Reflections from Friday, July 2, 2010

There are 27 in our group from all parts of the world. Although Latin Rite Catholics make up the greatest number,;with the Anglicans, Lutherans, Evangelicals and Orthodox added it creates a ecumenical faith filled group. On this day we were treated to an overview of the area in and near Jerusalem from vistas a few miles away and from vantage points with an elevation of several hundred feet. Jerusalem is built on a hill (let us go up to the house of the Lord) and there are also a couple of hills that are higher than the Holy City and the valleys (Kindron and Hebron) that lie between these hills tell some marvelous stories.

To the left I see West Jerusalem, green with trees and parks, whose towering cranes indicate the development of another luxury hotel or shopping mall. To the right I see a parched and dusty East Jerusalem, the Arab part of the city that is now dotted with Jewish developments. Glimpses of the wall (28 feet tall) slice through Arab neighborhoods. This better than any other picture describes the conflict.

This is perhaps the most divided city in the world. Jews and Muslims - Israelis and Palestinians claim it as their capital and historic right. This city where Abraham's three religions all meet with such a great opportunity to be an international city and yet stands for all of us the story of the worst results when faith and politics clash. This vision continues to enter my prayer as I am engulfed with my childhood visions of faith - the birth of Jesus, the life of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. My recollection of these childhood memories are are surprisingly accurate with the stories in this Holy Land.

We drove to the city and got a closer look at the excavation along the Eastern Wall where the western wall of the Old Temple has been excavated. Vistas of favorite bible and tradition stories everywhere we looked - The Church of Mary Magdalene, the Mount of Olives, the Church of the Agony, Peter in Gallicantu (where Peter denies Jesus), the jail, the scourging, and in a distance - Holy Sepulchre. We will see all of these close up. Our international troupe next headed for Peter in Gallicantu. We arrived and walked by the church and into the area of the caves or jails in the time of Jesus. Although there is controversy about the exact location of the jail and if this is the real one; there is general agreement that this is what a jail in the time of Jesus would have looked like and after being lowered into the jail, Jesus would have been spit on and abused by the people who passed this underground hole of torture.

This photo shows the jail from the top. There were a few of these cell that were excavated during an early dig and the biblical references - its proximity to the Holy City and the Mount of Olives - seemed to point to this location.







This photo is inside the cave or the jail (sorry for the flash). It is dark and has a musty odor. I am asked to read psalm 88

LORD, my God, I call out by day; at night I cry aloud in your presence. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. For my soul is filled with troubles; my life draws near to Sheol. I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit; I am weak, without strength. My couch is among the dead, with the slain who lie in the grave. You remember them no more; they are cut off from your care. You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into the darkness of the abyss. Your wrath lies heavy upon me; all your waves crash over me. Because of you my friends shun me; you make me loathsome to them; Caged in, I cannot escape; my eyes grow dim from trouble. All day I call on you, LORD; I stretch out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades arise and praise you? Is your love proclaimed in the grave, your fidelity in the tomb? Are your marvels declared in the darkness, your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? But I cry out to you, LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Why do you reject me, LORD? Why hide your face from me? I am mortally afflicted since youth; lifeless, I suffer your terrible blows. Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have reduced me to silence. All the day they surge round like a flood; from every side they close in on me. Because of you companions shun me; my only friend is darkness.

As I finished the reading a chill went through me that was unrealted to the temperature of the cave. I and the others sat in silence. At that moment I felt God's incredible love and my prayer at this moment is searching for why God has caused me to be in this place.

Peace and blessings.