Next year in Jerusalem

Waking up this morning and realizing this was our last day in the land of Israel was bittersweet. On the one hand, it would certainly be nice to get back home, to see family and those we have been missing, but on the other had that would mean leaving this wonderful place and all the fine people we have grown to know and love over the last few days. We have certainly formed a special bond and I believe that experiencing this very special land, and walking where Jesus walked and seeing His country has cemented that link.

We boarded the coach for a short ride across town to the Mount of Olives, where Dr. Tom warned us of opportunistic pick pockets who would be milling around as we got off the bus, and that was indeed true, along with street vendors trying to sell the usual tourist fare. However, the view across the Kidron Valley to the Eastern wall of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the city beyond is spectacular and postcard perfect. Tom pointed out all of the sights and key buildings in a complete 180 degree panorama and it was wonderful to be able to see these in their context to where we had visited just a couple of days before.

From the top of the Mount we made our way down a very steep roadway towards the bottom of the valley and the Garden of Gethsemane. Along the way, we stopped to look at the small chapel where Jesus wept and further down to the location of where Jesus prayed with His three disciples, who struggled to stay awake as He agonized over His future.

As we approached the Garden, the sight of gnarled, ancient olive trees was moving, especially as Tom explained that although these trees were not old enough to come from the First Century, the root system that they grew from, very likely did. That means that these very trees were related to the trees that Jesus would have prayed amongst. Whilst it is hard not to idolize such locations and objects, it is easy to see why people would. The Church of All Nations is a spectacular building with beautiful paintings adorning the walls and some of the actual bedrock of the Mount at the front of the Church towards to Altar. After spending some quiet meditation time inside, we crossed the street and re-boarded the coach for our journey across the city to the Garden Tomb.

The Garden Tomb is located in an Arab area, close to the Damascus Gate and is adjoined by a modern-day bus depot. However, the garden is an oasis of tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of a modern, hectic city.

We learned that it had formerly been a vineyard with a winepress and the reason it was selected as a potential site for the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, was the neighboring hill site, resembling a skull, (now just above the bus depot), and the location of a tomb. Whilst this location does not fit historically with the death and burial of Jesus, it certainly looks like it should and fits everybody’s idea of what it should look like. The place of the skull does look ominous and ugly, (ironically, with a Muslim gravesite now on the top of the hill), and the garden is very pretty, and the tomb looks perfect to the Biblical story. Everybody was moved by the location and as we walked through the garden there was a reverent hush amongst all of us. We all got a chance to enter the tomb and have a look around and that especially was a moving experience. The highlight was being able to partake in a communion service in the garden, complete with small, olive wood communion cups that we were able to keep as a memento.

From the garden, we returned to the hotel for lunch and then some took advantage of a few free hours to hop on the highly efficient Jerusalem tram system and ride back into the city for a few hours of shopping, coffee drinking, (an Israeli pastime that would compete with the USA’s love of coffee), or just enjoying a last few minutes soaking up the ambience of the old city.

After enjoying our last dinner in the Hotel, we collected our luggage and headed off for the airport. We thanked Dr. Tom, our guide and our coach driver, and then joined the throngs of fellow tourists leaving and maneuvering through the challenging Israeli security system.

After a flight of the usual crying babies, toilet line-ups and airplane food, we landed safely in Newark and eventually all met up at the baggage carousel, where after a lengthy wait we all said our goodbyes and headed off in various directions to catch our connecting flights or rides into the city.

As I sit here in Newark airport typing this blog, with Karen struggling to keep her eyes open across the table, I realize that I am going to miss our fellow pilgrims, our special leaders, the sights, smells and sounds of the Holy Land and cannot help but whisper to myself, maybe as a prayer, maybe as a dream, …next year in Jerusalem.