Day 08 - St. Anne's, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Mt. of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Southern Steps

Second to last day in the Holy Land happened to be Ash Wednesday! We started by lifting our voices in St. Anne’s Cathedral for all of Jerusalem to hear (whether they wanted to or not). We remembered the story of the paralyzed man in the pools of Bethesda and how being made well alters your identity.

We walked through the Muslim quarter to get to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This huge stone church is thought to be built upon both Golgotha and Jesus’ tomb. Ornate layers of many religions and church traditions line the floors, walls, and ceiling.

By midday we found ourselves visiting the garden tomb, which is another likely site where the crucifixion and resurrection could have taken place. Together we took communion in remembrance of what happened at these sites. After a street corner falafel lunch (10/10 very yummy) we walked through the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. We had time to sit and look out over the valley, praying the way Jesus had in Matthew 26. Our final, perhaps more epic, spot for the day was the Southern Steps. These very stairs are the original entrance to the Temple, where hundreds of thousands people would flock during Jewish holy days. We sat in awe and wonder on these stairs piecing together the events of Pentecost.