The morning began bright and clear,
although we had heard of storms on the coast causing electrical outages. After
watching a single intersection blocked repeatedly by drivers entering without
being able to exit when the light changed, I will no longer refer to Calgary
drivers as the worst. We were going a short drive to the upper part of the
Mount of Olives in order to walk down after an orientation to the eastern city
wall, most recently built by the Ottomans (so only 500 years old). It was an
amazing view of the Temple of the Rock in the morning light.
We moved down (and the contours of the hills are impossible to see on a map) to the church of Dominus Flevit, dedicated to Jesus’ tears as he wept for Jerusalem before his own death. Then further down to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Basilica of the Agony near the bottom of the hill, where it is believed that Judas kissed Jesus to turn him in to the Romans. The churches were beautiful, but it is not a place to look for peace. I can’t imagine what this must be like on Easter week.
We took the bus about two kilometers across the valley, by the old City of David (below the Temple Mount), and up to the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, believed to be the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, and the site of Peter’s denial (so a reference to the cock). Again, the views are remarkable, and steps are everywhere going up and down the hillside, focused on the water supply.
Then we headed to Bethlehem. Again, the
traffic was challenging, but it looks like that is just going to be the way of
things here, as it was again on the way back. We were introduced to the wall
between the Palestinian and Israeli sides… and ate just inside the division. It
is hard to imaging how this cannot breed more anger and in a few, more `hate.
And then to the traditional site of Jesus’
birth, in a cave under the Orthodox Church of the Nativity, and the next door
St Catherine’s church (which is the site of midnight mass on Christmas Eve –
televised around the western world). A star marks the site of the birth, and a
stone manger a couple of meters away is surrounded by drapes and a marble floor
(thanks to the crusaders). I found it hard to peel away the accretion of two
millennia of well-intentioned embellishment to get to any spiritual depth here.
Perhaps my problem…
Then of course, there is the opportunity to
see and buy products from Bethlehem, especially olive wood carvings. We were
well taken care of in the shop, and then escorted up umpteen stairs through the
market to get to a Lutheran centre which sponsors arts and leadership training
for both Christians and Muslims, mostly from the area. Unfortunately, we heard
again of how the intolerant few make life so troublesome for the many who would
love to live in peace and community together.
Altogether, and excellent day… and we are
practicing patience with the traffic.
