My heart bleeds for the holy land

IT HAS long been the sore point for all those who value their lives and staying in countries like Egypt, Jordan to Syria and Iran for ages. The heart of all that is holy should be the point of contention for people whose ancestors who shared land stretching from ancient Judea down the river of Babylon.
Even as I write these words, I wonder what's really the point of fighting over plots of dirt. I am sorry if I have trivialised this issue of territory but there's really no way to put it in simplistic terms.
Just think of it, two thousand years ago when that man from Nazareth walked the streets of Jerusalem and preached the urgency of love for our neighbour, a lot of people believed in the wisdom of his words.
For a while, the numbers of people practising what he had preached were heartening. His principles of a life-worthing-living spread across the continents and over the millennia.
But now, two thousand years have gone by. Millions had died in the march of time but lessons from the past have been forgotten. Jews and Arabs, people of flesh and blood, are fighting with each other over land that they will eventually be buried under.
I ask you what does it profit a man if all he gains is just dirt that will eventually be his resting ground? Nobody, I mean, nobody is going to take with him any of the land he so vehemently fights for and over.
The Jews or Israelis have called their present nation their home since the time Moses led them out of Egypt. The Jews have a very long and troubled history. Their descendants have scattered all over West Asia and the European continent for ages. The word "diaspora" has an exclusive reference to the dispersed descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel.
It is a fascinating story of how a "chosen race" has gone to the ends of the world, struggled and later returned to their beloved homeland. It took them 2,000 years. Those of us who have left our original homelands understand only too well the feelings of the Jews.
Then on the other hand are the other communities who have occupied the Middle East for eons. They too have as much right to be there. The question we ask ourselves is who has more right to be there.
The answer is always none has as much right as the other, for no one created that land. It was there before man first planted his feet on earth. What then is the answer? Actually, in this case, it is the question of what lessons are there to be learnt from this contentious issue?
When mankind finally learns how to answer the question correctly, then he finally deserves the peace he so desperately craves. Seek the answer in the deeper regions of your heart. Know that in the end, our life is limited in its length. In eternity, a lifetime of 70 years or even 120 years is but a blink of an eye.
What do you do with your life is more important than how many years you have spent on earth? People tend to equate longevity with good fortune. How wrong most of us are.
If a man lives for 33 years, like Jesus did, and the fruits of his labour are enjoyed by generations thereafter forever, then his life has got more meaning than a life span of 500 years.
In the holy land now, the battle rages on for pieces of land that is subjected to the hot desert sun for untold ages. The word holy may no longer be applicable to territory that has seen so much battles and experienced so much sorrow.
If Middle East wants the peace it seeks, the people who are fighting each other now must recognise the fact that bullets and missiles can solve nothing. These weapons of destruction can only spark off more incidents of woe and suffering.
Are we courageous enough to see the face of our brother in a stranger? Are we wise enough to embrace our sworn enemy, knowing full well that an embrace could lead to our death? Fear is our enemy.
Fear then is our greatest foe. We fear that we will lose all if we trust too much and share all that we have. It may be a cliche but we must conquer fear and invite back love into our lives. Without that, we will have nothing but fear and fear leads to hatred and hatred leads to hostility.
From then on, it is but a short path to war and from war, the gates of hell will be opened to all who partake in it.
Sometime and somewhere along the journey of life, man whether he be Jew or Arab must realise that all his beliefs will come to nought if peace and happiness will not be part of his rewards before his life ends.
For a better part of 2,000 years, the people who had occupied and are still occupying what was once called the holy land had bickered and quarrelled over the fleeting and the intangible.
The God that they pray to must be saddened by the ways of these people. We shall pray for the eternal wisdom that must surely be ours before we know everlasting peace.
Amen to you, my brothers and sisters.