September 13, 2002

Today is our intentional sabbath. The last two years, we haven't done a very good job of carving out a day set aside for rest and non-working. We're taking another stab at it, and we were pretty successful (it's only a Commandment, you know!). We slept in, read Scripture, prayed, and avoided work and the news all day. Even so, the news intervenes - seven Israeli tanks and APCs churned up the road near the abandoned camp as they headed back towards Jenin from Tubas. The grinding gears meshed with the Friday calls to prayer in a way that speaks about Palestine. Later on, seeing that the road was clear of military traffic, we took a walk in the hills. It has been a while since we've done that - Sabbath gives us an opportunity to do so. Even though the land is parched, it has its own elegance and beauty - Texas-like shades of brown and yellow, the various harvest, dust covering the olive branches and giving them a silvery hue. The church bells chimed 6:00 in the distance. Elegance.