Church*
Father,
My family and I had just been watching a long interview together on T.V.
MBC1 had been my family's go-to channel since I was a little girl, and that network had never broadcasted a conversation like the one we were just watching.
A well-known Saudi show host was interviewing an Egyptian priest in the program. The young Saudi had a broad smile plastered on his face throughout most of the interview, and the priest had a calm disposition and was dressed in the embroidered black outfit Eastern Orthodox priests are known for.
The conversation was mainly about interfaith relations—namely, the one between Christians and Muslims.
As somebody who grew up in an officially Muslim nation where practicing other faiths is forbidden, it was strange to hear the interviewer ask the priest something along the lines of, 'will there be a church in Saudi Arabia?'
The thing that somewhat bothered me was that while both the interviewer and interviewee talked about faith, they seemed to be bringing up everything except You.
The conversation brought to mind the Biblically recorded meeting in which the Pharisees talked about Christ's threat to their authority.
And all along, Jesus knew He belongs in a Kingdom where people don't rise to power the way people do here.
Yours is an upside-down kingdom. You win people over with love. But Christ was so intimidatingly radical in His own way that they couldn't stand Him being around.
The priest also mentioned a lot of Biblical verses. I wonder what the Saudi viewers made of all of that.
Father, this meeting also reminded me of something that happened in Aziz Mall, one of my favorite places in Jeddah, some years ago. Some members of the Hai'a—the Saudi religious police—were showing the diners in the food court relics from other religions and warning them against listening to anyone who could lead them astray. They probably assumed that all of the spectators were members of the Muslim faith. So, I was vaguely worried about my family and me being there.
Later, I saw around a dozen crosses and other artifacts on display in a glass container. They were confiscated from homes there. If we didn't understand Arabic, we might have assumed that the items were for sale.
Mom told me that some Christians had been telling the Saudis about their faith and that the evangelization of the population threatened the existing religious structure. She did not seem fond of the underground movement she was referring to, though. I think they belong to a different sect of Christianity from the one she adheres to.
Over the past couple of years, I have checked out different versions of the Bible and paid attention to pastors and a couple of priests from different denominations. But I don't think I adhere to a single sect, though. And Father, I don't feel the need to put any additional labels on myself.
When asked if he would come to visit Riyadh, the priest gave a vague answer. He said that the chicken should come out of the egg only when it's ready. So we don't know. I think it may be too soon for that.
As St. Paul had written, we are the members of the body—the church—and Christ is the head. A building where folks gather to talk to You and each other is great, but it's not the main idea.
Thank You that you made mobile temples out of us, Father. I have You with me wherever I go. Who would have imagined this would be possible?
Love,
-w
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:17 - 18 NKJV