Mark's Notebook

Prince of Peace's Hometown Bombarded

Christianity Today

Botrus Mansour. lawyer and general director of Nazareth Baptist School

On Wednesday afternoon I was working on my laptop in my office on the ground floor of our home. Three more missiles hit Nazareth. The third fell about half a mile from my home on undeveloped land.

We hold a Bible study in the Baptist church on Wednesday evenings. Should we cancel it because of the shock and dismay in Nazareth? No way. We decided to convert the Bible study to a prayer meeting. We had prayed the day before for peace, too.

Such terrifying experiences like missiles raining on your neighborhood have a tendency to raise "purpose-driven" questions: Did Jesus put us here in his hometown without a purpose?

Our calling as the remnant of Christians in the birthplace of our faith is to pray for the people of this broken land.

Less than a mile from where a Hezbollah missile hit the empty garage in Nazareth, the Prince of Peace declared: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

It was realized 2,000 years ago when God sent his son to give hope. He was the anointed who said:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

Will his followers rise to the challenge of reflecting this message of compassion, love, care, justice, and mercy to the nations in this troubled area?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/129/52.0.html

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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009