{"id":3468,"date":"2014-08-05T09:25:34","date_gmt":"2014-08-05T14:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimsroadtrip\/?p=3468"},"modified":"2014-08-05T09:25:34","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T14:25:34","slug":"the-saddest-day-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimsroadtrip\/2014\/08\/the-saddest-day-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"The Saddest Day Of The Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n

On this date in 587 B.C., the temple built by Solomon<\/a> was destroyed by the Babylonians. On this very same date in 70 A.D., the temple rebuilt on that site was destroyed by the Romans.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Western Wall (Kotel) once part of the wall surrounding an outer courtyard of the Temple, is all that remains of the Second Temple, and is a place of longing and prayer today.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0On our first visit to Israel in 2009, my husband and I dropped our bags at our Jerusalem hotel. We were exhausted from a long day of travel, but knew we needed to stay awake for a few more hours in order to combat jet lag. We started walking, no particular destination in mind, and soon found ourselves in the Old City. Our little map was useless in deciphering the warren of ancient streets and alleys, so we just wandered. At least, we thought we were just wandering.<\/p>\n

Without planning to do so, we found ourselves at the\u00a0Wall. We\u2019d planned to visit\u00a0later in our trip, but at the direction of a homing device we couldn\u2019t fully explain, we were drawn there first in our visit. We didn\u2019t need a map to find it.<\/p>\n

\"Wall<\/a>
Head around the corner from the Western Wall, and you will find these stones, just as they were left by the Romans in 70 A.D.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0A few days later, we were touring the area to the south of the Wall, and saw super-sized evidence of the Second Temple\u2019s destruction. Just a few decades before, when the Temple was the centerpiece of worship for their people, Jesus\u2019 disciples marveled at the majesty of the holy place. Just days before he was crucified, he told his disciples, \u201c\u2018Do you see all these things?\u2019<\/span>\u00a0he asked. \u2018Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;\u00a0every one will be thrown down.'\u201d (Matthew 24:2)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He was right.<\/p>\n

This day, Tisha B\u2019Av (Ninth of Av)<\/a>, has been marked through history with a number of other calamities for the Jewish people. On this date in 1941, for example, Adolph Hitler signed the order greenlighting the Final Solution<\/a>. More than six million Jews \u2013 two-thirds of the Jews in Europe \u2013 were killed as a result of this order.<\/p>\n

As I watch events unfold in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and note with growing concern the rise in anti-Semitic activity<\/a> and rhetoric<\/a>, I remember that today is a day when the Book of Lamentations is read in the Jewish community. The grief of those words, written shortly after the First Temple was destroyed, is fresh for every generation of Jewish people. The grief is there for a purpose, tied to a deep longing for wholeness and restoration.<\/p>\n

\n

How deserted\u00a0lies the city,\u00a0once so full of people!\u00a0<\/span>How like a widow\u00a0is she,\u00a0who once was great\u00a0among the nations!\u00a0<\/span>She who was queen among the provinces\u00a0has now become a slave.\u00a0<\/span>Bitterly she weeps\u00a0at night,\u00a0tears are on her cheeks.\u00a0<\/span>Among all her lovers\u00a0there is no one to comfort her.\u00a0<\/span>All her friends have betrayed\u00a0her;\u00a0they have become her enemies. \u2013 Lamentations 1:1,2<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is the same longing that drew my husband and I to the wall as if a powerful magnet was pulling us there. I\u00a0remember that longing on this day \u2013 and I\u00a0pray that the longing will lead to revelation of Messiah for the Jewish people, and for all the nations of this earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Won\u2019t you join me in that prayer?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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