Bethlehem

On Christmas Eve the eyes of many Christians will turn to Bethlehem as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ our Saviour and Lord. I had the privilege of visiting Bethlehem during Advent last year and so the place and the inhabitants are very much in my thoughts and prayers at this time.

One of my fellow pilgrims journeying to Bethlehem was Revd Dr Andrew Mayes. Andrew is now Course Director at St George’s College, Jerusalem and leads others in reflecting on the places and people in the Land of the Holy One. I have found Andrew’s recent meditation on Bethlehem both helpful and challenging and I’ve illustrated some of his comments with a few of the pictures I took:

At this time of year, hundreds come to Bethlehem to visit the Basilica of the Nativity. It is a fortress of a church, built by Justinian in the sixth century on Constantinian foundations. It is an awesome place. The pilgrims enter by a low door, requiring them to bend low in humility (though the original purpose of the low door was to prevent people riding the horses in!) One enters the mighty nave, with its stunning fourth century mosaics and soaring marble pillars. The church is built over the cave of the nativity, where a silver star marks the traditional birthplace of Christ. Pilgrims descend steep steps to enter the grotto, as if going into the depths of the earth, where they get on their knees to kiss the star and to touch the rock….

In Christianity the Holy Places developed after the Emperor Constantine's conversion in the forth century and the visit to his mother Helena to this land to identify the Holy Places associated with the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Splendid Byzantine churches marked these out as places of worship and pilgrimage, not least at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. There is an unbroken tradition of prayer and pilgrimage at this site where it is Christmas everyday! The place of the Nativity speaks powerfully about the Incarnation, the Word made flesh (Jn 1:18). It speaks of what has been called the "scandal of particularity" – that is – for God to take on humanity and human nature for the sake of the whole world, there had to be one specific time and one concrete place where that took place. That place is Bethlehem, and here Christians ponder the wonder of God taking on human flesh and blood from Mary and being born our Brother in Jesus. We would indeed bend low….the holy God was laid in the dirt and dust here in Bethlehem's stable…now the grotto of a magnificent adorned church where the famous Christmas Midnight Mass will be celebrated.

But there is another side to Bethlehem and another answer to the question – what is holy? Where can we find God? Where should we be looking for God? Where is God to be encountered today? Bethlehem is hemmed in by the Wall, the Separation Barrier or Security Barrier which here is a concrete wall almost 30 feet in height. This has become a stranglehold and noose around the people of the West Bank. While pilgrims and tourists may pass Bethlehem's military checkpoint at the Wall fairly freely, for Bethlehemites it is often a humiliating ordeal to pass in or out, only possible with the right ID or with special permits, not easily obtained. Many in Bethlehem are separated from their families and relatives in nearby Jerusalem. They can only with immense difficulty worship in Jerusalem, whether at the Muslim Al Aqsa Mosque or Christian Church of the Resurrection.

The statistics tell their own story. In 1947 Bethlehem was 80% Christian and 20% Muslim. Today it is the other way around, due to increasing rates of emigration of Christians in recent years. They are leaving in their droves, in search of a better life, in the US and elsewhere. The local population of Bethlehem, both Christian and Muslim, are prisoners in their own homes, living in the captivity of the West Bank occupied territories….

Where do we find God? Where should we be looking for Christ? Can it be that we can encounter him, not only in holy rocks and grottos but also in the broken lives of the oppressed?……

The life of Jesus redefines holiness. The incarnation redefines the holy. Now we touch the holy God in his incarnate life in Jesus. We see the Holy, in Jesus, in the dust and dirt of a Bethlehem stable, in the simplicity and poverty of Galilee, in the heartache and longing of his tears on the Mount of Olives, in the pain and isolation of Calvary, in the mystery of Easter – there, in these 'Holy places' God's presence is to be discovered and welcomed……

Our God is a God of surprises. He waits to reveal himself in surprising locations and in surprising people. That, perhaps, is the message of Bethlehem. And the question of Bethlehem is for every time and place: What is holy? Where is God to be found?

Please pray for Bethlehem and all its inhabitants this Christmas time.

My account of the visit to Bethlehem can be found here.

john the baptiser

Today we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. The picture on the left is The Church of St John the Baptist in Ein Karem. I had the privilege of visiting Ein Karem, where tradition says John was born, last Advent and an account of my visit can be found here.

On the walls of the grounds surrounding the church are plaques with the words of The Benedictus in many different languages. This is the prophecy spoken by Zechariah when his wife Elisabeth gave birth to his son John Luke 1:68-79.

holy land pictures - advent 2008

I've finally managed to put online some roughly edited photographs from my trip to the Holy Land during Advent 2008; they can be viewed on my Picasa Web Album site here. Thank you to all those who commented on my postings from the Holy Land, it was very encouraging, and I hope to post some final reflections over the next couple of weeks as my sabbatical draws to an end.

holy land reflections (3) - conflict

New Jewish Settlement under construction outside Bethlehem

This Christmas period has been a miserable time for the land of Christ’s birth and like many others I have been watching the unfolding tragedy of recent events with a sense of helplessness and despair. So far I have been reluctant to blog about the political situation in the Holy Land (this seems to me to be the least emotive title to describe the area) because the situation is so complex and so much that I have read fails to do justice to the people on all sides who are caught up in the conflict. These are just a few observations drawing on my experience of the place and the people.

Firstly I want to say how fortunate I was to visit the Holy Land when I did. Had I been there a few days later it would have been impossible to travel around as we did both in Jerusalem and in places like the West Bank. St. George’s College, Jerusalem has a full programme of courses for 2009 but if the present crisis continues it is inevitable that their programmes will be greatly curtailed and the opportunities for course members to encounter the land and people will be heavily restricted. So my thoughts and prayers are with Stephen and Jill Need and the rest of the staff at the college and particularly I pray for Andrew Mayes, the new Course Director at the college, who is due to lead a Palestine of Jesus course in the next couple of days.

One of the reasons I find it difficult to tease out my reflections on the political situation is that I was struck by the number of perfectly reasonable people on all sides of the conflict who have a real desire for peace but also fear that the chance of securing that peace is diminishing as extremists set the agenda.

On the Jewish side there is a genuine fear that they must do whatever it takes to secure their safety and that includes the construction of the separation barrier/wall and military intervention. In recent years Jewish communities in Israel have had to endure a steady stream of missiles raining down on them from across the Lebanese border and from Gaza. Many of these devices may be crude and poorly directed but that does not diminish the fear that this constant bombardment has created and the demand that the authorities do something about it. One of the most pathetic comments I heard came from a Palestinian with his explanation that 90% of these missiles fall on open agricultural land and so the threat is greatly exaggerated by the western media. Well I’m sorry but the fact that people aren’t very skilled at targeting their missiles isn’t very comforting.

You only have to spend a few minutes in the holocaust museum to understand the Jewish determination that they will never let this happen again. That determination is reinforced by the pronouncements of some Palestinian and Arab leaders who continue to deny Israel’s right to exist (Hamas and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran for example). It is not good enough to argue that these pronouncements are simply for internal consumption and that they won’t actually act on these sentiments – Jewish people have been there before. By the way, I thought Channel 4’s decision to invite Ahmadinejab to give the alternative Queen’s speech on Christmas Day was an example of the worst sort of publicity seeking act of stupidity by a supposedly responsible media organisation. Peter Tatchell’s comment piece in The Guardian very effectively exposed that mendacious nonsense.

The problem is that the measures taken by the Israeli authorities seem to be exacerbating the situation. The security wall has been effective in preventing the incursion of suicide bombers but it has also been effective in increasing the searing resentment in the West Bank as has the blockade of Gaza following the election there of Hamas. The wall doesn’t follow the boundaries of the Palestinian territories as internationally agreed and in many places has effectively annexed some of the best agricultural land and crucial water supplies. The wall has had a major impact on the economic, social, religious, mental and physical wellbeing of Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians.

Israeli settlements continue to be built in the West Bank despite Israel’s commitment to stop them and they often secure the best land and facilities at the expense of the Palestinians; I saw this at Bethlehem. Seeing the infrastructure being put in place I cannot see how these settlements will ever be abandoned and this makes the likelihood of a two state solution less realistic by the day. It will not be long before there is no area that could form a Palestinian State as it is reduced to little more than a series of rump communities cut off from each other. This was a fear I heard expressed by both Israeli and Palestinian representatives who came to speak to us.

The new road systems being built across the Holy Land made our movement around the country swift and comfortable. However, I was disturbed to learn that cars with Palestinian number plates are effectively banned from these roads and many of the roads they are allowed to use are falling into disrepair; in some cases they suddenly come to a stop as they have been blocked off by the security forces. I just don’t see how these policies are going to lead to anything other than greater resentment as they concretise a structure of apartheid.

The same could be argued about the present military action by Israel in Gaza. I have yet to read one politician or commentator who can explain how the policy being pursued by Israel is going to bring about her stated desire for peace and security. It is a short term response to the understandable demand that something be done about the shelling of Israeli communities from Gaza, against the backdrop of the general elections taking place in the next couple of months. However, the action seems doomed to the same failure as the War in Lebanon of 2006.

One of the writers who has best summarised the present situation in my view is David Aaronovitch writing in The Times. He comments:

The historian Tom Segev, writing in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, yesterday reminded readers that “all of Israel's wars have been based on yet another assumption that has been with us from the start: that we are only defending ourselves”, but that “no military operation has ever advanced dialogue with the Palestinians”. He wasn't saying that Israel hadn't the right to stop the rockets from being fired from Gaza, but that it would get the larger process precisely nowhere.

Adamant though I am about the need to combat Islamist violence, it is hard not to see Western and Israeli policy towards Gaza since Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2005 as one huge strategic error. There was the refusal to deal with the Hamas Government elected in January 2006, the siding with Fatah in the subsequent internal dispute, the imposition of an effective blockade on Gaza that amounted to collective punishment.

My personal opinion is that the best way forward is a two state solution but that the longer implementation is delayed the less likely that solution will be possible given some of the factors I have mentioned above. President elect Obama and his new administration in the U.S.A. will have a crucial part to play and George W. Bush’s failure to invest any effort into the peace process until the last moment is one more indictment against his bankrupt (in every sense) presidency. The Israeli elections in February will also be critical and one can only hope that the extreme religious and political forces which have so often dictated policy can be marginalised. On the Palestinian side one can also hope that those who only see resolution to the issue through the missile, suicide bomb and eradication of the State of Israel are rejected by the people, though the present crisis makes that less likely. I am convinced that the vast majority of Palestinians and Jews want peace but it has to be based on a just and equitable settlement.

One is tempted to despair that any peaceful way forward is possible and then I remember the words of a member of the P.L.O. Negotiations Affairs Department who spoke to us while in Jerusalem. He urged us not to give up hope, to become better informed and above all to pray for the situation. Seems pretty good advice to me so that is what I plan to do.

Israeli soldier checking our passports at a Bethlehem border crossing.

jerusalem (14) - back home

Last lunch with some of my fellow pilgrims at the Austrian Hospice.

Friday 19th December. Well I survived the 12 hours at Ben Gurion Airport, the security checks were nowhere near as daunting as I had been led to believe and I was pleasantly surprised to discover the plane home was a 747. I had an aisle seat and no one sitting next to me so plenty of room even though the flight was fairly full. The other passenger in my row was a young Jewish Israeli called Omri (aged 15) who was born in London but now lives in Israel; he was travelling to stay with friends in London to celebrate Christmas. Omri told me that one of the things he misses most in Israel is bacon rolls.

You have a large choice of films to select from on a jumbo and I decided to avoid those I am likely to watch with Kate. I ended up with Wanted and then Tropic Thunder; my recommendation is to avoid them as neither were any good but it meant I could relax and switch off. A two hour tube and train ride across London and then Kate and the kids came to pick me up from the station. Slight problem, they weren't expecting me for another 24hrs! My fault as I had told them I would be home Thursday not Wednesday. It was fantastic to see them and I began to realise just how much I had been missing them while away. The kids had just finished their last day of term so we have plenty of time to catch up over the next few days. Went to bed early to catch up on some sleep and when I woke up began to wonder whether the last three weeks had really happened. I missed hearing the call to prayer and the weather at home is obviously cooler, though not as cold as I was expecting.

One of the things I am aware of is a heightened sensitivity to the situation in the Middle East and I find myself picking out news stories about the area almost subconsciously. This morning I came across an interesting article in The Guardian about an exhibition of cartoons on the Israel - Palestinian conflict at London's Political Cartoon Gallery and I think I will try to get to see it. The cartoon printed in The Guardian was particularly disturbing.

I've got about 1,000 pictures to edit and may put them up on a website in case anyone wants to have a look. In the meantime I'm ploughing through the Christmas cards and accompanying letters that have arrived while I've been away and I am frantically trying to remember who I haven't sent a card to.

Shalom.

Dusk at St. George's College, Jerusalem.

jerusalem (13) - leaving emmaus

View of the hills of Jerusalem from Abu-Ghosh

Tuesday 15th December. The last day of our course began after breakfast with a reflection on Luke’s account of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-35. Then it was time to jump on the bus and head off for Emmaus. At this point a problem became apparent; there are now four possible sites for Biblical Emmaus! While travelling we explored the possibility of each location. The key issue is the distance from Jerusalem. Luke describes it as being 60 Stadia, translated as 7 miles, from Jerusalem and says that the disciples, Cleopas and another, returned to Jerusalem that night so it had to be relatively close. We visited two possible places. The first was the site of the town of Motza on a Roman Road about 3.5 miles from Jerusalem. There are some excavations under way on the ancient site and we had a brief walk on the Roman Road. The problem with this site is the distance unless Luke was referring to a round trip.

Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant: Abu-Ghosh

The next site visited was Abu-Ghosh a town approximately 7 miles from Jerusalem. This was the place identified by the Crusaders as the Biblical Emmaus and there is a Crusader church there which is considered by some to be one of the best preserved churches from that period in the Holy Land. Unfortunately, the church was not open when we turned up so we didn’t get to have a look round. Instead we went to the the Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche de l'Alliance (The Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant). The site is identified as the house of Abinadab where the Ark of the Covenant resided for 20 years before David took it to Jerusalem. Mary is considered to be the Ark of the New Covenant as the bearer of the Lord’s presence in the person of Jesus. It is a beautifully peaceful place with shaded olive tree grounds and a simply decorated but nevertheless impressive church. One of the reasons for the plainness of the décor is the recognition that it is also a holy Jewish site and the church does not want to give undue offense.

Icon in Church of Our lady of the Ark of the Covenant.

It was outside the church, overlooking the town and across to Jerusalem, that we celebrated our final Eucharist as a group. Led by Brother David, the focus was on the sense of Jesus having revealed himself to the disciples then leaving them to move on. This was an appropriate way for us to end our pilgrimage together as we began to prepare to leave Jerusalem and return home.

On returning to Jerusalem we had a free afternoon before coming together for the evening which began at the Dean’s apartment with some drinks, a chance to thank those who have so ably led us, presentations and some entertainment. The evening finished with a meal in a local restaurant and then saying goodbye to those who had early flights to catch. I feel really fortunate as my flight is only five and a half hours, some people will be travelling for nearly two days.

I spent Tuesday packing and having a final walk around the old city with some of the other course members. We had a relaxed and enjoyable lunch in the garden of the Austrian Hospice on the corner of the Via Dolorosa. I say relaxed but there is a minaret just opposite the hospice and the call to prayer which started up half way through our meal was extremely loud (though I managed to record it for future use). The weather was, like it has been throughout the course save a couple of cloudy days, warm and sunny. That’s been great for us as pilgrims, however, Jerusalem is in desperate need of rain as December has been unusually dry so far.

Brothers David & Robert: 'Are you sure he said cheesemakers?'

I’m writing this piece in Ben Gurion airport at just after 1am on Wednesday morning. My check in is at 5am so I thought I’d make good use of the time and the chairs are too uncomfortable to try and sleep. The good news is there is free Wi-Fi in the airport so I can post this straight away. Having been away from home for the last three weeks I’m looking forward to spending plenty of time with my wife and children over the Christmas period. I will continue to reflect on my time in the Holy Land over the next few weeks; there has been so much to absorb and process that I feel I need a bit of time before commenting in more depth on what I have learnt about the places and people of the Holy Land. I am sure it will take me a lot longer to fully appreciate all I have received during my time here.

I am particularly grateful to Stephen and Jill Need and to the staff at St. George’s College for their hospitality and running of an excellent course/pilgrimage. It has been said that St. George’s is one of the Anglican Communion’s best kept secrets and if my experience is anything to go by that certainly seems to be true. Brothers Robert and David from the Society of St. John the Evangelist were everything one could hope for in our chaplains; they ministered to us with deep spiritual insight and humour and have led us sensitively in worship and reflection. They gave to us much more than I could have hoped for or expected and I thank them for their generosity of time, energy and prayers.

For me the most important aspect of a pilgrimage is journeying with others and learning, sharing and growing together. We were quite a disparate group on the course and yet I believe we got on well together and our conversations and discussions were challenging, encouraging and affirming. At the start of the course I mentioned the question of whether I was a tourist or a pilgrim and it has been the people on the course, as much as the places I have been to, that have helped me to feel that I have been a pilgrim, with a bit of tourism thrown in. Above all I believe we have experienced in community God’s presence, grace and love and that has been a great way to spend Advent.

Shalom.

jerusalem (12) - remembering

The Kidron Valley with Jewish cemetery and Tomb of Zecheriah

Sunday 14th December. As I mentioned in my post last night, today was to be more relaxed but didn’t quite turn out that way. In the morning I decided to head through the old city to the lower southern side and visit the City of David excavations outside the walls. Unfortunately, I had chosen a time when several parties of school children were visiting the site with teachers and so I gave up as I didn’t have the time to queue. I was surprised to see that with every party of children was at least one armed teacher/parent/guardian; armed not with a side arm but an automatic rifle. I wonder what impact this has on the children, however, given that each will be required to serve in the army I guess guns are part of everyday life.

School children with armed guard (4th from left)

My change of plan was to walk along the Kidron valley to get a closer look at the tombs and a different perspective on the Mount of Olives. One feature of the valley is the extraordinary cemeteries to the right of the Mount of Olives, covered in thousands of tombs. This is the favoured spot of burial for Jews because it is close to the Golden Gate in the wall of Temple Mount. This gate is blocked up but will be opened when the Messiah comes and the dead shall rise to greet him. People want to be as near as possible and consequently the tombs are very costly. Robert Maxwell is buried here; no doubt his tomb was purchased with money scammed from Mirror Group pensioners. Having visited the churches of the Mt of Olives on Friday, looking up at them again from the valley brought back thoughts of the last few hours of Jesus’ life and the powerful impression each church had left on me.

From left: Church of All Nations, Church of Mary Magdalene & Dominus Flevit

In the afternoon a group of us visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. It is difficult to express one’s reaction to this place and the story it tells; hard to process the unfolding horror; shaming to be confronted with the anti-Semitism fostered by Christianity down through the centuries; humiliating to reflect on the failure of so many to do anything before it was too late. I mentioned to Brother Robert, near the beginning of the course, that I found it difficult to see the Western Wall as a place of prayer and he suggested it as a place to pray for forgiveness for what we have done to the Jews. I walked through the halls, looked at the photographs, films and artefacts, and some of the material was familiar but the display of a pile of shoes from one of the concentration camps was shocking in its simplicity. Hearing the testimonies of survivors and reading about the unimaginable suffering of the ghettos and the camps, it is not difficult to understand Israel’s determination that this will never happen again. At the same time I noticed the groups of young Israeli conscripts being guided round the museum as part of their induction and couldn’t but speculate as to the impact this was intended to have on them. Is it to remember or is it also to harden their determination to defend their state and their people at all costs? I found myself thinking about the establishment of the ghettos and the image of the separation barrier/wall also came to mind.

Entrance to the Yad Vashem Museum

The most moving place for me was the Children’s Memorial in the gardens. You enter an underground space and a darkened room with a central pyramid structure and walkways around it. The structure and walkways are made of glass and filled with small white lights. The lights reflect off the surfaces and create a galaxy of points of light. As you walk around the structure a voice reads out the name and age of some of the 1.5 million children murdered. No photography is allowed inside the museum but no picture would do justice to the impact of this memorial. Outside is a sculpture which I was able to photograph. I didn’t look too closely at it when I took the picture but when preparing the photo for the blog I found I had to stop as tears filled my eyes; it isn’t only the sculpture but what it represents. I’ve seen some truly stunning pieces of art over the last couple of weeks and I have to say that none has had the impact on me that this did.

Sculpture outside the Children's Memorial

The last visit of the day was to The Shrine of the Book, a relatively small museum dedicated to an extraordinary treasure. The first display one encounters is an impressive model of Second Temple Jerusalem. However, the focal point of the museum is the Dead Sea Scrolls which I mentioned in my post about Qumran. The main hall describes the scrolls and their significance and the centre piece is a facsimile of the Scroll of Isaiah, the only complete scroll recovered. In an air conditioned side room an original section of another scroll, the Scroll of the Temple, is displayed.

Model of Second Temple Jerusalem

Display of the Scroll of Isaiah

Back at the college we enjoyed another excellent dinner prepared by the chef Joseph, with the added surprise of a birthday cake for Stephen, Dean of St. George’s and our course director. This was followed by a time to share reflections on the course and our experiences. I will post more about my personal reflections at another time. At this point I’ll finish with a prayer from this evening's Compline.

God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives,
we have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.

Shalom.

View from Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.

Sign on the ticket office window at The Shrine of the Book.

jerusalem (10) - holy week

Our small band of pilgrims enter the Damascus Gate at Dawn

Friday 12th December. Up at 5:30am as a small group of us visited the Church of the Resurrection before breakfast. Really enjoyed walking through the old city at dawn, the streets were so quiet and still and we were able to see the place in a different light without the bustle of the people and markets. The Church of the Resurrection was, however, quite busy and there was a Catholic mass just beginning at Calvary. There were also more people at the tomb than on my previous visit. Nevertheless, there were some places of peace and solitude for prayer and these tended to be the little side chapels and other areas no one is much interested in. My favourite spot is the place known as the holding cell, where Jesus was kept just prior to his crucifixion. It is mesmerising to move from area to area and hear the services in different languages; priests in a variety of vestments reflecting the diversity of traditions, interweaving their liturgies like some elaborately choreographed opera.

A Coptic Priest by the Edicule at the Church of the Resurrection

After breakfast we headed for the Mount of Olives to follow some of the journey of Jesus during Holy Week. Beginning with the Palm Sunday Church at Bethphage, we spent time reading the account of Jesus’ Entry to Jerusalem on a Donkey, before reflecting on the contrast between the procession of Jesus and the procession of Pilate into Jerusalem. The church is a relatively humble place with simple frescos and an interesting mounting stone, thought to be from the crusader period. On the stone is the picture of a laughing donkey and you can only view it by looking at its reflection in a mirror.

Dominus Flevit

On to Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) a tear shaped church commemorating Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. This is another Barluzzi church and through the window behind the altar one looks out across the Kidron valley to Jerusalem. The reading from Luke 19:41 led into a reflection led by Brother David and quiet prayerful singing.

The bare rock at Gethsemane

Down the road we entered the Garden of Gethsemane with its ancient olive trees and Barluzzi’s Church of All Nations also known as the Church of the Agony. The focal point of the church is a bare piece of rock where Jesus prayed to his Father before his arrest, while the disciples slept. It was one of those churches I found helpfully led me into prayer and, despite the visitors, there was a stillness about the place that I found very affecting. I have to agree with Brother Robert that Barluzzi really was a genius at rendering scripture in stone.

Ascent from Mary's Tomb (Orthodox)

Bit of a shock to the system for me at this point as we moved further along the base of the Mt of Olives to The Tomb of Mary. Much as I understand the importance of Mary, she has never been central to my devotions or worship and I struggle with some of the traditions that have developed about her over the centuries. It was an interesting place to visit and we spent time reading John’s account of Mary and the Beloved Disciple at the Cross John 19:25-27. The tomb is deep underground and empty as Catholics believe Mary was assumed into heaven (at least that is the assumption); leaving the church was a bit like emerging from a dark womb.

St. Mark's Syrian Orthodox Church - The Upper Room

Lunch was followed by a visit to the Syrian church of St. Mark’s in the old city. The Syrian Church believes that this is the site of Mark’s house, the place of the Last Supper and Pentecost and they claim the first church in Christianity. It was an extraordinary visit, not because of the church but a woman called Justina who showed us around. Justina shared with us stories of miracles she had witnessed at the icon of Mary in the church and then sang the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, as she said, the language of our Lord. She got very upset when a couple of our group crossed their legs while sitting in the church (a very rude gesture in her tradition), however, Justina was a great host and a tremendous evangelist. Eventually she took us down to the Upper Room (down because the city street level is much higher today than C1st AD) where she sang to us in Aramaic once more and then encouraged us to join in. By this stage we were pushed for time so set off to Mount Sion outside the southern wall and a visit to the Cenacle. This is the other site claimed as the place of the Last Supper and has a much older tradition associated with it. The place normally shown in photographs is part of a Crusader church, which became a Mosque and then a Synagogue. We read Paul’s account of The Last Supper from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 before singing Eat This Bread.

Cenacle - traditional site of The Last Supper

The Cenacle is next to Dormition Abbey, the other site dedicated to Mary’s Assumption. This is a really imposing and dramatic building on the top of Mount Sion looking across to the old city and is a clear feature of the Jerusalem skyline. The Abbey is another church decorated with mosaics. There are also swathes of white plaster and I don’t know if this is because they ran out of money before completing the decoration or this was the original intention but for me it didn’t quite work. I’m prepared to forgive any shortcomings with the décor because they did have a decent Advent Wreath and serve a great cup of coffee in the cafeteria.

Advent Wreath Dormition Abbey

I enjoyed a wander through the old city as the sun set, watching the orthodox Jews running to their synagogues for the start of Shabbat and trying to get photos of their different hats and clothes as the light faded. I did manage a photo of the moon rising over Jerusalem, it really was a stunning sight. The rest of the evening was a relaxed affair; a briefing about departure and procedures at the airport, followed by dinner and then a short rehearsal of some of the liturgy we will be using tomorrow morning when we will be walking the Way of the Cross (another 6am departure!).
Shalom.

Moonrise over Jerusalem

jerusalem (9) - healing

The Street of the Cheesemakers: where Jesus walked?

Thursday 11th December. Back into full swing this morning but things didn’t go according to plan. We headed off early to visit Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (Temple Mount) only to find that the Moslem religious leaders had extended the celebrations which were due to have ended on Wednesday to Sunday. This meant the site was closed to non-Moslems so we couldn’t go in. Stage two of the plan had been to visit the temple southern wall excavations so we went straight there and had an absorbing time looking at all that has been uncovered and what it reveals particularly about the Second Temple. Two particular areas drew my attention. The first a C1st A.D. street beside the temple under what is now known as the Robinson Arch. The street is called the Street of the Cheesemakers (let the reader understand again) and was lined with traders’ shops where goods including food and temple sacrifices were sold. The area is also surrounded by Mikvah’ot for purification before worship. The other area is the southern steps leading up to the temple, which I mentioned in a previous post. We sat on these steps and listened to John 2:13-22, the cleansing of the temple, and then reflected on its significance for Jesus' life and mission.

Southern steps to Second Temple.

On to the Western/Wailing wall which I posted about previously. As before there was a lot of activity with Bar Mitzvah ceremonies and musicians playing drums and blowing shawms (rams horns).

Wailing at the Wailing Wall

Our change of plan was to leave by the Dung gate and head for St Peter en Gallicantu, the church where the Denial of Peter is commemorated and is also believed to be the residence of the temple High Priest Caiaphas. The church affords stunning views of the old city and across to the Mount of Olives and down the valley towards the Dead Sea. A very welcome cup of coffee was followed by one of the most evocative times of prayer and reflection. The church was restored in the 1990’s and the décor inside is a series of beautiful mosaics, the designs are breathtaking and expertly executed. We sat in the body of the church singing Taize chants and then another group of pilgrims entered. They read Peter’s Denial Matthew 26:69-75 in Spanish and then one of our party read it in English. After a time of silence we moved to the area underneath the church which includes the dungeon where Jesus is believed to have been held overnight before his crucifixion. It’s basically a deep pit into which prisoners were lowered by rope. We stood in the cell listening to Psalm 88, imagining the darkness and the fear.

Mosaics in St Peter en Gallicantu.

Outside the church are extensive excavations which have led to the conclusion that this was the high priest’s house and next to it are a set of steep steps which it is thought Jesus would have descended to go to Gethsemane and then ascended as he was brought before the Chief Priest.

Pool of Bethesda.

Back into the old city and lunch at a Lutheran Hospice. As usual the food was excellent and was rounded off with a slice of panettone and coffee. Then across the old city to The Pool of Bethesda which is a remarkable archaeological site. We sat in the church for another powerful meditation by Brother Robert on healing following the reading of John 5:2-16. Do we really want to be healed? The church has interesting acoustics, effectively a reverb chamber, and it is not easy to hear someone speak but the singing sounds out of this world. The excavations go right down to the pools at the time of Jesus, with remains of a Byzantine basilica and then Crusader church on top. One comment to make about Biblical archaeology at this point. Back at the Second Temple site Kathleen Kenyon, who I mentioned in relation to Jericho, identified a wall as being second temple when in fact it was later. At Bethesda scholars were very sceptical that there was a pool and so were astounded when one was actually found. It just goes to show that the archaeologists and their assumptions are not necessarily right. At the same time we should thank God for their gifts and skills which have helped to reveal so much about sites in the Holy Land.

Separation Barrier on outskirts of Jerusalem.

It has been a long day and in the evening we had a lecture on Christians in the Holy Land. It was an introduction to the history, plethora of denominations and the issues faced by indigenous Christians today. Christians now number about one percent of the population and many of them live in areas that are cut off by the wall, or separation barrier as many Israeli’s would call it. Basically, many Christians are prevented from attending their churches, amongst many other things, because of the limitations on travel imposed as part of the security measures. It is easy to forget, when thinking about the situation in this part of the world, that a majority of the Christians are Palestinian Arabs living in areas including the West Bank.

Shalom.

jerusalem (8) - he is not here!

Domes of Church of the Resurrection to left of central tower of the Lutheran Church.

Wednesday 10th December. Today the pace slowed down a little. We had some free time in the morning which I took to relax, read, change some money and wander. Then before lunch we met for a lecture on The Church of The Resurrection (also known as the Chrch of The Holy Sepulchre) and after lunch headed for a visit. This extraordinary church is the latest construction on the site believed to be that of Calvary and the empty tomb of Jesus. Now there is another tomb site, near St. George’s College, discovered by General Gordon when he took Jerusalem under British rule. This site is one favoured by some reformed traditions who dislike the Church of the Resurrection and all that goes with it. For some people it also looks more like what is expected, with an attractive garden, however, the tradition for this site is very late.

Ethiopean monastery on roof of the Church of the Resurrection.

It is difficult to describe the church, which is accessed through the narrow streets of the old city. Click here for a floor plan. We started on the roof where there is an Ethiopian monastery and what immediately hit me was the dilapidated nature of the monastery, reflecting the poverty of the monks. They are just one of six different denominations who share responsibility for the church and all have to agree before work can be carried out in much of the church. This has meant some areas have been shamefully neglected for many years and some parts have been in danger of collapse. Inside and past various chapels and we came to Calvary. There are two altars here; one owned by the Roman Catholics and the other by the Greek Orthodox. It is the Orthodox sanctuary which is over the bedrock in which Christ’s cross is believed to have been placed and you can put your hand through an opening and touch the rock. The area was quite busy and it was difficult to prayerfully engage with the space so we moved on to other parts of the church. I will need to go back again early in the day to find a quieter time and spot to reflect.

Greek Orthodox Calvary

The edicule where the tomb of Jesus is believed to have been is in bad condition; held together by large metal bands surrounding the structure. Visitors are allowed in four at a time by an Orthodox monk and once inside you don’t see much, just an altar on the spot where the tomb was located. The monk banged on a stone after a few moments to say time was up. One bonus was that the Orthodox chapel under the main dome was open and with no one in it there at least was some space to be still for a few moments.

Edicule of the Tomb of Jesus.

Dome of the Greek Orthodox area.

As I mentioned, I need to go back at a better time of the day, though it was good to see the place as many people encounter it. One small insight summed the church up for me on this visit. We visited a small chapel off which is located two tombs, one believed to be that of Joseph of Arimathea. The chapel was little more than a cave and in a terrible state. Apparently this is the Syrian chapel but owned by the Armenians who let them use it. The Syrians won’t renovate it because they don’t own it and the Armenians won’t restore it because they don’t use it! Now I understand why at various times these different groups have found it so hard to agree on anything significant to do with the building. One other incident did lift my spirit; as I left the Franciscan Monks were beginning a sung procession of worship round the church and the singing was magnificent.

Syrian Chapel owned by the Armenians.

After dinner we had the first of three lectures on the current situation between Israel and the Palestinians. This evening’s talk was giving a Jewish perspective and was presented by Ophir Yarden of the Inter-religious Co-ordinating Council in Israel. I won’t comment on what he said as we have two more contributions from a Christian and a Palestinian and I need more time to reflect on this subject. At this point I will just say that Ophir was very impressive in his explanation of the variety of Israeli perspectives and grasp of the national and international situation. He sees this as a critical period given the recent elections in the U.S.A and the Israeli elections in the New Year.
Shalom.

jerusalem (7) - dead sea

The Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth.

Tuesday 9th December. Today was about being a tourist as we journeyed to the Dead Sea. First on the agenda was a visit to Massada overlooking the sea and giving spectacular views across to the Jordanian hills once the haze had cleared.

Herod's Palace on cliff face: Massada.

Massada is a fortress built on an imposing hill and initially constructed as a palace by Herod the Great. Being somewhat paranoid, in his case people were really out to get him, Herod built the palace as an impenetrable fortress well away from potential enemies. It really is a staggering achievement, though it is sobering to remember hat the place was built and functioned on the backs of a large force of slaves. There is an ingenious system for collecting water from the surrounding area and storing this in huge cisterns hewn in the rock. The excavated rock was then used to build the settlement on top.

View from Massada: a Roman encampment outlined towards bottom of the picture.

Perhaps Massada is better known as the site of resistance against the might of the Roman Empire by a group of Jewish zealots who held back one of Rome’s greatest legions. The story concludes with the fortress finally falling in 73 A.D. only for the entering forces to discover that the inhabitants had committed suicide, save for a woman and some children. The outlines of the Roman camps and the ramp constructed to breach the hilltop are still visible. The story is recounted by Josephus and was made into a film in 1981 starring Peter O’Toole. Our trip began with a short introductory film of the history, before a cable car ride to the top. You can walk up by a couple of routes and this was the preferred method of ascent by some of the younger parties of visitors but I was happy to sit back and enjoy the views.

A few comments about Massada. It is very impressive and as I said the views are spectacular but the place also left me feeling uncomfortable. Firstly because the place was built using slaves and I could envisage the luxury of Herod’s palace with its baths and pools, house for concubines and visitors quarters being maintained by a completely oppressed workforce. Secondly, there is now some questioning of exactly what happened at Massada. Was it home to 900 zealots, heroically holding out against the might of Rome or a rather smaller group whose stand has been exaggerated because it wouldn’t have looked good for a legion to have been held back for so long and at such expense by a handful of rebels? There is also some suggestion that the zealots made their way to Massada while trashing the villages and towns on the way. I make no judgement but just observe there are different narratives for these events.

My chief concern, however, is that Massada is clearly a rallying point for Zionism in a rather disturbing manner. Here the legend of the valiant, faithful remnant holding out against the surrounding armies is given full expression; from the film at the beginning of the visit through to the realisation that until recently all Israeli soldiers came to this place to be sworn in. When we returned to the base of Massada I half expected to see a recruiting sergeant with sign up papers.

A Dead Sea float.

Having seen the Dead Sea from Massada it was good to reach it and go for a swim. Actually you go for a float rather than a swim because the mineral content of the water prevents you from sinking. The water was pleasantly warm but getting in and out was a painful experience because of the sharpness of the mineral deposits on the rocks and stones; several of our party ended up with cuts and grazes. The problem with this is that when you get out of the water any abrasions of the skin sting and I discovered cuts and bites in places I didn’t know I had on my body! A good warm shower and filling picnic were very welcome and at least I had a photo to prove to the kids that I had floated on the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. The sad news is that the sea is drastically reducing in size and areas that were covered in sea are now exposed land with sparse vegetation.

Caves where Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947-56.

Finally, we stopped off at Qumran to visit the excavations and consider the impact of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the site of an Essene community. A dig was underway while we visited which gave the site added impact, though it is impressive enough with the view of the various caves where the scrolls were discovered and the clear layout of the community's living quarters. One of the features of this course I have really appreciated is the talks and short lectures bringing us up to date on the latest research and discoveries in the Holy Land. Today we were fortunate that one of our party had a masters degree from Oxford which focused on Jewish Piety in the Second Temple period and she gave us an impromptu talk on research on Qumran and the Essenes.

Qumran excavations.

Again we were reminded of the ambiguities that surround archaeological research. The scrolls themselves are a crucial find giving us the earliest copies of many of the Hebrew scriptures, save the book of Esther which is probably because the book doesn’t mention God. The scrolls also include the Essene’s strict rule, showing them to be a very ascetic sect, messianic, eschatological and dedicated scribes who demonstrated their faithfulness with ritual washing. The site contained several deep mikvah'ot for full body washing and a scriptorium. However, some scholars now question the conclusions made about the site. Do the scrolls found belong to the community that lived nearby? Did an Essene community live here? Why were the bodies of women and children found in the cemetery when the Essenes where a strict ascetic and supposedly celibate sect? Was John the Baptist an Essene? All these questions simply highlight the uncertainties that remain with these sites.

Desert Places

It was time to head back to Jerusalem and the college but on the way home I did switch back to pilgrim mode as Andrew Mayes, another member of the course who is soon to become course director, gave us a talk and reflection on Desert Spirituality. The surrounding environment was a great aid in appreciating the attractions and the demands for those drawn into the desert to grow in their relationship with God.

Shalom.