Where We Were Wednesday

Wednesday in the Holy Land marked our 7th and second-to-last day of touring. Many in our group had caught some bug or another during the trip, and the coughs and fevers reminded me of the flu. Eric and I had had our flu shots, so I was not super worried. We woke up and had breakfast, then headed to the bus for the day. Our first stop was the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.

This is one of two sites which may be where Jesus' body was placed when it was removed from the cross. Traditionally, this site sits near a hill that may be Golgotha (skull hill), and I tried to get THE perfect photo that showed it...but this is my picture.

Not a great photo, but that is what I saw. The garden, next to the hill, was peaceful and beautiful.

As a bonus, the northern Irish guide who showed us around was a great teller of the familiar story! We were all able to celebrate that "He is not here. He is alive!"

We each went in to see the tomb area, which was much smaller than I thought it would be, and I had a moment to revel in the EMPTY of that tomb. No, I did not "come to the garden alone, while the dew [was] still on the roses," but it felt like He was walking there and speaking to our very souls.

Our next site was the Church of St Anne, 

where this sign was posted:

Singing is kindof a joke in our family, so I sent that photo to our granddaughters. You see, Pop Pop likes to tell them (and me), "No singing!," with a waggle of his index finger. Ha, Pop Pop! I can sing here all I want! But no talking...and I am pretty sure that they prefer hymns...so that does cut out many of my favorite selections. (Cue: "This is the song that never ends! It just goes on and on..." Yes, there are legitimate reasons for the "No Singing" rule!) 

This is also the site of the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a crippled beggar who had never been able to get himself into the healing waters. Jesus did not help him into the water...he healed him on the spot. Jesus met him where he was, and told him to get on with his life! (John 5:8 - Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.)

Jesus still works that way. He is no longer walking the earth in human form, but I am happy to report that Jesus met me where I was when I was ready to follow him...and I have seen Jesus meet many other people right where they are, too. Sometimes that makes me angry. "Wait," I want to say. "You mean you will let him/her in on this? Don't you know what kind of person this is, Jesus?" 

Quietly he answers, in fact it is never audible, but I "hear" it in my heart: "Listen. You worry about you, Pam. Let me worry about this. His/Her sin is different than what you struggle with, but I love him/her as much as I love you. So, get up. Pick up YOUR mat (again) and keep walking with me. If this person wants to follow along, offer a hand where you can." 

Ouch. But thanks for the reminder, Lord.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, our next stop, is another site that claims the burial ground of Jesus. 

 

We walked the Via Delarosa to get there, which was...a little saddening. Traditionally observed as the road Jesus walked with his cross before the crucifixion, this walk is now full of shops and hawkers of goods, and the pilgrims are shoulder to shoulder.

Once we arrived at the church, it was too crowded to capture well in photos...but there were beautiful mosaics, and ornate decorations throughout.

Our second-to-last stop on this second-to-last day, after lunch in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, was the Western Wall of the temple. At this point, I had reached some kind of overload, so I did not go up to the actual wall...just too many people squeezing together to touch, kiss and deposit their prayers into the stones. I was happy to take this one in from afar. In fact, the only picture I took was this one, which shows the Wailing Wall on the right side of the photo:

Our final stop was at the top of the Mount of Olives. We walked down a steep road, to the Garden of Gethsemane, just across the valley from the Temple. It was almost sunset when we reached the garden, and the setting sun just beyond the Golden Gate was a beautiful end to our day.

Holy Week 2020 looms now, and (just like the modern Via Delarosa) it will look different than I had anticipated a few weeks ago. Some things, however, are always the same:

Death has been defeated!

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

We will celebrate the Risen King!

How will you observe Holy Week and celebrate Easter? Drop a comment to let me know!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, Knit in Good Health!