Mark and I stumbled on this building in the middle of a shopping district of Ankara. We had seen little mausoleums like this in another part of Turkey and so we kind of guessed what it was although we couldn't read any of the inscriptions. Last night I was talking to a really lovely young Turkish woman and showing her my photos....I don't feel confident about putting other peoples' pictures on my blog so for the moment its just going to be Mark or I....She was excited to see this photo and told me that she had been to this mausoleum to get spiritual blessing from the female saint buried here. So the saint is Karyağdı Hatun, a descendent of Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. Apparently Karyağdı Hatun was pregnant and asked for God to grant her snow to eat. Snow fell miraculously in her garden. It made me think of how it is such a human thing to feel that we can't go to God directly to ask for help or blessings. We so often feel that we need an intermediary....somehow that Mary, mother of Jesus is more accessible than Jesus himself. Often Christians have prayed at the tombs of saints believing in the power of the saint's prayers more than their own. But the Christian Gospel is all about the accessibility of God...that is the whole point. We don't need anyone else to be an intermediary. Christ Himself became the intermediary between the Father and us. I presume that one of the reasons we ask saints to intercede on our behalf is because we don't feel quite good enough and of course we are not. Christ has become the sacrifice to atone for our sins and tells us to come close to Him. I somehow have to get over myself and believe that what He says is true. I am welcome in the presence of God and that I don't need a human mediator, saint or religious leader.
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