Reflections from Wednesday and Thursday - July 7-8

We visited Old Jerusalem on Wednesday with our focus on the Jewish Quarter. And that leads me to a correction. I previously spoke of the Wailing Wall or Western Wall as being the remains of the west corner of the second temple that was destroyed in 70CE after the Jewish upraising of 66CE. I was incorrect! The entire temple was destroyed. What survived was the temple mount - the platform that Herod had built to support the temple. When Herod arrived in Jerusalem to take over, he felt that the current temple was too small and so he expanded the platform on which the Temple sat - he did not build a new temple. The size of the temple mount was the length of five football fields. northern end of which the Dome of the Rock sits on. All Wednesday was spent examining the remains of the temple mount. There are steps that you will see in one of the photos and the temple mount wall where the money changers would have been sitting in the time of Jesus as they were selling the sacrifice offerings to Jews who were entering the temple to offer a sacrifice.

Wednesday had started with an early rising, a fast breakfast and then off to the archeological sites to beat the heat of the day. While we were there the temperature was 35C or 95F. We prayed scripture passages throughout as we visited these historical and religous areas.

This area of the Old City is beautiful, prayerful and amazing. These are the actual steps that Jesus and his disciples would have climbed to enter the temple. These are the stairs that the man Jesus cured would have climbed.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?" The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you." The man went and told the news that Jesus was the one who had made him well."

This corner shows the ongoing work. It was peaceful here on Wednesday and God allowed me the time to be carried into these scriptures passages and reflect on what is going on in me as I stand before these scriptures (both words and context) today.

The Gospel Evangelists who did their writing 50-70 years after the death of Jesus used the surrounding area (like the destruction of the temple) to develop the metaphors that would help their audiences understand and get to know this person called Jesus.

"Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down."

Alan is a gifted guide and lecturer and has helped develop in us the use of all our senses as we journey this part of God's kingdom.

At the end of this day I reflected again on what is important in my life - Is it the temples or is it the living stones that I encounter every day?

Peace and blessings