Next Year in Jerusalem

It's with a bit of a heavy heart that I write this final blog of my Jerusalem pilgrimage. I've enjoyed spending time with new friends, and the staff here at St. George's College have been wonderful. I highly recommend that anyone who is thinking about a trip to Jerusalem, and wants something deeper than the typical tourist tour, consider one of their courses. Soon I will have to pack my bags for an early flight, but before I do I wanted to go over my final day here.

Abu Ghosh Monastery

It is entirely fitting that we spent this morning visiting Emmaus, the location where "their eyes were open" (Read Luke 24). Actually, to be more precise we went to Abu Ghosh, which is one of three Emmaus locations posited by historians. The reason why we're not really sure which site is the true site is because the distance the disciples traveled in Luke's gospel is "60 stadium", but the problem is no one really knows how long a stadium is.

The site we visited is fairly credible because there is a mark of the 10th Roman Legion, which was also reputed to be around the site. Also, there is an archeological Castel site that is listed in scripture that is very close. The Church of Our Lady of the Resurrection that is there now was built in 1141 by the crusaders and is covered in lovely 12th c paintings. Sadly, the faces of most of the paintings were scratched out by Muslims (who conider it as an insult to show artwork depicting holy people) after the fall of the crusaders.

Last Eucharist with each other

Our next visit was to Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant, which was built on a site that claims to have held the Ark of the Covenant for 20 years. We read Psalm 132 as we were looking over the hillside towards Jerusalem, and imagined David dancing in procession with the Ark. And we held out closing Eucharist. Something very funny happened, I was the only one to remember to bring a copy of the liturgy! The bishop invited me to hold the chalice, as I had earlier in the week. It was a lovely closing moment for all of us.

After lunch, four of us took the free afternoon to wander around the Old City. On the way we made a stop at the Garden Tomb. Although there is very scant evidence that this is the actual burial site of Jesus, it looked more like the Children's Bible pictures I had grown up with than does the Holy Sepulchre. And even if it isn't the place, it really doesn't matter. After all, He is risen! I enjoyed spending some time round the garden, looking in at the first century tomb, and looking through the gift shop's collection of books.

Anne and Mary

Next we walked all the way across the city to St. Anne's Basilica at the Bethsada pool. It is said that of all the churches in Palestine, St. Anne's has the best acoustics. We sang the Doxology together to hear the melodious tones echo and reverberate. I lit a candle and said a prayer for someone in the congregation whose mother is struggling with health issues.

When we returned to the College, we had a brief graduation ceremony and a farewell dinner which was truly a joy to my heart. I loved being on this pilgrimage, and give my thanks to God and my congregation for letting me have this experience.

May the peace of Christ, that passes all understanding, be with you. God bless you and keep you.