Day 3 in Jerusalem

After reading last Friday's thoughts I noticed a glaring omission. Somehow or another I left out another one of those Holy Spirit moments from Day 2 in Jerusalem. This took place at the end of the day in the Church of the Nativity. I cannot believe I spoke about being in Bethlehem and forgot to talk about the church that sits atop the place tradition says is where Jesus was born. The Church of the Nativity is the oldest church in the world. It is also where Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, which we call the Vulgate. He came here as a young man and lived out the rest of his life at this location.

But the church itself is known mostly for being where tradition says that Jesus was born. It was in a cave that he would've been born. And as we traveled down to the spot, it felt to me like the presence of the Holy Spirit was filling each and every crevice. You can actually place your hands on the rock where they say he was born. Michelle and I both knelt there and had our picture taken. Whether or not this is the actual rock on which Jesus was placed after being born, it signified for me a place where I could touch and feel the presence of God. It was a feeling that was simply out of this world and unexplainable.

So that brings us to day 3. Our travels would take us to Bethany, Bethpage, the Mount of Olives and into the Old City. This very long and eventful day began with us traveling to Bethany. Bethany means "house of poor" or "house of sorrows". This is the city where Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived. This is where Jesus would spend the night during that last Passover before his death. This is also the last place that a leper could go to see the Holy City, for lepers were not allowed in Jerusalem. This was a poorer village and right on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Today, it's part of the West Bank.

After Bethany, we went just down the road to Bethphage. Bethphage means "house of unripened figs". This is where Palm Sunday begins. Bethphage is known for the place where Jesus sends his disciples to get a donkey, and from there he travels into the city with the people waving palm branches and placing their cloaks on the ground. He is welcomed as a king. But after his teaching is hard to digest, many will fall away. I wonder how many of us fall a little ways away when we struggle with Jesus' teaching in our own lives?

The rabbis said that if the people were ready for the Messiah, that he would come from the clouds. But if they were not, he'd come into the city on a donkey. This shows that they were not yet ready. But we believe that the next time the Messiah comes, he will come from the clouds. I wonder if we'll ever really be ready though?

On to the Mount of Olives. We entered a church that remembered the Lord's Prayer. It was written in mosaics throughout in many different languages. The church itself didn't do much for me, but from time to time we would have a guide or Palestinian friend who would pray the Lord's Prayer for us in Arabic. As they prayed for us, it just seemed like a true blessing from God. I had never heard these words uttered in any language other than my own, and it was a blessing and a gift from our friends over there.

It had gotten to be lunch time, and we each chose a spot to eat down this small alleyway in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Six of us found a little coffee shop that we were told served quiche. It happened that they didn't, and of all things, we ate pizza. It was also there that I had one of the best cappuccinos ever. The experience of this local place was great. I spoke with the young lady who worked there. She was a very sweet Jew who lived not far away. She asked if we were afraid to be there. And I told her that we were truly at ease. She was thankful of that and glad to see people coming in, even in a time of violence south of there.

After lunch we traveled to the Upper Room. It was just a room. If this is truly the Upper Room of the Bible, I can imagine Jesus reclining with his disciples. From there we went to where many believe King David is buried. The men had to put on paper yammakas, and the men and women were separated. This is a place of prayer and worship for individual Jews. It's considered a very holy place.

Then the bus took us to a spot where we could see a panoramic view of the Kidron Valley. This was definitely a big photo opportunity. From there we went to St. Peter at Gallicantu Church (Spelling??). This is the church that remembers Peter's denial of his Lord. There is some evidence that this was Ciaphus' house, and that in the courtyard, Peter denied Jesus three times by a charcoal fire. Being there was a reminder to me that I've denied Jesus as well in many ways in my life. I wondered how many of us could have been strong in Peter's position that night. It was a time of reflection for me on my own need for forgiveness. I thank God for forgiving a denier such as me.

Deep in the bowels of this place is a prison that can be described more as a pit or small dungeon. After Jesus' mock trial and before being brought to Pilate, it's believed that Jesus was placed here. On the outside of the church we saw a depiction of a man with a rope around him, which made more since after seeing this place. They would tie a rope around the prisoner and lower him into this dark pit, and the only way to come out was the same way. Could Jesus have spent part of that night in this pit? Now there are stairs going down. It was kind of creepy thinking about how he could've been there bleeding and weak and shivering in this cold damp dungeon.

The Garden of Gethsemane was next. The Church of all Nations is built on this spot. It was Jesus' custom to come here and pray. This is how Judas knew he'd be there. Gethsemane means the place of the Olive Press and this is symbolic because Jesus' soul and even his physical state was pressed here. When he prayed on that last night before being arrested the Bible tells us that drops of sweat fell just like drops of blood. Before Judas showed up, he could have easily made his way back to the safety of Galilee, but Jesus chose to do the will of the Father. As I sat there at the possible site where Jesus prayed, I wondered what I would have said. Could I have had the strength to say the words of Jesus, "not my will but yours be done"? It was here that I asked God to give me the strength to do His will instead of mine. And it was here that the Spirit swept over me. What a holy place to be.

In the love of Christ,
greg