The First Day

“Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together” Psalm 122:3. Today this verse became so real to me.  We started with a morning filled with a lectures by Drs. Right, Cohick, and Kalantzis. We got the tor of the JUC campus, and it was amazing to see how it was really built right into the mountain, mount Zion.  There is a Presbyterian cemetery at one end of campus with a gate on it.  The gate was open. When a few of us went through we were rewarded with a beautiful cemetery and a breathtaking view of the valley below. Starting after lunch we began our journey into the old city of Jerusalem.  We set out on foot from JUC and began to walk up mount Zion. After maybe five minutes of walking, probably less, we stopped under the shade of a large Jerusalem pine on the property of the Greek Orthodox seminary just up the mountain from JUC. It was here that Dr. Right stopped us and used the pines around us as an analogy of the people living in this area. While the trees have grown up far apart from each other, due to bending from the wind, the roots of the trees have to be so large and expanding, to hold up such large trees in harsh conditions, that there must be a deep connection between the roots of all these trees. He said that this was similar to the Christians, Jews, and Muslims living in Jerusalem. These peoples has grown up apart from one another, may even wish that another was not there, but each group is deep connected to the city and to each other, and the repercussions of removing one group may be more drastic than one would think. It was with this idea of connectedness and deep roots that we left the shade of the Jerusalem pines that we continued up to the top of Mount Zion.

            We climbed to the roof of a building, and stood at on the highest elevation of Mount Zion and a clear view to the East. It was from here that I first saw the Dome of the Rock, the Mount of Olives, and the Separation Barrier. It was unsettling to say the least to see that warm, golden splendor of the dome and to turn your head slightly and see the cold, grey of the wall piercing through the “wilderness.” It was hard to process and see these Holy places from every diction on this rooftop and then in the distance see this wall associated with so much pain, suffering, and hatred. As I turned and walk down off of the roof, my back to the Old City I face the wall, and was very sobered by the extent of the stories of this land.

            This roof that we had been standing on, was none other than the roof of the building that the supposedly held the Last Supper and also David’s tomb.  When we first entered, Dr. Right asked us to look around and just observe what was in this place. Looking around the room you could see Christian, Jewish, and Muslim influence. Form Byzantine arches to words from the Quran written in the stain glass windows. To determine the location of these holy sites, one must turn to the biblical evidence, other written sources, and archeology. This place may not have been the site of the last supper and most likely was not the location of David’s tomb, but tradition has claimed it to be so.

            We walked through the Zion gate of the old city, which is riddled with bullet holes from the War of Independence, and entered into the Jewish Quarter of the old city. It was here that I could feel the tightness of the city; people were everywhere, buildings were packed as tightly as possible, streets were narrow, and through it all the occasional vehicle would honk its way through.  From this point on, there was a constant barrage of sights and sounds all foreign to, all with its own story to tell.  We saw the excavated, ancient Roman road that ran through the city and it was interesting to see that today’s main road was on the same location, just about 15 feet higher.

            The church of the Holy Sepulcher. I was filled completely with conflicting emotions, reverence for the events that are believed to taken pace there and shame at the way humans have handled it. The place where Jesus was crucified and died in located across the building from the tomb where Jesus was resurrected and conquered death.  As I was walking through this place, I felt so overwhelmed and overcome that I began to pray. I then proceed to learn that six different churches have claims to parts of this church. The division of the church and the arguments and difference between the different denominations are so prevalent in Jerusalem and even in this holy place, the Church of the Hoy Sepulcher. It is just so disheartening to see the extent of this division so prominently, especially here. But, I guess that this imperfection and failure is in our nature as humans, even in this holy city of Jerusalem. I suppose that these imperfections, made the city more real to me, and made me realize that these holy sites are in a human city, maintained by humans, by its nature there will be imperfections. The Holy City is not.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher