Garden Tomb

I was waiting for the washing machine to finish so I read Exodus 1. Reading the bible here is harder than at home. At home, I'd preach a nice sermon about the midwife heroes who apologise for their incompetence as a way of not implementing a culling of baby boys. Hurrah.

But here its a story of a mean ruler who has forgotten about the good that has been done in the past and now driven by fear activates this mad policy of oppression. Oh no Israel has become Egypt?

And look, here come the next generation alas they didn't grow up with Israeli / Palestinian friends so they will become each other's bogey man. ("Lazy, thieves, stupid" - I've heard - but they're all trilingual I suppose this means that I don't even meet the criteria for stupid.)

The Garden Tomb might not be historically quite right, though frankly there's enough places that hang on far looser threads, but this morning it was utterly peaceful and a great place to read and pray.

In the Soukh, if you tell them you're a friend of Russell from Christ Church, then the Exchange Rate is £1 to 5.3NIS (new israeli shekel). That's mildly better than Gordon can get me. (5.1)

Surprise find of the day: The Prison of Barabbas. Maybe. He was that murderer who got let off when the Crowd chanted for his release instead of for Jesus. Ooh looks like Substitutionary atonement. Thank God for it.