Jerusalem - Day Two

The morning of August 31, 2022, I (Sharon), was getting somewhat panicky because we had received no information about my missing luggage.  We would be leaving Jerusalem the following morning and I wondered whether I needed to allot some time to shopping for cruise attire. But, not wanting to mess up anyone else's plans, not wanting to miss anything, and not sure even how or where to shop in Jerusalem, we proceeded with our plans with a prayer in my heart.

The Mount of Olives was where our day began, and Dominus Flevit Church, which in Latin means "where the Lord wept", was our first destination. The Roman Catholic church was designed in the shape of a teardrop to symbolize the tears of Christ as he wept at the wickedness of Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

Just down the road from the church is the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden, which was our next stop. It was created to commemorate the visit of the apostle Orson Hyde, who in 1841, received a prophetic vision of the gathering of the Jews to their homeland. As a result, he climbed the Mount of Olives and offered a prayer of dedication. I have to admit that I was totally unprepared for the spirit that filled my heart while we were there.  As I began to stroll along the garden paths by myself, the tune of the children's hymn, "I Wonder When He Comes Again" began playing in my head, and I began quietly singing the words as tears streamed down my cheeks:

I wonder, when he comes again,

Will herald angels sing?

Will earth be white with drifted snow,

Or will the world know spring?

I wonder if one star will shine

Far brighter than the rest;

Will daylight stay the whole night through?

Will songbirds leave their nests?

I’m sure he’ll call his little ones

Together ’round his knee,

Because he said in days gone by,

“Suffer them to come to me.”

I wonder, when he comes again,

Will I be ready there

To look upon his loving face

And join with him in prayer?

Each day I’ll try to do his will

And let my light so shine

That others seeing me may seek

For greater light divine.

Then, when that blessed day is here,

He’ll love me and he’ll say,

“You’ve served me well, my little child;

Come unto my arms to stay.”

I had wanted my visit to the Holy Land to be a spiritual journey that would connect me more deeply to my Savior, Jesus Christ.  To this point in our experience, it had just been a historical recollection of stories from the Bible. But here in this beautiful garden - the most beautiful spot I had seen in Jerusalem - in this sacred place, I felt His spirit and was wrapped up in His comforting arms and peace. Some day soon, our Lord himself will return again, and stand on that very mountain; and every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ! I wonder, when he comes again, will I be ready there; To look upon his loving face and join with him in prayer?

The Garden of Gethsemane is an enclosed area next to the Church of all Nations. I was quite disappointed with this site, probably because after having had such a powerful spiritual experience, this felt very staged and commercialized. However, it was interesting to see some of the world's oldest olive trees, dating to 1092. The last three photos were taken from the olive tree garden across the road, which I've heard, that you have to obtain permission from the Priests to enter. This appeared to me to a much more expansive natural environment to envision as the place where Christ's atonement might have occurred. 

We didn't spend much time at the church, but here are some of the photos I took of it. The blue and gold were definitely a royal combination.

Across and up the street, we stopped at the Tomb of the virgin Mary, which is believed by some to be the burial site for Jesus' mother. Because Bob and Jim were wearing shorts, they were not allowed to enter the building, but waited for Shauna and I outside in the courtyard. The dark cave tomb had a heavy incense smell and the decor appeared Arabic. It was not a comforting place to me.

Up the hill, to the Lion's Gate, we began our search for the Church of St. Anne and the Pools of Bethesda. The Church of St. Anne is traditionally regarded as the site of the birth of Mary, where ruins of the home of Mary's parents, Anne and Joachim's home can be seen. It is also where Mary is said to have been buried.

The pools are thought to be the place where the paralyzed man, lie waiting for the water to move because of the angel of the Lord, because he believed he could be healed if he were the first person the enter the disturbed water. When Jesus saw him, he told the lame man to pick up his mat and walk and was immediately healed. (See John 5:1-9.)

We were very near station #1 of the Via Dolorosa, or Way of the Cross, which is a traditional route symbolizing the path Jesus walked to Calvary. There are 14 stations along the route, and while our original intent was to follow the route to each station, because of the intense heat and tremendous amount of walking we had been doing, we just proceeded towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, watching for stations along our way. These are the stations: (1) Jesus is condemned to death, (2) Jesus takes up the cross, (3) Jesus falls the first time, (4) Jesus meets His Mother, (5) Simon of Cyrene carries the cross, (6) Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, (7) Jesus falls the second time, (8) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, (9) Jesus falls the third time, (10) Jesus is stripped of His garments, (11) Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross, (12) Jesus dies on the cross, (13) Jesus' body is removed from the cross and (14) Jesus is laid in the tomb.

To be honest, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is considered the most Holy site in Christianity, was the most confusing place I think I have ever visited. Perhaps we should have hired a guide. It is revered as the place of both the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. The last five stations of the Via Dolorosa are within the church complex. The first thing we saw was a large flat stone with people crouched down to rub their hands across. It is the "Stone of Anointing" which some claim to be where Jesus was prepared for burial. (Do we look a little confused?)

Crowds of people were within the church, where a line of tourists awaited the opportunity to enter the Aedicule (small chapel) containing the traditional burial of Jesus. In a timed process, guests were allowed to enter one at a time into the two tiny rooms: the first holds a relic called the Angel's Stone, which is believed to be a fragment of the large stone that sealed the tomb; the second, smaller room contains the tomb of Jesus. But no photographs are allowed - check out Wikipedia for photos.

The church had rooms, stairs, chapels, artwork, and just an overwhelming amount of things to see.  I'm not certain we saw it all or even took photos of the important things such as Calvary. I had to relinquish my need to see everything, and resign to watching YouTube videos about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

We were exhausted and hungry! Winding our way through the narrow streets of Jerusalem, we found a nice casual looking restaurant and ordered a couple of simple meals such as Shawarma to eat. We may not have gotten over the sticker price, when we went to pay for it, to this day! Apparently, we were paying for all those little side dishes that we didn't order.

It seemed like we wandered around the tunnel-like alleyways of Jerusalem for much too long, until we managed to find our way to the magnificent Damascus Gate, where our search for the Garden Tomb was pursued.

Directly across the street from the Damascus Gate is a kiosk selling Ka’ek Al-Quds - a crusty and Jerusalem sesame bread - sometimes refered to as a bagel. We saw it for sale throughout the city, but never stopped to buy one. (I'm kind of regretting it.) But all we wanted was something to drink! We knew we were on the right path when we saw a sign for the Garden Tomb. Once admitted, the garden path lead us to Golgotha, (meaning skull) Calvary, or "Skull Hill" as it is now called, where Jesus was crucified. This is contested, as most believe Calvary to be at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I prefer to agree with this location. Photos of the rocky outcropping no longer resemble a skull because of a thunder and lightening storm that caused a stone to roll away disfiguring what had been considered the "nose".

The walk through the welcoming, lovely and peaceful garden was a much needed reprieve from the crowded streets of Jerusalem. The garden tomb was more beautiful than I had imagined it, and felt very authentic to me. 

If there were one other place in Jerusalem, besides the Orson Pratt Memorial Garden, where I felt the spirit, this was it. The hymn, "He is Risen", coursed through my veins, testifying that Jesus Christ lives! I know it! And His incomparable love for each of us overwhelmingly fills my life with purpose and joy. I'm so glad we concluded our short time in Jerusalem at the Garden Tomb!  What better place for contemplating the blessings and hope that Jesus Christ's resurrection brings into our lives?!