Frozen In Time

For those of you with small children, the word “frozen” probably sends chills down your spine.  Just like frostbite, over exposure to the animated movie “Frozen” and its theme song, “Let it Go” may send you running for ear muff protection!  However, a few weeks ago, I was exposed to another kind of “frozen” that sent chills down my spine.  In this case, it was not a movie, but something incredible we experienced simply because it was frozen in time.

 

Mary Magdalene is a well known character in the Gospel story. She was among the group of women that supported Jesus’ ministry.  Names mean things in the Bible and in the case of Mary, it tells us were she is from – Magdalena, in Galilee. 

 

On our recent trip to the Israel, we were able to experience the results of one of the most recent and important excavations in the Galilee.  It was Magdalena!  Historians have known in general where Magdalena was however, until recently, no one had ever found the Synagogue.

 

Not to burst any bubbles, but most of the sites in the Holy Land are reconstructed.  In many cases, what you actually see is a newer structure built over the original first century site.  Rarely do you see or step into a first century building that Jesus personally entered, much less worshiped in.  Magdalena is the exception to that rule.  Certainly, Jesus would have worshiped in the synagogue at Magdalena! 

 

The reason we were able to stand inside the synagogue and see the seats, the table on which the scroll would have been placed, even see the red plaster designs on the synagogue’s walls, was because Magdalena had been frozen in time.  Israel is situated on a fault line which means it is vulnerable to occasional seismic activity. 

 

 

 

 

At some point there was a huge mudslide from a nearby hill which completely buried the Synagogue of Magdalena.  Now it is uncovered once more.  

 

 

 

 

 

It was surreal to walk through the first century

Synagogue and to realize we were experiencing a worship space that 2,000 years earlier, Jesus would have also experienced.  I can tell you, it gave me more than chills to be in a building where Jesus sat and worshiped.

 

 

I know the mudslide that preserved the Synagogue of Magdalena must have been devastating to the people living there, but it also was the reason we have the opportunity to see and experience an authentic “Jesus place of worship.”  In a strange way, this place that was frozen in time, made Jesus seem more alive, more personal -- more than a story.

 

It can be easier than you think to leave Jesus as a story that is inked on paper.  It’s safer and less costly that way.  Besides, 2,000 years was a long time ago and Galilee is on the other side of the world.  I guess, for some, Jesus may be like Magdalena – an image from the past - frozen in time.  My experience at the Synagogue at Magdalena was just the opposite.  It was further confirmation that Jesus is very much alive.  

 

Jesus is as active today as when he long ago walked into synagogues like Magdalena and spoke, taught, touched and healed people like you and me.  Our faith does have historic roots, but it’s not history.  We can walk with Jesus and talk with Jesus every moment of every day through his Spirit – the Holy Spirit.

 

 

You may not be able to walk in Magdalena, but you can have a similar experience.  For a spiritual exercise, ask yourself how much of your image of Jesus is frozen in time and how much more of him might become more active and alive in your heart?  The stones, pillars and colored plaster of the Magdalena Synagogue were amazing to see, but the voice of Jesus that speaks to our hearts is alive and present – anything but frozen!