The Dead Sea Scrolls

Ok, surely the Dead Sea Scrolls have little to do with Pop Culture, but they have been on exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum and have been making quite a splash in Toronto. We managed to take the kids on a field trip (an advantage of homeschooling) to see them. It was quite an amazing experience. The scrolls, as well as all the history, artifacts and information to set the context, were truly amazing and I feel blessed to have been able to experience it. One of my favourite moments was seeing a stone water jar that would have been used in Jewish purification rituals. Having just read John 2, where Jesus turns the water to wine, the jar caught my attention. I rushed to the plaque to read about the jar discovering it was used for ceremonial washing, then opened my bible to check out the dimensions on the jars in the story. I estimated that the jar was approximately the same size, and realized that this would have been very similar to the kind of jar that Jesus had filled with water and performed his first miracle. It was like the story jumped off the page and came to life in my mind, more clearly and more realistic than ever before. It was when I rounded the corner, however, that the most profound moment came for me.
Just around the corner they had two stones that were a part of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The first was a cornerstone with a Hebrew inscription, indicating is was probably the place from where a priest would blow the trumpet announcing the start of Sabbath. It was cool to think that Jesus may have walked under that stone!
The second stone bore an inscription in Greek. Why a Greek inscription on a stone from the Jewish Temple? This inscription indicated that no non-Jew (hence the Greek for non-Jewish readers) was to venture past this place, into the the Holy part of the Temple, an offense punishable by death. It was while standing in front of this stone, that I was profoundly affected.
For the first time in my life, I felt (albeit in a very limited way) what it was like to be excluded because of my race. This is an inscription that would have kept me, a Gentile, out and kept me away from the place God had chosen to dwell among and meet with his people. I was not welcome. I was profoundly saddened. It lead me to think about two things. Firstly, I celebrated the fact that this was not God's final intention. Whether it be the fact that God has created all people in his image, or His promise to Abraham that his descendants (the Jews) were to be a blessing to all nations, God loves all of humanity. I take comfort from the words spoken through Isaiah,

"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
Isaiah 49:6

and Jesus himself who said,

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:16

I am thankful that Jesus would give His followers the task to be witnesses to "the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

I am especially encouraged by the visions of worship in the heavenly realms given to the apostle John who heard this new song:

"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Revelation 5:9

and who saw,

a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7:9

Secondly, I found myself asking if there are things that we still do that would cause people to feel excluded. What parts of our culture and context do we so mingle with faith that someone on the outside might have a hard time differentiating. What things might lead someone to conclude they are unwelcome. I am not talking about overlooking sin in the name of inclusiveness. There are some things that we would dishonour God by overlooking. But I think that there are probably many things that we could overemphasize to the point of excluding others. Are there things that have made people feel unwelcome and unwanted or like they don't fit in and thus impeded there hearing the Gospel or participating in the Kingdom community? Of the top of my head I am thinking of race, gender, language, culture, leaning style, personality types and I am sure the list could go on. I imagine that there are other things that I would never see from my vantage point. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.
Well those were some of my reflections from the exhibit and all of this happened before I even saw the first scroll!