he is feeling emotionally after 60 years, whether his prayer expectations are being realized, nor do we know for certain how he sees his current relationship with God. It could be asked if there are words that could even describe his 60 year experience. Has he learned anything about God's perspective is on walls? Is this praying making him feel is part of God's story?
Being Jewish he is simultaneously both part of the Christian story and outside of it. His story is commonplace in the sense that everyone wants peace between Christians, Jews and Muslims. Yet his dedication to praying for in this particular way for sixty years, in another way, makes his story unique. Does his particular devotion to praying in a certain way make a difference? After all, many of us are often praying for world peace.
The old man's expectations of the answer to his prayer have, perhaps, changed over the years. He may be praying for shalom rather than peace we normally ask from God, moving beyond a lack of conflict between people. Pastor Ray pointed out asking for shalom is closer to asking for completeness. This can also be confirmed in related terms found in other Semitic languages. The Assyrian term salamu means to be complete, unharmed, paid/atoned. Sulmu, another Assyrian term, means welfare. A closer relation to the idea of shalom as concept and action is seen in the Arabic root salaam, meaning to be safe, secure and forgiven, among other things.
After 60 years of prayer our protagonist may feel this complete shalom within, rather than manifesting itself in the daily world. Perhaps he feels that the rabbinic belief that “the divine Presence never departs from the Western Wall” and he is grateful to God for this holy place.
Perhaps he has moved beyond his personal well-being and is motivated truly bey praying for shalom for all.
Maybe there is another, darker side to his answer. I believe this side is expressed best in the lyrics to Randy Newman's God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind). Some may consider this song sacrilegious. Newman often challenges through sharp language that people often nervously laugh off. I see it as a challenge to the way that many people can incorrectly understand God and pass along this misunderstanding through their prayers.
Cain slew Abel, Seth knew not why
For if the children of Israel were to multiply
Why must any of the children die?
So he asked the Lord
And the Lord said:
Man means nothing, he means less to me
Than the lowliest cactus flower
Or the humblest Yucca tree
He chases round this desert
'Cause he thinks that's where I'll be
That's why I love mankind
I recoil in horror from the foulness of thee
From the squalor and the filth and the misery
How we laugh up here in heaven at the prayers you offer me
That's why I love mankind
The Christians and the Jews were having a jamboree
The Buddhists and the Hindus joined on satellite TV
They picked their four greatest priests
And they began to speak
They said, "Lord, a plague is on the world
Lord, no man is free
The temples that we built to you
Have tumbled into the sea
Lord, if you won't take care of us
Won't you please, please let us be?"
And the Lord said
And the Lord said:
I burn down your cities, how blind you must be
I take from you your children and you say, "how blessed are we?"
You all must be crazy to put your faith in me
That's why I love mankind
You really need me
That's why I love mankind
Newman sings the line "You really need me." as a casual aside but, in how these lyrics may associate with this anecdote, they may truly contain this man's deepest insight as he continues to pray at the wall. After all he, like Newman and humankind, really do need the God we can have faith in. I reiterate, this sermon was not as traditional as the service and I am still reflecting on God's call to personally become an integral part of the Christmas story.
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