Last Day (9); God surprising us with His presence at unexpected places.

Day 9. Last Day; God surprising us with His presence at unexpected places.

Today is last day. I'm pinning this now while in flight from Tel Aviv to Newark (and finished proofreading and correcting  at home). What a day, wow.

Well, last breakfast in Jerusalem (scrambled eggs, toast, not very hungry) and we board the bus for our last day in this ancient city. It might be fair to describe today as a Crusader day, as their influence is everywhere when it comes to remembering Jesus' on Good Friday and Easter.

We began by first going to the Pools of Bethesda. Here is the the Church of the 5 Pools, the place where Jesus did more healings (such as the man who was crippled for 38 years, remembered in the Gospel of John 5). It's also called the Church of St Anne. Why Anne? Because  Anne comes from Hebrew: Hannah, who was Mary's mom. This is also the birthplace of the Virgin Mary.

Now this is a Crusader church, built when the Crusaders had invaded and conquered Jerusalem, built 1100 AD. Now normally when we enter a church we walk around, take pictures, look at stuff. Instead our Bishop Larry Goodpaster instructs us to have a seat and be silent. He then tells us to listen to the acoustics. One voice, and it'll echo echo echo echo softly away. I've never heard sound echo so perfectly before. So we sang some church hymns in this holy place. For our 1st hymn I was like uy, really, Lord Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary? Now I have your attention! For me, I hear that hymn ALL the time. It's just not my hymn. Granted it sounded amazing, but not my thing. Then the bishop turns to Deeb and says something to the effect, "This is for you Deeb." And we sang then 2 verses of How Great Thou Art. That moved us all to tears, it was so powerful, so amazing. I felt such incredible grace and overwhelming love. We heard the voice of God in that simple Crusader church. 

Then we took pictures. 

After that we got to spend some time exploring the ruins of the pools. Found out that the Crusader church was built on the ruins of a giant Byzantine church that even covered the pools. The Romans knew how to channel and store water, and this was no exception.

"Oh no, one of the arches was weakening! Who will save us? Daa da da, it's-

Brad!!!!" Good thing I've been working out! Feeling very manly now. Grrr! You gotta goof off sometimes people.

This then became the starting point of the Stations of the Cross journey. Maybe you have heard of it. It's a trek through the streets of Jerusalem that follows Jesus' journey from his trial, flogging, carrying the cross and to his crucifixion. Are these the actual streets Jesus walked on Good Friday? I can tell you emphatically no. Wrong side of the city actually. So it's it worth it? Yes, as Deeb constantly reminded us it is in remembering the story through faith we find meaning. I also see it as being part of a 1000 year old Passion Play. Doesn't that sound cool? One exception though, the destination is spot on, Golgotha (or Calvary, which is Latin for the same name).

We first start underground below the present day city to see an ancient Roman road. See the two groves. They're made by carriages. I'm sure I let out an audible "whoa!"

The trial and flogging of Jesus is remembered here. We then moved above ground to follow the path of the cross (no actual crosses were used for our trip, but people carrying actual crosses is actually common, especially on Sundays).

As we traveled we went under a Roman arch. The Romans love their arches.

Note that the city built around and over it. That's how Jerusalem is today, the old and new intertwining into a dizzying effect. This is why it's easy to get lost here.

At this station is one of the spots where Jesus fell (there are 3 spots).

See where our guide Deeb is putting his hand. The tradition is that when Jesus fell while carrying the cross he put his hand on the wall there to rest and support himself.

We continued our journey through the Old City and some familiar territory heading toward the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

What's cool about this church? It's the church that's literally built on top of Golgotha. It's also a collection of churches, one built on top of another, old and newer. Check this out, standing outside the church Deeb shows that we are standing on the roof of one of the old churches. See the dome on the right? That would have been the top of it.

It's at this point our bishop, James, and Deeb all say, "Expect shoving and line cutters. Don't let them." One of the holiest places in Christendom and we have to deal with jerks? Wait and see. Deeb also shared another fact; the church is actually shared by 6 denominations. Whoa. Sounds cool right? Well, the thing is that if you move one picture, one chair, or do anything different here at the church, all 6 must agree. So how often do things change? Well... look at this;

See the ladder below the window? It's been there over 100 years. There is no agreement on who should move it or why, so it's stuck. It's both funny and embarrassing at the same time. Some of our home churches can get in that rut too you know.

After that we come into the church, first passing some Ethopian chapels.

We are there around noon, which may be the best time to visit as the crowd was actually fairly light. Lunchtime for everyone else! Then we enter the main sanctuary and it's huge!

Remember this was built on a steep hill,  so it rises with the rock. Now almost all the rock of Golgotha is completely covered up by the church, except at the very top. One small section is visible under glass, and another is next to it under a small home where you can't see it but can touch it. That's where we head, and so do some people hoping to jump in front of us.

The rock I told you about is to the right of this picture. What you do is line up on the right of the room, travel to the corner and turn left, take your turn at the front with the rock and quickly move on. It's a wide hall, so that's where line jumpers prepared to move in. So us young clergy made a solid wall of bodies and bookbags to block them off! We are the line police! Honestly they would try to squeeze and we would stop them. I have a serious pet peeve with line jumpers, so I considered this to be a public service. To the right of the rock is the Virgin Mary, a sword in her heart symbolizing her incalculable grief.

Somehow I ended up in position to be one of the first to see the rock of Golgotha and touch it.

That last picture is the hole, a tiny hole. I felt kind of weird about it. I mean, who likes to stick their hand in a hole? Well I kneel down to do so. I had to stretch my arm a bit and I felt the stone of Golgotha. It was smooth and polished from the millions of hands who have touched it, millions and I remembering at this place is where Jesus suffered on the cross because he loved us. Soon after my fingers brushed on something lose. It was a coin left behind by a pilgrim. I briefly held it in my fingers, prayed for the person who left it and returned it to the stone.

I joined my fellow clergy and watched the priests from the Armenian and Orthodox churches spread smoking incense across the place. I loved the sweet aromas of the incense. Word of advice though, they'll run you over if you aren't watching. They swing those incense things at wide angles. Respect the clergy or you'll get whacked!

Back downstairs at the main level are two extrodinary sites. First we went into an ancient burial tomb.

It has been uncovered next to Golgotha and the gospels tell us the tomb Jesus was laid in was right next door. Now this is NOT the tomb Jesus was laid in (more on that in a moment) but here you get a since of what it would have looked like. Some think this was Joseph of Aramethia's tomb (the follower of Jesus who allowed his body to be placed in his own purchased tomb). Here is inside the tiny tomb.

It's not Jesus's tomb, but it is empty of death and filled with the intimate light of prayer candles. I found that to be wonderfully fitting. Now what about Jesus's tomb? Well inside the church at the ground floor next to this other one is a giant dome chapel that contains the stone of Jesus's tomb.

It's just a stone, all that's left. See how long the line is? That's an hour and a half wait there. We don't have that time. But there's a cool hidden secret; behind this building in the picture (around to the right)  is a small chapel built into it, and it's run by the Coptic Orthodox Church. Here at the wall adjacent to the stone-containing church at the bottom you can touch the bottom of the tomb stone! And there is no line at all! We all took advantage. Very cool! After I did I stepped out and raised my phone and a cranky priest says, "No photo! No photo!" Really, again?!!! It's like the only English some people know. Ugh! I get why, I just strongly disagree, but I didn't take a picture. Hope the guy is happy... Google it or something if you want to see it. (I'm still greatly annoyed by that).

We then left the church and were on our own for lunch in the Old City. I ate falafel and sesame bread with Zatar (the "green stuff"). Cheap and delicious! We then walked through the Old City toward the last stop on our trip. Passing a spice shop I saw this.

That's a spice pyramid people! Food can be pretty.

Our last stop is at the Garden Tomb. This is another site where Golgotha may be located. It was discovered in 1867, near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem (outside the 1st century city limits). The discoverer said this hill looks like the eyes and nose of a skull

...and there is an old temple of early Christian church era underground in the hill that fits the description of the Gospel account;

Now is this the place where Jesus died and was buried? I'm with the majority view of archeologists and scholars, no. Not a chance. There's a fair argument to be made, but it just doesn't hold water. I won't get into that here; though I will share why I'm even bringing this place up. It was worth going to because it is a beautiful place of lovely gardens maintained by non-profit groups 

...and here in this peaceful place we found the space to have our closing worship. You don't have to go to the Holy Land to feel the Holy Spirit. It helps and is totally worth going to, but God is not restrained by geography or authentic historical sites. When you open your heart and step out on faith, we become mindful of the Divine presence and receive it. We become part of the story of God's Word, and that's what loving for God and following Christ is about! Here we had prayer, worship, powerful preaching by my colleagues, and celebrated Holy Communion. And that closed our day, and our pilgrimage.

Footnote; if you followed me on Facebook you know that our return in Newark was a complete and utter disaster as our plane to take us to Charlotte never arrived. When we landed after 12+ hours flying back we basically scattered to the four corners of the airport world which created; long waits in airport terminals with uncertain futures, some of us getting home faster than others, and our group being broken up into smaller groups on different planes and sometimes different destinations. Complete misery, though the company helped.

The airplane gods love to curse Newark (and I'm kidding about the pagan references people. I'm being sarcastic, except for my lack of love for Newark. There's some superstitious curse at work there...maybe). But I'm home now, safe and sound, luggage too; though I'm exhausted and caffeinated to combat this nasty jetlag, and I'm still processing all of this. It will take a long time to sort what I've been through, perhaps a year, but my learnings, insights, I will share with you here as my brain and heart figure this out. I left with more questions than answers, as Deeb loved to tell us would happen.

In the meantime, there is no place like home. I'm so thankful for my wife Renee who supported and encouraged me and took on the task of packing by luggage;

 thankful to my son Will for his smiles and the big hug he gave me on my return; 

 thankful to my fellow clergy pilgrims who welcomed me into their lives and whom I am honored to call my friends; 

 thankful to our Bishop Larry Goodpaster who made this trip happen and shared his wisdom, faith and friendship with me; 

 thankful to Rev James Howell who shared his time, his insights, and friendship with me;

 thankful to several annonymous donors who provided the funds for me and my colleagues to come;

 thankful to my mother in law who provided transport to and from the airport and my father in law who prayed for me before I left, 

 thankful to my parents and sister for their amazing love and support for my pilgrimage, 

 thankful to my church Liberty UMC who prayed for me every day and showered me with support, 

 and lastly I'm thankful for you, dear reader! I have grown and learned much from your comments, insights, and enthusiasm. Your virtual presence gave me more energy to soldier forward, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

 And of course I'm thankful to God for loving me, which I'm sure you know that already, but it not, well He loves you too!

This is not the last entry about this pilgrimage; I have some early reflections which I'll pen in the coming days (also a top ten list or two, and tips for traveling to the Holy Land if you want to go), and additional pictures will be shared, so there is more to come! Until then, thank you, bless you, and Shalom.

(Our guide Deeb and I at the airport. So annoyed it's blurry, but I'll treasure his wisdom and friendship forever, and I'll treasure the blurry picture too).