Tavelogue: Jerusalem

 Third Monday of Easter

Lectionary texts:

1 John 3:16-24

Luke 24:1-12

Psalm 23 (UMH 741)

 

Thanks to April for her comments. Today is the first of a Monday Travelogue series

 

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem," Jesus says in Luke 18:31. In the Bible you always go "up" to Jerusalem, even if you are coming from the north, as Jesus was coming from Galilee. Jerusalem is on several hills, the major one being Mt. Zion. In the Bible going up or down always refers to elevation, not direction.

I have been to Jerusalem four times, never for longer than a week, not nearly enough. I love this city.

I seem to love what I call "center of the world" places and "end of the world places." I love both the hub and the last stop on the end of the line. My favorite "end of the world places" are the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland and Ocracoke Island in the NC Outer Banks. I have many favorite "center of the world places."

No place on earth better qualifies as the center of the world than Jerusalem. It has the central holy place for two major religions, and the third most central for a third religion. Their central shrines, The Western Wall, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock, are all within a half mile of one another. These three shrines are only the beginning of what Jerusalem has to offer to the serious pilgrim. 

 

The outside of a sphere has no center. The earth is a sphere. If its outside did have a center, it would be Jerusalem. The little strip of land we now call Israel joins three continents, Africa, Europe, and Asia. This central location is one of the things that has made Jerusalem and environs a major battleground through the ages. In antiquity my saying is, "If your going to conquer anything, you have to go through Israel to get there."

The Old City of Jeusalem is about a square mile. It is a walled and gated city. There have been many walls through the millenia. The current walls were built by the Turkish ruler and Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, in 1516, about the same time the Protestant Reformation was beginning in Europe. That's recent in Jerusalem time. 

The best view of Jerusalem is from the dining room or the terrace of the Seven Arches Hotel, which is about two-thirds of the way up the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives descends fairly steeply into the Kidron Valley. The Garden of Gethsemane is near the bottom. You then go steeply up to the Temple Mount. It's top is flat. On it is the Dome of the Rock, the most beautiful monument in Jerusalem. At  the other end is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. On the other side is the Western Wall. At the Seven Arches, you are considerably higher than the Temple Mount, so you have a fabulous view of it. The is so fabulous you can't take your eyes off it. This results in frequent getting food on you clothes or knocking over your glass. Best to go for dinner, see the sun set over the Old City and then eat when it gets dark. 

 

Next week we'll talk about each of the three great shrines in the Old City, the two amazing museums, and a big surprise at the Hadassah Medical Center (No I'm not sending you to the ER). 

 

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

                                      --Psalm 122:6

 

Faithfully,

Christian