24 strangers, picked to live on Zoom, and see what happens when pilgrims stop being polite, and start getting real. The Real (Virtual) Pilgrimage: The Holy Land!

With apologies to MTV's 'The Real World', our Virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land feels a little like this! 24 intrepid travelers have come together to journey into a land of conflict, disagreement, pain - and also joy, beauty and hope. On Day one we have already talked about what it means to be Jewish as a person and in terms of religion, the challenge and reality of the Israeli Defense Force, and how you can grow up in New Jersey and never meet a Christian until you go to Israel.

In our reflection today Dr. Marcie Lenk reminded us of two stories in the bible, Genesis 12 and Exodus 19. In Genesis 12 Abraham is told by God that he and his descendants will be the Chosen people, while in Exodus Moses is reminded on Mount Sinai that this is true IF they follow the commandments. Two competing understandings of what it means to be Jewish. Both Biblical! Both valid!

This was a helpful reminder that scripture is a conversation. For the Jewish people and for us. We have to be in dialogue with the text, to be conversant in the language of scripture and comfortable wrestling with the lack of clarity and living in the uncertainty.

This Sunday we have a laundry list of images for the Kingdom of God, many of them in conflict. No one of these is sufficient to explain the Kingdom, but together all of these examples, confounding and confusing as they may be, might give us a small picture of what God is like.

Church, like the Real World, is not easy. But it is fun. Especially if we are wiling to be uncomfortable, confused, lost and ultimately found by God.