Photo link- http://bit.ly/zhP9so
Yesterday we did Palm Sunday and Holy Week sites- starting on the Mount of Olives on the east side of the Old City. We then walked down past the old Roman road that Jesus would have used to get down to the city. We talked about going through the Beautiful Gate (now closed) and how Jesus surprised everyone by going left after entering the city (to cleanse the Temple) instead of going right (to the Roman headquarter to overthrow the government as the Messiah was expected to do). We then went to Dominus Flevit (Latin for Jesus wept), then further down to the Church of All Nations in Gethsemane Garden, and to the Tomb of Mary. We then went to Mount Zion after lunch; this is the site of the Last Supper and Pentecost. I was very surprised that neither of these events had churches built for them, but this was actually a nice break. Instead, we were in an open field next to the Church of the Dormition (site where Mary would have gone into eternal rest and assumed into heaven). Then we went to the other church on Mt. Zion- the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu (referring to Peter and the cock crowing. This was one of the most fascinating sites we've seen so far. It is built on the site of the High Priest's house and had three levels to it- a modern church, then below it, the place where Jesus would have been tried by the High Priest, then below that, the jail/torture chamber. There is good and recent archaeological evidence for these sites, and it was fascinating to see the layout, on top of each other.
Today we began with a trip to the Church of the Resurrection (also called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre- but Christians proclaimed the life of the Risen Lord, not the tomb, so in Jerusalem, Christians focus on Resurrection over Sepulchre). It is a very interesting church, this was my third trip there, and I'm starting to be able to see past the feuding denominations, past the tourists, past the layout (it's really a series of chapels, not really a single nave as most churches in the US have). In the Church, we have the sites of the crucifixion, annointing of Jesus' body (where I annointed/blessed as stole which I purchased here), and the tomb. There are also side chapels to Mary Magdelene in the Garden, Longinus (the Roman soldier who said "truly this man was the Son of God"), the chapel of Adam (over which the site of the crucifixion is, symbolizing that Christ's dead took away Adam's original sin), the chapel of Mary's suffering, and many others as well. We then had some free time, so I just wandered the Old City with no purpose, which was nice to just walk the streets. I did find my way to the top of the tower at the Lutheran Church and got some great photos of the city from a bird's eye view. I plan to wake up early and go back to the Church of the Resurrection around 5:30 am on Sunday to see some of these sites without lines and tourists (there are a few places I haven't been able to get to yet). Tonight we also had a brief lecture on Episcopal ministry in the Holy Land- a short summary is "pray for the peace of Israel."
Tomorrow should be a moving and powerful day- starting with the aforementioned trip to the Holy Sepulchre, then a visit to the Yad Vashem Museum (Hebrew for "name;" this is the Holocaust Museum), then visiting a settlement, and a Palestinian refugee camp. I'm sure it will be a heavy day, but one that will be important to understanding the modern struggles in this holy land.
I hope that you all are doing well- I look forward to seeing you all in just about a week on Palm Sunday. Blessings and shalom.
