Today was a day packed with new experiences and also a new depth and understanding to my spiritual faith. Today was our second day touring the really religious sites around Jerusalem, and it was a full day indeed. We walked the trail on the Mount of Olives from the church of Dominus Flavit (commemorating where Jesus wept over the City of Jerusalem) down to the bottom—the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Palm Sunday road. We went to Mount Zion and saw the room celebrating the Last Supper, as well as what is believed to be Caiaphas’ house where the three denials of Peter are recognized. We also walked the (dry) tunnel under the City of David, surprisingly small for all its glory. The tunnel was dark and slightly crowded, but personally I was relieved at its cool damp relief from the sun. We also had a fantastic lunch at a convent in the city. We said the Lord’s Prayer in a church celebrating the lesson from Jesus to his disciples, when he taught them the very prayer. We looked across the Kidron Valley into Jerusalem and saw the Dome of the Rock, now a Mosque that Christians are not allowed to enter, but it is Biblically referenced to be the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. And that is just the surface of what we did, to give you an idea.
It was an interesting faith journey. But not really. In my opinion, the revelations we have learned are closer to making our faith, rather than destroying it. The place where we said the Lord’s Prayer was probably not the actual place in which Jesus taught his disciples. In fact, we came up with a rating scale, 0 being no evidence whatsoever, and 10 being absolute certainty, as to whether the site was in actuality the real place in which the celebrated event happened. JR’s highest rating was a 5, for Caiaphas’ house, which Kate rated more like a 9 or 10. Many of the other sites were closer to 0 to 2, some even in the negative because there was actually substantial evidence against the site being the actual biblical location. This concept has been hard for many of us to grasp. The fact that we are going to places to revere our Lord, and we are being told that we are walking on the same steps that Jesus walked—and then finding out that no, that’s probably not true at all—makes us wonder why these sites are considered so Holy.
Here’s my take: the places themselves are not as important as the story we remember because of them. We take the biblical idea, translate it into a tangible location, a place with substantial history already, in most cases, and create a physical place to touch, smell, hear, and see the manifestations of our Lord. For example, we went down into a grotto where the Virgin Mary was revered in a shrine-like cave. The scent of the pervading candles and incense, along with the Gregorian-style chanting, created an ambiance that was all-encompassing. The way the entrance to the cave has been built forces a prostration of the body to enter the chamber, where a representation of Mary’s deathbed has been displayed. It’s really humbling to enter a holy site in a position of ultimate servitude and humility. This experience, whether you believe in the divine assumption of the Virgin Mary or not, was moving and thought provoking, and inspired a response of complete awe. A feeling that was maintained as I looked around the room, and saw people of many different cultural backgrounds paying homage to the Lord. We saw groups from Colombia, Portugal, France, Australia, and several more groups from United States as well. The low murmur of prayers being uttered in at least ten different languages added to the intensity of the atmosphere. To see such a diverse group of people coming together and worshiping one Lord—experiencing the magnificent churches, and remembering the life of one man together—is a testament to our faith. In the church in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of Agony, I saw a woman on her knees, crying and kissing a rock on which Jesus is remembered to have asked God to reconsider sending him to the cross. Watching her and realizing that her faith was this strong, to display such emotion, as Flora said, Who are we to doubt it? - Robyn
Today was a day packed with new experiences and also a new depth and understanding to my spiritual faith. Today was our second day touring the really religious sites around Jerusalem, and it was a full day indeed. We walked the trail on the Mount of Olives from the church of Dominus Flavit (commemorating where Jesus wept over the City of Jerusalem) down to the bottom—the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Palm Sunday road. We went to Mount Zion and saw the room celebrating the Last Supper, as well as what is believed to be Caiaphas’ house where the three denials of Peter are recognized. We also walked the (dry) tunnel under the City of David, surprisingly small for all its glory. The tunnel was dark and slightly crowded, but personally I was relieved at its cool damp relief from the sun. We also had a fantastic lunch at a convent in the city. We said the Lord’s Prayer in a church celebrating the lesson from Jesus to his disciples, when he taught them the very prayer. We looked across the Kidron Valley into Jerusalem and saw the Dome of the Rock, now a Mosque that Christians are not allowed to enter, but it is Biblically referenced to be the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. And that is just the surface of what we did, to give you an idea.
It was an interesting faith journey. But not really. In my opinion, the revelations we have learned are closer to making our faith, rather than destroying it. The place where we said the Lord’s Prayer was probably not the actual place in which Jesus taught his disciples. In fact, we came up with a rating scale, 0 being no evidence whatsoever, and 10 being absolute certainty, as to whether the site was in actuality the real place in which the celebrated event happened. JR’s highest rating was a 5, for Caiaphas’ house, which Kate rated more like a 9 or 10. Many of the other sites were closer to 0 to 2, some even in the negative because there was actually substantial evidence against the site being the actual biblical location. This concept has been hard for many of us to grasp. The fact that we are going to places to revere our Lord, and we are being told that we are walking on the same steps that Jesus walked—and then finding out that no, that’s probably not true at all—makes us wonder why these sites are considered so Holy.
Here’s my take: the places themselves are not as important as the story we remember because of them. We take the biblical idea, translate it into a tangible location, a place with substantial history already, in most cases, and create a physical place to touch, smell, hear, and see the manifestations of our Lord. For example, we went down into a grotto where the Virgin Mary was revered in a shrine-like cave. The scent of the pervading candles and incense, along with the Gregorian-style chanting, created an ambiance that was all-encompassing. The way the entrance to the cave has been built forces a prostration of the body to enter the chamber, where a representation of Mary’s deathbed has been displayed. It’s really humbling to enter a holy site in a position of ultimate servitude and humility. This experience, whether you believe in the divine assumption of the Virgin Mary or not, was moving and thought provoking, and inspired a response of complete awe. A feeling that was maintained as I looked around the room, and saw people of many different cultural backgrounds paying homage to the Lord. We saw groups from Colombia, Portugal, France, Australia, and several more groups from United States as well. The low murmur of prayers being uttered in at least ten different languages added to the intensity of the atmosphere. To see such a diverse group of people coming together and worshiping one Lord—experiencing the magnificent churches, and remembering the life of one man together—is a testament to our faith. In the church in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of Agony, I saw a woman on her knees, crying and kissing a rock on which Jesus is remembered to have asked God to reconsider sending him to the cross. Watching her and realizing that her faith was this strong, to display such emotion, as Flora said, Who are we to doubt it? - Robyn
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