Bethany and Jerusalem Day 9

Today we ventured to Bethany to visit where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived. While the chapel was nice to see, Lazarus' tomb was interesting, in that it was a small crypt inside a cave. This was where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

From there, we traveled to the Mount of Olives to the Church Pater Noster, or the church of the Our Father, where Jesus taught the disciples the Lord's Prayer for the second time. There in a grove of olive trees, we had a short service with communion, and sang a couple of hymns. What a glorious day!

We ventured in the bus to look at the walls and the Old City of Jerusalem. To the left we could see Caiaphus's house, the eastern wall, the mosque, the dome of the rock, and the church of the Holy Sepulcher. Below was the Kidron Valley, the garden of Gethsemane, as well as the Jewish cemetery that was shown at the end of the movie "Schindler's List'.

Then it was a jaunt up the hill to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was really moving. There were several olive trees in the garden that were a couple of thousands of years old. According to the guide, an olive tree splits every 500 years, these olive trees had split at least 4-5 times. It was utterly amazing. Outside of the garden we went to the Church of the Nations, which represented the sadness and darkness of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It had striking purple stained glass windows, and mosaics of Jesus in Gethsemane. It was amazing.

From there we walked to another grotto of olive trees, which were in a more natural state to give an idea of what the garden might have looked like in Jesus' time. It was really beautiful. We headed back to the bus to go to lunch. The Petra Restaurant served us wonderful cold vegetable salads, and then chicken and lamb kabobs that were delicious, before heading on our way to Mt. Zion, the site of the Last Supper, David's Tomb, and the Grandson of the man who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.

We stopped at the site of the Last Supper, which had a cathedral built on top of the site, both Byzantine and Gothic from The Crusades. Again, it was nothing like I imagined it would be, but Jerusalem, with its sandstone walls and streets, is something to behold. Luckily I was wearing a hat today, as when we entered King David's Tomb, it's actually a synagogue. I had been fretting about the day I'd have to wear a yarmulke, as my head is extremely large. I didn't want the "one size fits most" yarmulke to look about the size of a small drink coaster covering a watermelon.

Aside from walking through a Yeshiva there with Hasidic men praying, and the women and men separated, I know King David is very important to Israel, I hate to even say that it was very uneventful to me.

What did impact me was visiting Caiaphus' home. Underneath where it was located (another Catholic Church) was the dungeons where Jesus was kept before being brought to Pontius Pilate. It's a pretty awful place, and after Pastor Jim read Psalm 88, it was pretty moving. I cannot fathom how along Jesus must have felt, having been not only denied by his disciples and betrayed, but also having the feeling of being forsaken. It was the second "lump in the throat" moment for me, and I think that the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services will have much more of an impact on me. I am humbled by God's love, and by God the Son who gave his life for me so that I would have eternal life. And seeing the places where his torture started to take place today was very humbling indeed.

After learning a bit about antiquities, and more jewelry (which I know nothing about), it was back on the bus back to the hotel. A group of us went to the King David Hotel, which is very famous for the dignitaries of the world who stay there. We had an awesome dinner, starting with a cocktail, a little potato croquet on a tartar sauce, breads with tomato spread and different kinds of salt, our appetizers (I had a celery flan, but tried sweetbreads for the first time as well as goose pate which was awesome!), and the main course which was filet with a red wine reduction served over vegetables, and then for dessert, pistachio madeline with pomegranate sorbet. To top it all off wwe were brought little finger sweets, pomegranate and peach jellies, chocolate truffles, and some praline things.

It was a great evening of fun, laughter, and conversation, and was a truly memorable experience in Jerusalem.

Tomorrow it's off to a memorable journey along the Via Dolorosa.

I can't wait!