Chris Howlett

Reflections of a Holy Land Pilgrim

"To journey without being changed is to be a nomad. To change without journeying is to be a chameleon. To journey and be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim." - Mark Nepo

I blogged about the actual experience and the activities in which I participated on my recent pilgrimage to Israel, which included a ten-day tour led by Educational Opportunities and the subsequent walk on the Jesus Trail. You can read about our adventures from those daily posts. In this post I want to reflect personally and theologically on the meaning of my trip and how that meaning is shaping me these past two weeks since I returned.

A pilgrim is not a tourist. There's nothing wrong with being a tourist. Tourism can be very rewarding. You visit new places see new sights, hopefully learn about a different culture. A tourist buys a few souvenirs, takes a few photos, but that's about all he brings home. A pilgrim pursues a deeper experience.

A pilgrim often takes a long journey, covering much geography, perhaps crossing many time zones. The real pilgrimage, though, is the inward one. A pilgrim wants to bring home a different person.

My first journey to the Holy Land was made with my parents, the Rev. Coleman and Linda Howlett, while I was a young seminarian in 1998. I embarked on my second pilgrimage in 2000 with my wife, Roz. This latest trip was my third and I was able to travel with my youngest child, Lydia. Throughout these years I have been on a pilgrimage of sorts to deepen my faith in Jesus, whose footsteps I seek to follow.

Jesus inhabited a real time during a real period of time. When we read about him in the Bible, there can be a sense of distance. Certainly there is a time and geographical distance, but also, and more importantly, a cultural difference. Some of the stories he tells and some of the stories about him can be difficult to grasp. Obviously, and vitally, we have the assistance of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus taught us would teach us all truth. But it is still an amazing blessing to actually get a taste of the culture and see the places Jesus ministered.

On the Jesus Trail I was able to walk the journey with Jesus as he made his way from his hometown of Nazareth, where he had been rejected, to his adopted town of Capernaum, which became his base of operations, where he joined Peter's household and made it his own. To literally walk that distance over that terrain is to understand that Jesus must have been seriously motivated. And then to realize the journey from Galilee to Jerusalem was a much greater and exponentially more challenging, is to catch a glimpse of his immense motivation to take that trip to the cross, to suffer and atone for the sin and brokeness which has corrupted God's good creation in order to reconcile the world, including you and me, to God.

To be in the literal Land of Promise is to comprehend in even a small way that God's Promise is still true. God is undoing the sin of Adam and, through Jesus the Messiah, is making a way for all of us to take that inner pilgrimage of transformation to become the persons God created us to be, Image-bearers to the whole of God's good creation.

The most poignant moment of this latest journey was sharing table fellowship in a Muslim home. Middle Eastern hospitality is legendary. What God revealed to me there as this extended family gathered to make us feel welcome and share a meal, is that people are people are people, no matter where they are. People want to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. They want to raise their families in peace and prosperity. In essence, they want to be happy. God sent Jesus to offer everyone an abundant life. The way this offer is communicated is through personal relationships. How can I be a loving representative of our gracious God to people who, politically and religiously are so different from me? The first step of that process has to be that I would see these people the way God sees them, as human beings, persons of eternal value and infinite worth, created in the image of God.

No matter where I go I'm going to meet people who are different than me. They have different values, different politics, different religious commitments. Despite the differences, they are people, just like me. They are people who want happiness and are looking through the lens of brokeness hoping to find truth and love. What will I offer them?

Jesus was incarnate as a real person in a real place in a real time that is very different than the place and time in which I find myself. However, he is living a real mission that remains the same: love people into the Kingdom of God. Here I am, in Marion County, Kentucky in 2015. I'm surrounded by people who God loves and God desires to redeem. What am I going to do about it?

 

 

The Jesus Trail: Moshav Arbel to Capernaum

Chris, Edith, Bob & Bernd on Mr. Arbel

This morning I ate one of the best breakfasts I've ever eaten. The Shavit family knows how to cook and how to present a meal. I needed all the nutrition I could get for the hiking we did today. The four of us headed off for the top of Mt. Arbel where Bernd and Edith left us. They felt today's hike would be difficult (it was) and they walked back down to town and eventually headed to Tel Aviv for a couple of days of R&R before flying back to Frankfurt.

Bob and I climbed down the cliff. It was part climbing, part hiking, though it would have made a terrific rappel. Besides getting slowed down by a group of 8th graders, the descent wasn't so bad, and it afforded us some pretty amazing views. At the bottom of Arbel we eventually made it out of the valley, also known as the Valley of Doves, and found our way to a roadside restaurant where we enjoyed falafel sandwiches.

View of Mt. Arbel with the Horns of Hattin from Capernaum

Then, it was back to a bit of a more traditional trail, heading in the basic direction of Tabgha, We skirted along groves of olive trees and some kind of fruit trees that may have been pomegranate. Eventually, we came to a landmark indicated on the map, a stone bridge over a stream from the Ottoman period. The trail splits, wasn't marked properly, and we took another detour. We had hoped not to do that again today, but we kept the streak alive. When we realized the mistake, we needed to cross the stream, which was actually dry, but climbing down through all the brush and back up the other side looked challenging. So, we stayed on the dirt road we were on, which was part of a farm, and eventually made it to a main road, where we were able to navigate to the trail. Last detour of the trip!

At Capernaum

We passed by Tabgah, the Church of the Multiplication, the Church of the Primacy of Peter (all places we visited last week), and arrived at our destination, Capernaum. We called our taxi and waited. Now, we're back in Tiberias and tomorrow we'll catch a small bus to Tel Aiv for our flight back home. This has been a wonderful journey, but I am definitely ready to be back in Lebanon... Kentucky!

 

 

The Jesus Trail: Kibbutz Lavi to Moshav Arbel

The Horns of Hattin

A nice kosher breakfast awaited us in the morning. Shortly afterward, our little group was off. Even before you leave the grounds of the kibbutz, the Horns of Hattin are visible as a pair of peaks that are opposite ends of a long dormant volcano. This area is famous as the last stand of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. Saladin lured the Crusaders out of Sepphoris and they marched the entire way in their armor, eventually running out of water in the summer heat. When they reached Saladin and his Muslim army at Hattin, they weren't in very good shape for fighting and they suffered an abysmal defeat. Hattin is also the traditional location of a battle fought by the Israelites, led by Joshua, when they were taking the Promised Land. Ruins of an ancient Israeli town are barely visible. Once we reached the top of the Horns of Hattin, we were afforded magnificent views of the surrounding area, including our destination for today, Arbel. Arbel is a large mountain on one side of the Arbel Valley. Jesus most certainly traveled down this valley to reach the Sea of Galilee on his way to Magdala and Capernaum.

Me on Hattin, Arbel in Background, Also the Sea of Galilee

Unfortunately, we took another detour when leaving Hattin, one of the unintended variety. We walked about a mile, or even more, before realizing we were on the wrong path. So, it was back up and over the Horns of Hattin a second time! Three busloads of school children were ascending Hattin at the time and it was funny to watch their teachers keeping them on task as many of them looked pretty disinterested in an ancient and medieval history lesson climb.

At the bottom of our descent on the other side of Hattin, we reached a road that leads to the Druze shrine Nebi Shu'eib, Bernd and Edith decided to take a short cut to Moshav Arbel and Bob and I continued on. We made a brief visit to the shrine, which supposedly is the tomb of Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. The Druze people venerate Jethro as the founder of monotheism. It's a nice shrine but it was practically empty. We ate our lunch and were quickly back on the trail, which at this point became the most pleasant part of the whole trail. It wound down through a valley, eventually the Arbel Valley. Most of the land is utilized for grazing cattle. It is a beautiful setting. This was one of those places one can say with near certainty that Jesus walked here.

Arbel Valley from Trail, Sea of Galilee Below

Eventually, the trail began a fairly steep and long ascent out of the valley up to the village of Moshav Arbel. As the trail rises higher, a beautiful view of the Arbel Valley opens up and you can see all the way down to the Sea of Galilee. It's truly wonderful. We stopped by the ruins of a fourth century synagogue and made our way to the guest house, run by the Shavit family. We were warmly welcomed and offered delicious and cold lemonade, which was most refreshing after the longest day of hiking thus far. Later in the evening they served a delicious homemade meal of chicken, potatoes, pickled beets and cabbage. My feet are definitely taking a beating, but overall, this is a very enjoyable experience, especially after the stunning scenery today.

 

 

Jesus Trail: Cana to Kibbutz Lavi

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" Psalm 34:8 (ESV)

This verse was in my morning Scripture reading today before we set off on the trail from Marwa's Inn. God is good and he's shown his goodness to us throughout this entire trip. One the way was last night. Marwa invited Bernd and Edith (the German couple accompanying us), Bob and me to her parents' house for supper. They are an Arab family living in an Arab neighborhood, and they showed us amazing hospitality. The food was wonderful and the company was even better. While there, several cousins and a sister-in-law stopped by to say "salaam alaikum" (Peace be with you). It was quite a unique cultural experience that reminded me that no matter what our differences may be, in appearance, customs, dress, and diet, those differences pale in comparison to the similarities. We are all humans and want the very same things, peace, harmony in our relationships, and to enjoy the life God has given us. We might even go about those goals differently, but the human heart is the same, no matter where you travel around the world. I'm grateful that Marwa's family welcomed us into their home.

A Nice View Along the Way

This morning we started walking after a breakfast prepared by Marwa, We were joined by Schlomit, who, along with her husband and another couple are co-founders of the Jesus Trail. We walked all the way up to the highest point in Cana and then headed out of town on a rocky road along a ridge top, afforded some beautiful views on this cloudy and cool day.

The trail meandered through forest and past more olive groves. Bob and I were moving a bit faster than the others and missed a trail blaze, taking quite a detour. We stopped and managed to find an alternative route back to the trail. After a walking a while we discovered the others sitting eating lunch at a sandwich stand along the road next to an Israeli army base.

Me Standing on the Via Maris

The Jesus Trail team rerouted the path past one of the most impressive sights along the entire length, the remains of a Roman road called the Via Maris (The Way of the Sea). Shlomit wanted to see this part of the trail, as did I, so we purposefully took a detour to see it. We passed a dead cow and up a thistle-rich field, arriving at the top of the ridge littered with large rocks, the remains of the Via Maris. It's fascinating to stand in a location Jesus almost certainly traveled. We took a break there and eventually headed to our destination for today the Kibbutz Lavi. This is a community founded by survivors and children of survivors of the Holocaust. It is a large farming commune that also runs a nice hotel. Tomorrow, it's off to the Horns of Hattin and eventually Arbel. God truly is good.

 

 

Jesus Trail: Nazareth to Cana

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and finalized packing. Breakfast was ready at 7:00 a.m. so I enjoyed a nice Arab breakfast of eggs with various spices and veggies added, cereal, cheese, and a pizza-like pastry. At 8:05 we were out the door and heading up the 400 or so steps leading to the top of Nazareth, then back down the other side outside of Nazareth through some low farmland, which turned out to be the nicest part of the hike today. It was pleasant walking through the farms and trees. Up until Sepphoris we were accompanied by a German couple and two guides from Fauzi Asar. Our German friends didn't want to go into Sepphoris so they continued with the guides toward Cana.

Me in Sepphoris

At Sepphoris (Zippori in Hebrew), Bob and I walked into the National Park and viewed the amazing ruins of a large city that existed here during the days of Jesus. Some scholars have speculated that because of the very small size of the village of Nazareth in Jesus' day, there would not have been enough work for a builder to make a living. The Greek word we translate "carpenter" is actually the word "builder," one who primarily worked with stone building houses and other structures. However, walking at a pretty good clip it took over two hours to arrive at the gate of the park. I'm wondering if someone would commute that long in order to work. Perhaps they would go to Sepphoris and stay there a few days. I think I will look that up. It certainly makes sense that in such a small town, growing a business would prove difficult. The proximity of a thriving city just being rebuilt after it had been destroyed by the Romans because of a tax revolt, would be attractive to Joseph. Jews living in Sepphoris, however, were not as orthodox or conservative as other Jews in the Galilee region, which possibly would be a barrier to overcome, as well as the distance.

The Mona Lisa of the Galilee

The mosaic floors in the houses are magnificent in Sepphoris. This makes the ruins here an attraction to tourists. We spent about two hours here, including eating lunch and walking in and out of the park.

We headed toward the village of Mash'had, a mostly Muslim town near Cana. This small town is associated with the biblical city of Gath Hepher, the birthplace of Jonah. We walked right by the mosque built at the traditional site of his grave, but quite frankly, we had forgotten it's significance and simply walked right by on our, at that time, downhill trek.

From Mash'had to Cana was a strange walk. First, it was difficult to tell where to go because of a lack of trail blazes. Also, where the trail leaves the street at the edge of town is a construction site, and the beginning of the dirt/rock (heavy on the rock) road has been covered by a bulldozer. Thankfully I brought a pair of binoculars and was able to locate the next blaze down the dirt road which passed through some olive trees. This olive tree grove sounds nice, but unfortunately, the path is trash-strewn. Bob noted that they may lack a strong theology of a good creation. Perhaps, but it seems that in much of the developing (or non-developing world) sanitary trash disposal along with sewage disposal is a luxury they cannot yet afford.

View from Marwa's

Coming into Cana was interesting. We walked near the Cana Wedding Church and left the Jesus Trail to try and locate Marwa's Inn. We followed white signs with orange writing, however, there weren't many signs. Twice I had to use the binoculars. We wandered around for about thirty minutes chasing the wrong trail markers. Eventually, we made it and the guest house is one floor of an apartment building overlooking a school, with nice views of Cana and Mash'had.

Overall, today, the trail was mostly in towns and along paved roads. The trail guidebook says from here it gets better, along with trail reviews I've read online. I certainly hope so. Total time actually walking the trail today was 4.5 hours. We walked about 8.3 miles and my feet are angry with me.

Tonight for supper, Marwa, the owner of the inn, will be taking us, along with our German fellow-pilgrims, to eat at an Arab home. That will be a nice change of pace to which I am looking forward.

 

 

All Day in Nazareth

Joseph the Builder

I slept in the latest I've slept on this trip, 7:00 a.m. I woke up earlier, didn't get up and fell back to sleep. It was nice. A group of students from a Mennonite college left the inn this morning to hike part of the Jesus Trail. They were up and at 'em, eating breakfast, packing and getting ready to go. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with strange coffee, caught up with the news, went out for a walk through the market and ended up down on the main street. I met Bob at McDonald's (again) and ate a "Big America" burger.

We walked back up the hill, past the Church of the Annunciation, and met our guide for the first day of the Jesus Trail along with a German couple who will be joining us, for an introduction to hiking the trail. She shared quite a bit of useful information, I took voluminous notes and in general feel good about tomorrow. One of the reasons they give us a guide for the first day is the trail out of Nazareth is difficult to follow. We learned about a good store to stock up on lunch items while on the trail. Breakfast and supper is provided at each of the hotels in which we will be staying along the trail.

Man, Donkey, & Donkey, Jr.

A little later in the afternoon we headed out to an attraction called the Nazareth Village, a recreation of 1st century Nazareth operated by an institution founded by the Edinburgh Medical Mission Society in 1906. The fifteen-minute walk turned into a thirty-minute search. We were instructed to follow purple blazes through and then out of the Old City and part of the modern town to Nazareth Village. At one point we saw a marker with an arrow over it, pointing into the gate of a Muslim Cemetery. We weren't sure we should go through, explored around briefly and finally traversed the cemetery. When we arrived at the far gate we saw no markers. So, we turned around, figuring we had gone the wrong way. To make a long story short, we were on the right path but it took several more trips through and around the cemetery to discern the correct heading and arrive safely at Nazareth Village. We decided it would be a good thing to follow a guide on the first day of the Jesus Trail.

The Rabbi in the Small Synagogue

The Nazareth Village displays the remains of a first century farm and several structures to recreate the look and feel of village life in the time of Jesus. A Nazareth Village guide told the story of Jesus in a compelling and approachable manner, as many of the visitors are non-Christians. A highlight for me was the replica of an early small synagogue, the kind that might have existed here in Jesus' day.

We made it back to the Inn and kicked around a bit, then headed out to find the "supermarket." After another significant "detour" we found one. It was a decent-sized grocery store, but we walked right past it the first time, thinking it was a small market. We picked up our lunch supplies for the next several days and then stopped off at a nice restaurant for supper.

We came back to the Inn and packed up most of our stuff and are just about ready for the big day tomorrow, Day 1 on the Jesus Trail.

 

 

Jerusalem to Nazareth

Bob Walking the Ramparts

The Rev. Dr. Bob Kaylor and I spent a leisurely morning at the hotel before walking to the Old City where we exchanged dollars for shekels and walked the ramparts surrounding the Old City. This offered a unique view of life there as we could view homes, backyards, churches, and mosques from above. We also enjoyed views of the Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount and some of the other sites we've visited earlier in our journey. It was quite a long walk and it's broken up into two parts because you can't walk the ramparts adjacent to the Temple Mount.

Homes and Businesses from the Ramparts

After the ramparts walk we went to the Jewish Quarter to grab some lunch, pizza, and sit in the square in front of the Hurva Synagogue and enjoyed people watching. Today, being a Thursday, is a day for Bar Mitzvahs. We must have seen six or seven large crowds of family and friends accompanying the thirteen-year-old Jewish boy on the way to the Western Wall with a band and singing and dancing. It was quite a sight! We reflected that in Western culture we don't have these types of rites of passage that help young people move from childhood to adulthood. We invented "adolescence" and seem to be extending this in-between period longer and longer. We walked back to our hotel, gathered our luggage and made our way to the train which took us to the bus station.

The Front Door of Fauzi Azar Inn

Public bus from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Let's see, how to say this... it was different! First of all, there was very little English signage in the bus station. I definitely don't expect non-English speaking countries to cater to English speakers, it's just that we've vistied so few places in Israel that lacked English signs. So, it was a little challenging finding the ticket office, and after we bought our tickets (again, no English on the tickets), finding our way to the correct bus bay. We eventually figured it out. When loading the bus, the idea of some kind of orderliness in lining up and boarding was out the window. It was every man, woman, and child for themselves! Traffic on the way to Nazareth was very heavy and the trip took longer than expected, but we made it, checked into our inn, the Fauzi Azar Inn, in the Old City of Nazareth. It was a little weird walking through the Old City because all the shops lining the narrow streets were closed. It was like a ghost town. The inn is pretty neat. It's a large old house that's been converted and is quite comfortable.

Tomorrow we have a pretty light day. We will attend a Jesus Trail information session and visit the Nazareth Village, a re-creation of ancient Nazareth. It's been a good day.

Bob is blogging this part of our journey and you can check his out for a different perspective here: www.bobkaylor.com.

 

Last Day In Jerusalem

Today was the last day of our group Holy Land Pilgrimage. It has been an amazing journey and I have truly enjoyed sharing it with a wonderful group of people! It's been a blast getting to know the folks from Tri-Lakes UMC in Monument, Colorado, and others from California and Alabama and elsewhere, and of course, our little group of Kentuckians.

Model of Jerusalem, 2nd Temple Period

We made a late start this morning, by design. We rode to the Israel Museum and viewed a 1:50 scale model of the late 2nd Temple period Jerusalem, the way it existed just before the Romans destroyed the city in A.D. 70. The model is quite accurate and offers a unique view of the city as it existed during the life of Jesus. We toured the museum, viewing artifacts from that period of history. At the Israel Museum is the Shrine of the Book. The Shrine contains and exhibits many of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls which were produced by the community at Qumran, which we viewed yesterday.

The next item on our agenda was a visit the Holocaust Museum, also known as Yad Vashem. It's difficult to describe this place. How does one memorialize 6,000,000 people who were systematically murdered because of their religious and racial identity? It is a somber place, but a place of hope. The hope is, that by highlighting this terrible attempt at genocide, the world community will never let it happen again. Life is a precious gift, as humans we need to work to promote true tolerance, the dignity of each human being as a person created in the image of God, and life, itself.

Lydia at the Garden Tomb

We then made our way to the Garden Tomb. In the late 19th century Protestants were looking for their own holy site for pilgrimage and because of the gaudiness of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an alternative burial site for Jesus was sought. British Major-General Charles Gordon supplied one. Next to a large rock hill that resembles a skull a tomb was discovered cut into the rock. Gordon developed a theory that this could be the true tomb of Christ. Unfortunately, the tomb dates from the 9th to 7th century B.C. Jesus was buried in a newly cut tomb, so there is zero probability that the Garden Tomb is the actual tomb. However, it does provide a better view of an ancient tomb than the traditional site and it remains in a quiet garden setting. The British trust controlling the site opens it freely to the public and maintains several gathering areas for groups of pilgrims to worship. It has become a tradition for Protestant groups to celebrate Holy Communion here, and this is what we did. It was a beautiful end to an wonderful pilgrimage. Bob read Mark 1:14-15 and shared a brief message, asking what has God been saying to us and what do we think he's calling us to do? We shared in small groups and then celebrated Holy Communion, ending our time of pilgrimage singing "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again."

Communion at the Garden Tomb

We traveled back to the hotel and shared dinner together before the majority of our group returned to Tel Aviv for their flight back to the U.S. Others are heading to extensions in Jordan and Egypt. Bob Kaylor and I are headed back to Nazareth, where we will begin our trek on the Jesus Trail, a foot path from Nazareth to Capernaum. It was not an easy task putting Lydia on the bus to Tel Aviv. She's had a great trip, but I think she's ready to be home. I know Roz is ready for her to be home. I can't begin to describe the blessing it has been sharing this time with her. It's really amazing to see all of the folks who are here for the first time. I've done my best to describe what we've been doing and what we've seen and experienced, but there's no way to describe how the Bible jumps off the pages and comes to life here. It's been 15 years since my last trip here. It will not be 15 years until the next.

I look forward to blogging from the Trail. This will be a new experience for me. I think it's going to be a real blessing.

 

Masada, Qumran, and the Dead Sea

Early this morning we made our way down out of Jerusalem into the Judean wilderness and headed toward Masada, Herod's fortress that was used as a last refuge of militant Jews during the Jewish Revolt which began in A.D. 66. As we were driving along the Dead Sea, Hannah pointed out the far eastern end of the Kidron Valley. This is one of the valleys that begins next to the Old City, then runs through the Judean Wilderness and empties into the Jordan Valley, eventually into the Dead Sea. Hannah spoke about the prophecy in Ezekiel 47 which tells of the renewing of God's good creation and the fulfillment of God's plan for God's people. Water will flow from the Sanctuary down the valley and turn the Dead Sea into a Living Sea, flourishing with life. We stopped at En Gedi, an oasis in which David took refuge when King Saul pursued him. Bob read from 1 Samuel 24 and we prayed.

After walking the Snake Path to the top of Masada

Upon arrival at Masada, some brave members of our group chose to walk up the Snake Path, the one mile path up to the fortress that rises 1,300 feet in elevation. I was one of those persons whose sanity should be questioned. Actually, it was a a cool day, as far as temperatures go in the Jordan Valley, so the walk, though challenging on the cardio-vascular system and leg muscles, was as pleasant as it gets. A nice breeze blew and we took our time, stopping along the way for breathing breaks.

King Herod built a magnificent retreat on this high plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. It included two palaces, a bath house, numerous cisterns, and several other buildings, all fortified from potential attack. The Jewish Revolt broke out in A.D. 66 and a group of Jewish rebels took refuge in Herod's abandoned fortress. The Romans sieged Masada in A.D. 73/4, taking two to three months to build a siege ramp up the back side, eventually compromising the wall and entering the fortress. They discovered that the rebels had designed a scheme to have each man kill his family, then ten representative men to kill the other men, and one of those to kill the other nine, finally killing himself. The only survivors of the 960 Jewish rebels were a few women and children who had hidden in a cistern.

The remains of a synagogue from that period are still evident, along with the remains of a Byzantine church from a monastery that was built there in fifth century. The church didn't get much attention on the tour, but I find it fascinating exploring where Christian monastic communities sprang up all over the Holy Land. We took the cable car down to the visitors center and left via bus to visit Qumran.

Lydia and me at Qumran.

Qumran is an archaeological site north of Masada, along the Dead Sea, which served as a monastic type community for a Jewish sect called the Essenes who were contemporary with Jesus. Their importance lies in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls which contain sectarian documents, biblical commentaries, and biblical texts. The documents and fragments of the Old Testament uncovered at the Qumran caves serve as the earliest written copies of the Old Testament and verify the biblical text as we understood it before this find. The scrolls were discovered in various caves in the area. We visited this site and Hannah did a great job of explaining its historical and biblical importance.

On a beach at the Dead Sea, several from our group floated in the mineral rich waters of that lowest body of water in the world at an elevation of 1,300 feet BELOW sea level. Others enjoyed coffee or ice cream, sitting in the shade on the beach, watching people from all over the world floating in the water and spreading the mineral muds all over.

We made our way back to the hotel a little earlier tonight for a good night's rest before the final day of the pilgrimage.

 

 

Jerusalem, Day 2

Bob and Me at the Dome of the Rock

Our day began at the Temple Mount where we viewed the Muslim sites the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The Dome is built on the approximate site of Herod's Temple, although because the Muslim leaders in charge of the Mount will not allow archaeologists to dig beneath the Temple Mount, we are not certain about the exact location of the Temple.

We crossed the Temple Mount and entered into a Christian area where we visited St. Anne's Church, a Crusader Church with a unique acoustical echo. We sang and Barbara Lanham again shared her vocal talents. Next to the church is a much more intriguing biblical site, the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath. It is deep in the ruins of a Byzantine Church. Larry Adkins read John 5:1-10. Hannah noted that the only two healings Jesus performed in Jerusalem were of the blind man at the Pool of Siloam and the lame man here. Before David conquered the city, the Jebusites told him even if they put the blind and lame guarding the walls David would not be able to take the city. He did take the city and in the first century Jesus took the city by healing the lame and the blind.

We left the Old City via St. Stephen's Gate, also called the Lions' Gate, and boarded the bus which took us to Mount Zion. There we walked past the Hagia Sion Church which is a 19th century structure built over a Byzantine Church. Part of the complex contains a room built by the Crusaders over the remains of a Byzantine Church, which was built over what is believed to be the actual Upper Room where Jesus shared his last meal with his disciples. Ted Bauman read Mark 14:12-26. Tradition teaches that the disciples were here at the beginning of Pentecost, so we sang "There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place." At some point, Muslims turned it into a mosque, but since 1948, following Israeli independence, the place has been available to all faiths, but it is much more important as a Christian site, so I believe Christians are the only group who utilizes it. This actually makes it a nice pilgrimage site because the room has been left relatively simple, unadorned, and quiet.

Very close to the Upper Room is what has been venerated as King David's Tomb, which we briefly visited. This site functions as a small synagogue. It is highly unlikely this is the actual tomb due to its distance from the City of David, however, Byzantine pilgrims reported that they had visited David's Tomb on Mt. Zion near the Upper Room.

Me Reading Scripture in the Dungeon that Held Jesus

Leaving David's Tomb, we made our way downhill by foot to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Gallicantu means "cock crows." The modern church is built on the site of an ancient Byzantine Church which was built on the ruins of a large private home that is thought to be that of the High Priest Caiphas, where Jesus was held the night before his death and Peter denied Jesus three times. There is a nice outdoor chapel/sitting area where Bob read John 18:12-18 and commented briefly on the text. In the lower level of the church, where one of the cisterns had been venerated as the dungeon in which Jesus was imprisoned, I read Psalm 88 and we sang "Jesus Loves Me."

Ismael took us back to the Old City and we entered via Herod's Gate and began our journey through the Via Delarosa. It begins at a Franciscan Convent and winds through the Muslim Quarter, along narrow, sometimes covered streets lined with shops. We took a brief detour to see the first century street in the basement of the Sisters of Sion building where Bob read from Mark 15 and we reflected on Jesus' journey to the cross. The Via Delarosa eventually goes into the Christian Quarter and then to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place that enshrines Golgotha and the Empty Tomb.

Lydia at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built by Constantine but was destroyed by Muslims in the seventh century. The Crusaders rebuilt the church and this structure still stands. It is under majority control of the Greek Orthodox Church and in typical Orthodox fashion is filled with smoke and incense stained icons and much gold and silver. Even though it is not to Westerners' tastes, aesthetically, is bustling and busy with so many pilgrims, there still is a holy and awe-some feel to being in this most significant place.

After walking through the church we spent some time hanging out at the shops of the Christian Quarter. I enjoyed an Arabic Coffee with several fellow-pilgrims. We made our way out the Jaffa Gate and back to the hotel. Another blessed day following the footsteps of Jesus.