We began our day driving up the Mount of Olives and were met by Lutheran World Federation Rep. Rev. Mark Brown. He serves as Director of program, planning, funding, and coordinating with the medical directors. He launched right in on the passion of his life’s calling – the best I can describe it is as being Christ in a tense and discriminating culture. I presented him with the check for $1,253 on behalf of the Community Good Friday Service. It felt so good to be a currier of such a kind love gift; almost like Paul delivering the love offering from the Macedonia churches to the Jerusalem church. Mark then brought us into this large 4-story stone building, The Augusta Victoria Hospital, which was built in the early 1900’s by Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany as a lodge for German pilgrims to Jerusalem. After W.W. I and especially after W.W. II it began medical care and has a special care for the Palestinians who have no other hospital. It now specializes in Kidney dialysis and cancer treatments. Mark has organized a program in which the hospital drives vans and buses into the West Bank and Muslim quarter to pick up patients to get them to dialysis or treatments. They would otherwise be denied entrance at Israeli check points into East Jerusalem.
Mark showed us the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and Tower, which is adjacent to the hospital. It has the look inside of a cathedral with high vaulted ceilings and ornate painting and décor; yet there is now no congregation because of the desperate condition of this dividing wall and bombings. After walking up all 212 steps to the top of the tower and getting great views into Bethany all over greater Jerusalem, we went down the street to The Jerusalem Princess Basma Center for Disabled Children. I hand delivered a letter from Gloria Medley to Director Betty Majaj, who has been good friends with the Medleys since Ed served as the Lutheran World Federation Director for six years in the 1980’s. The remarkably happy and bright school of 600 students (Palestinian) includes physically handicapped (many with Cerebral Palsy) and short term residential facilities for handicapped children and their parent. This was a highlight of the day for many. We left with a vision of helping this worthy cause in prayer, offerings, perhaps even giving of ourselves.
Going a little further on the top of the Mount of Olives we stopped for group photograph at the look-out opposite the Temple Mount. This is a perfect place to see the Old City and Holy site. You should have seen Janey, Candy, Gary, Jeannine, Lani and Jim on the camel rides! Back-tracking just a little we visited the simple but impressive Chapel of the Ascension of Christ, operated ironically by Palestinian Muslims. The minaret is right next to the entrance and the noon time call to prayer began just when we arrived. We sang some touching songs praising the ascended and ever living Lord. After lunch and time at a gift/antiquities shop, we drove to the Old City area and the impressive site of The Upper Room, where Jesus celebrated Passover and instituted The Last Supper. This would have been the area of the city, if the actual building itself where the disciples’ feet were washed and Jesus again pointed to the sacrifice he was about to make for us all. We were so blessed to have this all to ourselves, and so we sang, read scriptures, and prayed.
The Home of High Priest Caiaphas was the site of Jesus’ ‘inquisition’ by the Jews for blasphemy, and along side are the very original and sacred steps that Jesus was dragged up after the garden betrayal and then down to Pilate the next day. Perhaps most striking this day was being down in the dungeon and our Guide turning off the lights, so that it was dark in the place Jesus perhaps was lowered into for the night – again we sang a song that echoed in the dark and in the ages of sacred history. Next door is the Catholic Church of St. Peter with a rooster weather vane on top, remembering the cock that crowed after Peter three times denied knowing Jesus . Aladin then walked us to a great view site and showed us not only the City of David, the confluence of the two valleys, but also the Potter’s Field, where the religious leaders used Judas’ returned ‘blood money’ and purchased this land for burial of the poor. It is just across the confluence of the two valleys, and still a field today – sheep and goats were grazing on it (and Aladin as a boy used to play there).
Eddie then drove us to back over to the top of the Mount of Olives so that we could walk down the Mount of Olives, along side the southern hillside of Jewish coffins, all facing east in hopes of the Messiah (he/Jesus already has come!). Half way down is the Chapel of Tears/Thorns by Barluzzi, captures the suffering and humiliation soon to meet Jesus. The thorn bush with long branches of 3” thorns is in front of the artwork of iron thorns built into the window facing the Temple.
Then we walk down into the Garden of Gethsemane with at least one tree estimated to be 2,000 years old – called ‘the witness’ – as it may have seen our Lord in prayer that Maundy Thursday. Gethsemane means Olive Press in Hebrew, and logically would be at the bottom of this impressive hill that still boasts a large olive grove. Next to the garden is the Church of All Nations, so named because of the 14 nations (U.S.A. is one) that contributed funds to build it. It is situated over a large slab of rock in the area where Jesus may have prayed so fervently for strength to follow Abba Father’s will, not his own; and he did! A Catholic Mass was in process so we sat and prayed and listened. Unfortunately, the many tourists would walk up right where worshipers were kneeling and flash their cameras is great distraction and dishonor.
Climbing aboard the bus, we all agreed ‘what a day!’, as we returned to the hotel for another delicious buffet dinner. Some attended a very well done brief lecture on ‘The Geography of the Holy Land’, sponsored by Education Opportunities, as at least five tour groups were at the hotel by now.
Randy
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