We drove across the Kidron valley to Mount Scopus on the Northern edge of the Mount of Olives. Here we had our first map-geek moment. There are many of these stops ahead of us. Cindy asked us to survey the land scape and to see what we could find. She wanted us to identify anything we see that is familiar. Then she oriented us on our maps so that we know where we are as she talks about what is happening in this area. On this overlook we are Southwest of the old city looking down into the Kidron Valley. We spot the Patriarchal Highway and a volcanic looking lump which is the Herodian--a mountain built by Herod. We can see Nebi Samwil, which is the place that remembers the death of Samuel which has a mosque and a synagogue.
Cindy explains that repeatedly in history Jerusalem is attacked from the North, because the other directions are protected by the wilderness. This is an area of scrub brush, exposed rock, little water, unsettled, and cut through with deep and treacherous wadis that prevent easy passage. In that wilderness, Cindy points out the Accent of Adomim, which is the road on which the Good Samaritan takes place.
We look closer at the Temple Mount before and see the Eastern Gate also known as the Golden Gate. It is completely bricked closed. Some say that it was closed long ago because the Arab rulers, who were Muslim, heard that the Messiah was to return to Jerusalem through that gate. There is also a Muslim cemetery there which again is rumored to have been placed there so that the unholy ground a a graveyard would block the Messiah's entrance. The Mount of Olives has innumerable graves on it, whole sections of the mountain are just grave after grave stacked on top of each other. We can see St. Stephen's Gate also known as the Sheep Gate or the Lion Gate. We can see the Northern Corner of Temple Mount which would be extremely close to St. Anne's Church next to the Pool of Bethesda. This corner is one of the possibilities of the places where Satan told Jesus to leap off the temple to prove he was the Messiah.
Then Cindy took us on a stunning scriptural journey from the inauguration of the temple where the Shekinah glory of God filled the temple to Jeremiah 7 where the people of Israel are being warned that there faithless lives will lead to the destruction of Jerusalem even if the temple is there. Then there are prophesies in Ezekiel that see the Shekinah Glory of God leaving the temple and moving to Mount of Lives in judgement of Israel. In Isaiah a prophecy describes the Messiah coming from the Wilderness in the East. The same wilderness that Jesus went through his temptations in. She took us to Luke 19 where Jesus enters Jerusalem from the East descending the Mount of Olives and coming into the Eastern gate.
We headed to the church that marks the traditional spot where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. .
The church was built in the 1950's over the traditional spot it is chaped like a tear drop. Tear collection jars mark each corner of the church. This is the place where people pray for Jerusalem. On the altar was draped a cloth that reads Salam Shalom Peace. The gardens were beautiful and the Temple Mount was center stage. We lingered for some time walking, resting, and praying We saw some Israeli bone boxes from the time of Christ. As we left, a vendor was selling stuffed camels that played "Old McDonald had a Farm." So strange.
We descended the hill further to the bus where we headed to the church at the Garden of Gethsemane. There were vendors out selling postcards, beads, and whatever else you can name. We went into the Garden which was gorgeous.
Ancient gnarled olive trees surrounded by brightly colored flowers with a fountain. Birds sang everywhere.The church itself is built on a Byzantine church which is built on an ancient Olive Press. There are two traditional sites where Jesus sweated blood. The front doors were ornately carved and as you entered you saw a metal grill of an olive tree. As you stepped around the grill we entered the dusky light of the church. The windows are Alabaster so that the church is perpetually in night. The front of the church has a huge gold leaf mosaic marking Jesus' prayer, Judas' kiss and the soldiers falling back from Jesus when he identified himself. In the center of the front is the exposed rock, the first sight of Jesus' prayer which is fenced with an iron wrought crown of thorns with silver weeping doves. We were given time to linger and reflect reading about our Lord's agony in Gethsemane. In the front of the church above the pillars stand statues of the four gospel writers all holding the scriptures that mark the Gethsemane story. Eric Gustafson noted that he longed to take it all in. This kind of experience will be lived out more slowly upon reflection.
As we descended the Mount of Olives on the bus Cindy pointed out a monolith marking a tomb, called the Tomb of Absalom (it's not the actual tomb though it is pock marked with rocks from peopel hurling stones at it in disapproval). It was a huge structure among the subtler graves. We got a clear view of the beautiful gold domes of a Russian Orthodox church on the Mount of Olives which Marti Windram said was a "nener-neener-neener to the Dome of the Rock." Cindy also told us about an out of place mound of grass and dirt which was from an illegal dig done on Temple Mount that damaged the surrounding ancient wall. Syria and Egypt agreed to repair the wall since it was the Muslim leadership that had done the damage, and now a little at a time that dirt is being archaeologically sifted through in order to see if there is anything that was not destroyed by the dig.
Ron had to leave us and head back to the hotel, as we left Jerusalem. We were sorry he would miss the day. We took another map-geek stop where we identified the Mount of Olives (it has three towers which makes it easier to see).
We could see the Huldah steps and all three valleys of Jerusalem laid out in front of us. We also had a great view of the City of David. We also caught our first glimpse of the apartheid wall or the security fence depending on who is naming the structure. It is tall and grey and strange.
We continued on our journey to the Herodian with Johnny navigating our huge bus nicely around sharp corners. We hear of Herod's history and how he comes to be the dominant power of Israel with Roman backing. The Herodian is one of Herod's grandest palaces. He literally moved a whole mountain of dirt to build the Palace on. We climb to the top of the Herodian and do a map-geek moment. We looked out on the wilderness of dry hills with only scraggly vegetation on it. This is where David watched his flocks. Cindy tells us that these are the "green pastures" of scripture. We are all stunned coming from lush places. The green pastures David sings about are enough to keep you alive, but to keep you following the shepherd to the next place to eat. No gorging on these pastures
We spot the village of Tekoah that Amos is from. He was a sheepherder and a farmer who God calls to deliver a message to the King of Israel about justice for the poor. It is through the village of Tekoa that Naomi and her husband and sons fled from Bethlehem around the Dead Sea to Moab to escape a drought. Ruth denies her tribe and returns to Israel with Naomi where they experience the loving-kindness (hesed) of God through Boaz who welcomes Ruth into the tribe as his wife. There is also the possibility that it is through Tekoah that the three wise men escape the now insane Herod who is wanting to kill a new born king. We gazed in awe at the ridges these legends would have traveled and Lisa Burns said, "Let's walk it!"
We walked through the ruins of the Herodian and imagined the grand palace as it once had been. We saw the innovations that Herod used in building that included diamond shaped bricks that made it possible to have round rooms. We climbed down the long winding stairs of the cistern to exit the Herodian and saw the place where Herod's sarcophagus was found only about a month earlier..
Hot and dusty we loaded onto the bus for the journey to Bethlehem. We passed easily through the check points and arrived at a troubled city. We parked the bus and walked up to the Church of the Nativity. The vendors were particularly aggressive and the Palestinian soldiers were quick to catch us and get numbers. Our guide had to enter after we did and not try to lead us to avoid having to buy an "official" guide. We stepped into the middle of a prayer service as we entered the Grotto where the birth place is marked. It was ornate, again with a hole to touch the stone through. We moved deeper into the grotto to hold our own service lead by Bill and Anna McLean. We sang O little Town of Bethlehem after Bill's invitation to hear the angel's song again and to pick it up and carry it with our lives. We had some time to wander through the Catholic chapel and then exited back into the hot sun and the vendors who were as cranky as we were.
Our last stop of the day was at the Israel Museum to see a full scale model of the city of Jerusalem during Solomon's time with the temple built on Temple Mount. Cindy walked us around it in the heat explaining each section of the city. We walked slower and slower and slower. She gave us a half hour to be back at the bus. Several went through the exhibit showing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was amazing to see such ancient documents.
There were also treasures to be bought like iced coffees and strawberry smoothies. We all headed home on the bus except Amy Flack who stayed to visit the rest of the museum and catch her own ride home. There was a gay pride parade in Jerusalem which had roads blocked off all over the place and thousands of police officers on the streets. We finally got home the whole group tired, hungry, and ready to rest. Each day we are filled so full of experiences and information that it takes all of our energy to just keep it in. We sleep in gratitude and in abundance.
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