Learning in The NEST in Beirut at a Crossroads of the Middle East & the West

This fall semester at NEST I am responsible for two courses: Theology of the Reformation: Luther & Calvin in Comparative Perspective, and Doctrine of Christ. Let me tell you first about my students.


In Luther & Calvin I have two: Kladys is a Presbyterian from a village in northern Lebanon working on her M.A. in Christian Education, and Saleem is an Anglican Palestinian from Nablus working on his M.Div. At the end of this post I will include with Kladys' permission a poetic meditation that she shared at the beginning of one of our classes last week, and a meditation that Saleem prepared for this week, also with his permission.


In Doctrine of Christ I have six: Kristina is Korean-American, already has her M.A. from Fuller Seminary in Cross-Cultural Studies & has lived in both Istanbul & Beirut; Rana is a Greek Catholic lay woman from Lebanon who studied architecture at the American Univ.-Beirut (AUB); Hagop (cf. Jacob) is an Armenian Evangelical from Lebanon who has studied biochemistry & psychology and is pursuing the M.Div.; Sevan is from Kurdistan in Iraq & a member of the Armenian Orthodox Church; Talar is from Aleppo, Syria working on her Bachelors in Christian Education; & Kladys is also taking this course.


These students are members of a community of 30 students at NEST this fall: 18 from the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Armenia, Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territories) and 12 from Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Scotland) & N. America. Here at NEST many of us live in the same vertical campus, dine together 2 - 3 meals a day, wash, iron & dry our clothes, drink Arabic coffee on the veranda, play volleyball, & worship in chapel 5 X per week. Imagine a kind of Protestant theological monastery in a busy, mixed Christian & Muslim neighborhood near the American Univ.-Beirut, and you have something like NEST.


In Luther & Calvin we are working our way through Kittelson's biography of Luther and watching the 2003 Luther film. Later in the course we will take up Luther & Calvin's views on Judaism & Islam. One thing we noted early on in the course was the tremendous anxiety about 'the Turks' in Rome and western Europe as Luther's reform began.


In Doctrine of Christ we are focusing on atonement and different understandings of Jesus' execution in Scripture & the history of Christian thought concluding with the contemporary debate about abuses of the cross. Over the weekend we were to re-read the Passion Narratives in the four New Testament gospels. We had four presenters on each Passion Narrative today. As Hagop interpreted John 18:16, he taught me a new word in Arabic: wasta <phonetic spelling> which means 'mediation,' something that happens when the 'other' or 'beloved disciple' who has followed Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest gets Peter brought in.


Teaching at NEST is a joy. The institution has high standards of admission and all my students are well prepared for class, well read in biblical studies, theology, & education, on task when we meet, and take their studies very seriously. Many of them come from cities and villages where Christianity has been around much longer than in Europe and N. America, yet their churches have been minority communities in this region for many centuries. 


And now here is the poetic meditation "Walking in the Desert" by Kladys Abboud of Lebanon shared with one of our classes:

Walking in the desert .. walking Alone…
Searching for a friend, searching for a home…

Asking Who am I? Asking what to do? In a world of loneliness, from where do I start?
It seems like they will never end, these long days of hopeless nights,

I scream, I cry, I shout, I feel like I will die, I always ask why…. but .. no reply ..
What shall I do to find a meaning for a life that I didn’t ask for..
From where do I grasp the power to continue.. to be stronger than before ??
I kept walking, searching for the answers here and there ..
Searching for the meaning that saves me from the despair..
While I was in this journey of struggle, I passed through a fountain of water, I looked around..
I saw the trees, the flowers, the little plants, the fishes.
The whole nature .. it was happier than me..

Suddenly I saw a man who was drinking from the fountain..
 He looked at me directly in my eyes,
He noticed me, he noticed that I am there..
He noticed the sadness, he noticed the fear..
He asked with a smile on his face, what are you searching for? Why are you here?

I answered with hesitation; I am searching for “the meaning”
Did you find it? Or are we together in this journey?
We are together my dear, he said..

Let’s sit and talk, let’s stop the walk ..
For just one moment ..
Looking to the creation .. 

Trying to find consolation .

I felt happy to find this friend..
It was a glorious moment for me after all this strife ..
It was the most meaningful moment that I spend in my life ..
Every word I heard from him, touched my soul
he was sincere, he talked directly to my whole ..
I asked who are you?   I want to know
Your presence changed my mood, helps me to go …
beyond the struggle and the sadness ..
you filled my heart with gladness
He answered saying, I am the meaning your searching for ..
 I am your friend, I am your lord..

I want to be always with you, let me shine in your heart .. l
et your light be so bright .
let the whole world know that you are loved by your God ..
Life is a struggle I agree with you .. but our friendship will give you the power to continue ...


Here is Saleem's meditation, entitled, "He Collects Your Tears."


"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book (Psalm 56:8).


Do you know how important you are to God? He cares so much about every detail of your life. He cares about your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. In fact, what you are going through is so important to Him that He records every sorrow and collects every tear you've shed. Why would God record  your sorrows and collect your tears? It's because He loves you so much. He's your Vindicator. He's keeping account of every wrong that's ever been done to you so that He can make up for every single one of them. He wants to restore everything that has ever been stolen. He wants to heal every single hurt and pain. He sees the longings and desires of your heart, and you can rest assured that behind the scenes He is working things out for your good!


I want to remind you today that God is with you. He is on your side. He has your best interest at heart, and He is working to bring restoration and peace to every area of your life. Keep standing, keep believing, and keep doing the right thing because the One who collects your tears will restore every broken place in your life!


Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me and setting me free. Thank you for being my Vindicator. I choose to release every hurt, pain and sorrow, knowing that You will make all things new. In Jesus' Name. Amen."

I look forward to learning more about the Christians, churches & cities of the Middle East in the weeks ahead from my students and colleagues in the faculty & staff at NEST.