When we got back to Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, Jim and I decided that we wanted to walk the Via Dolorosa, which is the road on which Jesus walked while carrying his cross to Golgotha. If you've ever participated in the Stations of the Cross during Lent, this road is what the stations are based on. There are 9 stations along the Via Dolorosa, and then 5 more within the premises of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This Church was built on what has been traditionally held to be Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified.
We took our time walking on the Via Dolorosa, pausing at some stations to see the small chapels that have been built. After about 45 minutes we found ourselves in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church is large and very beautiful. There is a maze of small chapels upstairs, downstairs, and on the main level. One of the most interesting things in the Church is the alleged tomb of Jesus. Again, I'm skeptical that this was the actual tomb of Jesus, but it was still interesting to look inside. Despite my skepticism about the location of the tomb, it was quite powerful to wander through the church and think that Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice not far from where I was walking.
After exploring the church for about an hour, we were about to leave when a group of Franciscan monks began singing and walking through the church with candles. We stayed and listened for a bit and then we returned to the hostel to meet up with some friends and go out to dinner. We stayed in the New City for a few hours and then returned to the hostel to get a good night's sleep.
One of the thoughts that kept running through my mind during the day (and still today) is that it was so hard to reconcile the deep spiritual and historical experience of being in Jerusalem with the heartbreaking and infuriating political situation that exists there today. Our visit to Bethlehem was particularly striking in this regard as we saw the wall, an Israeli settlement, a checkpoint, the birthplace of Jesus, and the Shepherd's Field all in the matter of a few short hours. I remember thinking at one point that if the Church of the Nativity was not the exact site of Jesus' birth, then maybe it was located in some formerly-inhabited palestinian house that was bulldozed to make way for the wall. How ironic. How sad.
A city so central to three religions that preach peace has been violently occupied in the name of those same religions, time after time. Tragically, today, the "City of God" has fallen utterly short of the message that God brought to this world.
We took our time walking on the Via Dolorosa, pausing at some stations to see the small chapels that have been built. After about 45 minutes we found ourselves in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church is large and very beautiful. There is a maze of small chapels upstairs, downstairs, and on the main level. One of the most interesting things in the Church is the alleged tomb of Jesus. Again, I'm skeptical that this was the actual tomb of Jesus, but it was still interesting to look inside. Despite my skepticism about the location of the tomb, it was quite powerful to wander through the church and think that Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice not far from where I was walking.
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| The entrance to "Jesus' Tomb" |
After exploring the church for about an hour, we were about to leave when a group of Franciscan monks began singing and walking through the church with candles. We stayed and listened for a bit and then we returned to the hostel to meet up with some friends and go out to dinner. We stayed in the New City for a few hours and then returned to the hostel to get a good night's sleep.
One of the thoughts that kept running through my mind during the day (and still today) is that it was so hard to reconcile the deep spiritual and historical experience of being in Jerusalem with the heartbreaking and infuriating political situation that exists there today. Our visit to Bethlehem was particularly striking in this regard as we saw the wall, an Israeli settlement, a checkpoint, the birthplace of Jesus, and the Shepherd's Field all in the matter of a few short hours. I remember thinking at one point that if the Church of the Nativity was not the exact site of Jesus' birth, then maybe it was located in some formerly-inhabited palestinian house that was bulldozed to make way for the wall. How ironic. How sad.
A city so central to three religions that preach peace has been violently occupied in the name of those same religions, time after time. Tragically, today, the "City of God" has fallen utterly short of the message that God brought to this world.
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