May 28-pt. 2

Here we go,

            I cannot believe that our first week is already done! In some ways it feels as though we have been here for a much longer than a week, but in other ways, I’m amazed that time is passing us by.  I feel richly blessed to have the privilege of being on this trip. Today we had a first exam, and I think I did pretty well, but then again, I am always a bad judge of my performance on tests, at least I know I didn’t fail. Then I took a nap for about an hour, and we had a delicious dinner. This evening a group of us went into the old city into the Christian Quarter to Ali Baba’s, a Muslim store owner who is always very kind to JUC students, and has consistently given us great prices. Believe me, I’ve been checking. Side note: went and got a beautiful keffiyeh from a store owner who originally wanted me to pay 200 shekels!!! I couldn’t believe this guy, he was crazy! The day before we were in the west bank and there they were sold for only 20 shekels. I told him this and said I would just go back to the West Bank and buy one there. He told me that his was a higher quality, which I scoffed at because they looked and felt the same. He lowered his price to 50, and I said I would pay 25. He said no, so I walked out and said I would just get one for cheaper in the West Bank. I had walked a couple of feet when He came out of his store and said fine, take it for 30. An offer I accepted. He then sullenly asked me if I wanted anything else, to which I happily replied that no I did not. I have to say though that each time I make any purchase through haggling, I always second guess myself and wonder if I could’ve gotten it for even cheaper… oh well, in dollars it was about $7-8. So I’m still happy.

            Anyways, we have been traveling everywhere! Top of the Mt of Olives, Dominus Flevit, Church of all Nations, Herodium, Bethlehem, Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem Bible College, Judean Wilderness, Elisha’s spring in Jericho, Oldest tower in the world, and the ruins in Gezer. It has been fascinating, tiring, and so rewarding.

These past few days have been such a blessing. To begin:

            We went to the top of the Mt. of Olives and visited the church Dominus Flevit (the church where Jesus wept over Jerusalem). Friends, this was one of the first churches I have walked into on this trip wherein I felt the peaceful presence of Christ greeting me through what I was encountering. I sat inside the church looking out its front window with a panorama view of Jerusalem. I couldn’t help but connect to what I imagine Christ must have been thinking as he looked out over a place that looks so beautiful, yet, like all of humanity, is desperately broken and twisted despite all appearances. My heart wept over the injustice that is regularly enacted within and outside of its walls. Not only in Israel, but all over the world. I don’t need to recount for you the atrocities of humanity. Needless to say, I was glad to have taken the time to sit within the church and soak up the atmosphere of its peace.

            Our next stop was the Church of all Nations. This church is placed in what is considered the Garden of Gethsemane. Some people had trouble connecting to this place because of the number of tourists that were there, but my eyes could only stare in awe at the enchanting roof and walls of the church. The golden blue, green, red and purples of the church were enrapturing. There was a motif of olive trees, night, and stars that continually drew my eyes towards its domes. Here is some writing I did in the church while I was there,

            “It is in these havens of rest, when mental guards begin to fall, that thoughts, which were but nascent, are allowed to fully grow. The body being free from the violence life assumes allows the mind to sort the burdens of its soul. And while being changed in discovering the thoughts that weigh it down, begins to see beyond the mess the persistent light of hope. I want to stay in the midst of this calm, a calm that is withdrawn from self-aggradizement. This calm infused with a holy and soothing light. I can only imagine what the stars of Jerusalem must have looked like in the night sky. They must have been stunning rising above the temple.”

            I don’t know how to explain how good it was to not feel overwhelmed by toursity glitz, and just rest in the peaceful environs of a church.

            Moving on, We visited the Herodium which was an atrocity of a place back in the day. Basically Herod Antipas saw two mountains next to one another and he ordered the top of one to be taken off and put on the other so that his mountain would be the tallest to put his summer palace on. Then (mind you folks, we are in the middle of a desert) this guy decided to build a pool, Roman sauna’s, and he has some of the biggest cisterns I have ever seen! All in the middle of a desert where people are desperate for water. All to say, he was a major jerk. I would not have liked him at all (or at least I hope not…). But, a friend of mine did put things into their proper context for me when he said that things like this are a reflection of some of the excesses you can see in the U.S. And the disunity within the church (such as the Holy Sepulcher) can even be seen in the four churches that are within four blocks of one another that never corroborate or work with one another to further the kingdom of God. Disunity of the church is not just in Jerusalem, it is all over the world, it is in the U.S., it is in Indiana, it is in Chicago.

            From the Herodium we went to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Nativity. I have to say, that this church was much more of a culture shock for me. So many people were so desperate to kiss and touch a stone star that supposedly marked the place where Christ was born that I felt myself feeling callous toward the place. Again, got some lovely photos, but couldn’t find connection with the place.

            Since Bethlehem is located within the West Bank we had to go through an Israeli check-point where we didn’t even get stopped (going in or out) because we are Americans and in a huge tour bus. It was so good to get out of Israel and see some of the protest signs that Palestinians had put up concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We also visited Bethlehem Bible College, where we given about an hour and a half to two hour lecture by a professor there named Munther who gave an excellent talk on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both its history and it’s theological implications from a Palestinian perspective. It was cathartic for me to have him give a thorough outline to our entire group concerning an issue that had been a constant companion of heaviness to me as we have traveled around Israel. It is easy as a tourist to not even know there is severe injustice happening in Israel-Palestine, but being able to hear people talk about it in our group over the past few days in casual conversation has been beautiful.

            The Judean wilderness was stark and, I want to say t had a palpable stillness, but truly, the breeze blew just enough that those terms don’t apply and while it was quiet, it was far from silent as the very sound of the wind passing over the rocks filled our ears. While it may have seemed barren, there were too many shrubs to call it truly desolate. All in all, I loved being there. I and a few others ventured down the slope nearer to the canyons. From my perspective at the top I thought it wuld be a simple endeavor to get to the valley of the canyons and climb back up the slopes. My perspective was far from accurate, we descended down a steep slope only to find we were still far from the bottom. Also, looking back up we realized we would have a long climb back up to the path that would bring us to the bus. So we had about a  devotional time, soaked in the atmosphere of the wilderness, and then started our trek back. Again, I tend to think I am rather athletic until these moments come when I climb up this steep rocky slope only to find I am both winded and have sweat streaming down my face (I know, it’s a very feminine and dainty image). But what an adventure it was! SO MUCH FUN!!! I love putting my body to the test and seeing the things I can push myself to accomplish!

            After the wilderness we went to Jericho, lovely city, everyone should go. Saw one of the oldest towers, maybe the oldest tower, in the world.  And then went to the ruins of Gezer.

Wow!! I think this one takes the cake! We are about to go on a three day trip where I will not have access to a computer. We are going to visit Ashkelon as well as the Dead Sea and so many other places I will make sure to fill you all in on when I get back! In case I don’t see you Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night!

May 28-pt. 1

Dominus Flevit

This one is for you Mom

View of Jerusalem from Dominus Flevit

Church of all Nations

Me inside Herodium Cistern

Herodium

View from the Herodium

Church of the Nativity

Bethlehem

Bethlehem Bible College

A dark Jesus! He's not white?!!

Judean Wilderness

Elisha's Spring in Jericho

One of the last Sycamore trees in Israel

The group at Jericho

These guys and the Keffiyehs

Chilling in Gezer

Jerusalem-May 24 pt. 2

Okay Kids, hold on tight, this is going to be a long one.

To begin, class for the past few days has begun at 7am and ended around 5pm. Each day we wake up bright and early and go forth into Jerusalem walking, walking, and walking some more. I tend to think of myself as a relatively fit person, but I have to admit, between the some six-seven flights of stairs us girls have to walk to get to our dorm rooms, and the hills here, I have begun to feel the burn in my legs…I hope to have very chiseled calves and thighs by the time I get home (just in time for my sister’s wedding!). Something else that has been fun to negotiate has been the “modesty days” we have. These days include making sure (both guys and girls) have their knees and shoulders covered. If anything, I have rediscovered my love for skirts.

            I feel at a loss of where to begin…hmmm… well we have seen the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, the Via Dolorosa, the Jewish Quarter of the Old city, the Armenian, the Muslim, and the Christian, we have seen the ruins of the temple and even taken a stroll through its mikvehs (ritual cleansing stations), we have traversed the dark, watery passages of Hezekiah’s tunnel, and had our ears filled with the antiphonal singing and chanting contained within the golden mosaic’d walls of the Holy sepulcher. Truly it has been a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and smells. I don’t know if I have yet been able to process all that I have seen.

            I go to these places, and I see these holy spots, yet all I can feel is a sense of tragedy. My whole trip has had so many moments of delight and joy, but these places, they all have such a history of violence and sorrow.

            I’ll go to what is yet freshest in my mind. We arrived at the Holy Sepulcher today around 7:30am. As we sat outside of its massive doors all I could think of was an article I had read around Christmas about fights that had broken out inside of the building wherein priests were beating each other with brooms. This place that is supposed to mark the crucifixion and burial of Christ, made into a place of petty squabbles. Not only that, these squabbles are done in the face of the divine. I entered into the Holy Sepulcher and was immediately informed by my surroundings that this was indeed a holy space. The gold mosaic on the wall, the candles, the incense, the breathtaking domes, all of them carried a heavy sense of the religious. Yet, for me, while I realized immediately that this was a religious space, it did not feel like a spiritual place. It felt empty, like a hollowed oyster. The mother of pearl may still be in tact, but there is little that brings it vitality. I took many beautiful photos whose aesthetics fascinated me, yet other than that and the ancient graffiti carved into the walls (whether crosses, or messages from the 1870’s), there was little in the atmosphere of the space itself that drew me in. I have experienced an inexplicable draw whether towards people or places, all because of a sense I get of their almost numinous quality, yet these places held no such feeling. Maybe it is that I lack a robust theology of place. Growing up in an American context wherein our idea of home is transitory and flexible, I find it difficult to connect with the philosophy that a specific place, in and of itself, carries the presence of the divine. But, I know this is faulty because the Bible itself comments repeatedly on the sanctity of specific places, yet I feel no such connection. I know that my understanding is not completely bereft of such connections. I know that my home carries a strong connection for me, as well as a multitude of other places where I have experienced the blessings of God, yet all of these places feel so modern, so stale, so commercialized. How can God breakthrough the image of Himself that we have formed and forced upon his brow?

            There is so much violence connected to these places as well. The Dome of the Rock (a Muslim place of worship) rests upon the Western Wall (a Jewish place of worship) and you can almost feel the tension and resentment when you approach. To oversimplify the matter, the Jews are angry with the Muslim people for establishing their place of worship on top of the temple mount when the Arabs invaded Jerusalem. It was only in the last few decades that the Western wall was liberated from Palestinian control. Yes it is a holy place, but is this the way that God meant for humanity to interact with one another?  

            Then there is Silwan, one of the few remaining Arab neighborhoods left in Jerusalem. We were warned that we should not go into this part of Jerusalem because of the frequent outbreaks of sectarian violence there…

            I can see Silwan from my roof and each time I do I am reminded that this touristy façade of Jerusalem contains a much deeper and tragic secret of flagrant racism and inequality. Even emerging from Hezekiah’s tunnel, One sees in graffiti “This is Selwan’s pool”.  A consistent reminder that there is injustice in Israel-Palestine.

            On to something a bit lighter, we walked Hezekiah’s tunnel the other day and ended at the pool of Siloam (John 9:1-11). It was a fantastic experience! The walls would both narrow and shorten at various moments throughout the walk. Basically I entered into a tunnel about 6’ tall with water a few inches above my knees. As I progressed along the tunnel, lit by headlamps, the reverberating echoes of the water rushing and the happy chattering of the group around me, made this a memorable experience. We even began to sing some favorite hymns together as we walked, it was so nice to have our feet cooled in the water after being dusty and hot for most of the day. This group has been such a pleasure to get to know better and better. Last night we ventured forth into the New City of Jerusalem to try some of "Aldo's" ice cream. It was WAY overpriced, but sooooo delicious!!! Almost to the point where the price seemed reasonable. I have to say it has been a delight to be surrounded by a thoughtful group of people that are both diverse and similar on so many levels. I have had the deep pleasure of talking and laughing and learning alongside a quality bunch. It has been splendid. 

  

So…..this was quite long, and there is so much more to talk about! I’ll do my best to post some more in the next few days! I realize this was a bit more of a somber posting, but these ideas have been rolling around in my head for the past few days and they needed to find escape. Have a wonderful Morning/Afternoon/ Evening/ Night!

Jerusalem-May 24

View of Modern day Silwan, ancient site of David's Palace. 

Mt. of Olives is behind him and the temple before. 

Shofars for sale!

Nuns under the Ecce Homo arch on the Via Dolorosa

Another picture of Silwan. One of the few Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem

The Lion Gate in Jerusalem

Notice the Crescent and the Menorah near the bottom right

You too can look this sexy if you cover yourself in Dead Sea Mud. 

Dome of the Rock

Western Wall

Line for the Western Wall

Silwan from the road ascending from Siloam's pool

Holy Sepulcher 

Ancient Christian graffiti in the Holy Sepulcher

Me in a Ritual bathing pool

Ben climbing out of a hidden tunnel beneath the pools

The stones town down by the Romans when the temple was destroyed

Orthodox Jew worshipping at the Western Wall

After Hezekiah's tunnel these big guys got tiny smoothies from the concession.