Author: Ann Martens

We started the day early with a 2-hour bus ride up to Sepphoris, which was during Jesus’ time a Roman city of about 60,000. Sepphoris is only 3 miles from Nazareth. Jesus and his family probably went there, perhaps to the large market. Perhaps Joseph, and maybe Jesus,  went there to work.

Extensive archeological excavations are ongoing that have uncovered 1st century ruins. We stood at the crossroad of the two major streets in town – 1st century Roman streets. The roads even have 1st century graffiti!

This was the first 1st century site we have seen that did not have a modern building built over it. I felt much more connected to the incarnate God who walked the earth along with a more powerful sense of what the incarnation means. It was awesome!

The ruins are remarkably well preserved. We saw a wonderful mikvah (place for ritual bathing) in a priest’s 1st century home.

Then lunch in Nazareth. By the way, I really don’t like Middle Eastern food at home but I like it here. They use very little garlic so you can actually taste the flavor of the food. For example the other day we watched a chef make hummus. He made a huge batch for 50 people and used only one clove of garlic. And the spice shops here are amazing !  I plan on bringing some spices home.

In Nazareth we first went the the Church of the Annunciation (honoring the Angel Gabriel
Coming to Mary.) The annunciation occurred in – get ready – a grotto! seems a lot of important things happened in grottos. I  accidentally deleted the picture from my phone so I don’t have one to show you. ( I have some on my camera).

Then we visited the Sisters of the Nazarene. Under their house were found 1st century ruins. We saw part of a 1st century house with the original dirt floor. We also saw a 1st century tomb that is like the one where Jesus was buried. There is an area for preparing the body along with several places for bodies and a round stone. It is all there. The opening and stone are smaller than I expected. I would say the stone is about 3 1/2 feet high. I had to kneel in order to look into the opening.

It was a long – and good – day.

This morning we went to church at St. George’s Cathedral where the service was conducted in both Arabic and English. People sang in English and Arabic at the same time for example. I found the recitation of the Creed in English and Arabic at the same time powerful. It was a small taste of what the day of Pentecost must have sounded like. The Bishop of Jerusalem celebrated.

Other than church we all had Sabbath time this morning

This afternoon we went to the  Israeli museum. The highlight of the visit was seeing the Dead Sea scrolls. In 1946 a Bedouin man at Qumran found a jar with a scroll inside. Through archeological work, scrolls were found of every book in Hebrew Scripture except Esther and Nehemiah. The scroll of Isaiah is intact, over 8 yards long and on display in its entirety. They also found scrolls providing exegetical material, some outlining the rules of life for the monastic community at Qumran along with over 200 psalms, hymns and prayers developed for the community.

In addition the exhibit gave a lot of background on the monastic community at Qumran – the Essenes, the sect to which John the Baptist belonged. Archeologists have uncovered a lot of artifacts at Qumran, and these were on display.

Additionally, a model of Jerusalem that is over 1 acre in size depicting Jerusalem at the time of Jesus is on display. You can see how the Temple Mount dominated the city. The four towers in the back right corner of the Temple Mount belong to the Fortress Antonia (the Roman fortress). You can see how it is positioned so the Romans can keep an eye on the Jews.

An easier day today with time for rest. The trip to the Dead Sea scrolls prepared us for our trip to Qumran later in the week.

Early this morning, before the crowds, we went down to the Jordan River. It is much narrower than during Jesus’ time. We had a short service to renew our baptismal covenant and then waded in. The chaplain for the course blessed each of us with water from the Jordan. I found it deeply moving, enough to move me to tears. The next time we renew our baptismal covenant at church I will be remembering standing in the Jordan River.

The area immediately at the Jordan is lush and green. The river is the boundary with Jordan and the area around the river is a military outpost. It was so strange and sad to walk through barbed wire fences and see signs warning us of land mines as we made our way to a holy place.

As Jesus was baptized and then immediately led out into the desert, so were we. We saw the Mount of Temptation but did not go up to it. Instead we went out to a rather remote part of the desert and spent time there in silence.

The Greek words for wilderness and desert are the same and somehow in my mind when I pictured Jesus being led out to the desert I saw a flat expanse of sand. That is not what the Judean desert is like. There are mountains at least as high as the Blue Ridge and very deep valleys. It is harsh and hot with no shade unless you find a cave or an oasis.  At the same time the Judean wilderness is very powerful and beautiful. I found myself drawn to it – not that I would try to survive there. However Bedouins do live there and there are still some monks who live in caves.

And I had a big surprise – the lion found me in Israel! We went to visit the monastery of St Gerassimos – a location the college has not taken a group to in 15 years. Our leader decided to go. St Gerassimos pulled out a thorn from a lion’s paw and the lion remained with him. His icon has a lion on it (and you will find the icon in my office at some point.) There are statues of lions all over the grounds and a lion mosaic on the chapel floor dating from the 6th century CE. What are the odds I would be here now when they would decide to go there?! I decided it must mean I’m supposed to be here in Israel right now.

We went to the town of Jericho for lunch. They sell a lot of fruit there. We bought a lot of Medjool dates. If you have never had them, they are the sweetest dates. I paid the same for a huge box as I do for about 10 dates at home. We pay in shekels. Get change in dollars. And have no idea if the change is correct or not.

It is a steep trek from Jerusalem to Jericho. In addition once you leave Jerusalem the environment quickly changes to desert. In the first century priests walked up to Jerusalem to fulfill their duties in the temple. It is also the road in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is a steep climb. No easy stroll at all. Jericho is the lowest (in elevation) city in the world. Jerusalem is in the hills. Jericho has also had a continuous population for over 10,000 years.

And I have rocks for our labyrinth! From Bethlehem and Judean desert so far. I hope you are picking them up on your travels this summer.

All in all a rich and deeply meaningful day.

“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country…” (Luke 1.39)

Today we focused on John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. We went to Ein Karem, the village that was the home of John the Baptist. Ein Karem was an Arab village that Israel took over in 1948. There is a church dedicated to John and a grotto where he was supposedly born. There is also a church dedicated to the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. Ein Karem is a peaceful village in the hills, similar to the foothills of the Blue Ridge. It was about a 5 day journey for Mary from Nazareth. I sat outside and contemplated her coming over those hills to see Elizabeth and the greeting that followed between these two cousins.

We had a wonderful Palestinian lunch at a local restaurant and then went on to one of 3 “Shepherd’s Fields.” (The one Anglicans are allowed to worship at.) I must say I didn’t like the scraggly field but there is a wonderful large cave there. I could imagine the shepherds sleeping in the doorway of that cave with their sheep inside when suddenly the brightest light they had ever seen shone in the doorway. We learned the shepherds were usually young boys – the youngest son in the family – about the age of the children who play the shepherds in our pageant. We held a short worship service inside the cave.

We next went on to Bethlehem which is in the West Bank. The wall dividing the West Bank from Israel reminded me of the Berlin Wall. The Church of the Nativity has been built over the site where Jesus was born. It is a very ornate Greek Orthodox Church. We waited in line 45 mins to go down to the grotto where Jesus was born. (Yes, he was born in a grotto, not a stable as we portray it.) Then once we got into the grotto the people who worked there told us to hurry up. It was not possible for me to feel very spiritual under those conditions. It was like waiting in a long line at Disney World – except this line was not organized – only to find out the ride had broken. I felt a deeper spiritual connection looking out at the hills in Ein Karem.

Finally we went shopping at a Bethlehem olive wood store. The men waited impatiently while the women spent a lot of money!

Being in a country where there is no freedom of religion has opened my eyes to our freedom. Here you need to know if you are allowed to pray before you do. Anglicans cannot pray at the Franciscan Shepherd’s Field. No one but Muslims can pray at the Dome of the Rock (or Temple Mount). This need to control and prohibit happens not only between the 3 monotheistic religions but between sects of Christianity. It is very sad to see.

“He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. ” (Luke 22.39)

Today we went up to the top of the Mount of Olives to get an overview of Jerusalem. Between the Mount and Jerusalem is a huge cemetery. Some of the graves date back to the time of Jesus. Jesus would have walked through the cemetery when he came from the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday. The view gave new meaning to the verse “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”  It is also quite a walk from the Mount of Olives to the city gate, and an even longer walk from the place of the Last Supper to the Mount of Olives. That was surprising to me.  Temple Mount is a formidable structure -awe-inspiring and a bit frightening.

We then went the the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is built over the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion and  burial. We only walked around the church and did not wait in line to see the actual tomb and crucifixion rock. The tour was to give us an orientation. Since we are living here we are to go back on our own between 5 and 6 am when there will be no crowds.

I am so glad I led the study of “The Way” over Lent. It prepared me so well for this program. I recognize the sites and know the history behind them. It’s so exciting to see them in person.

It’s hot. We are walking a lot and climbing a lot of stairs. The college is taking extremely good care of us and have planned things very well. There are 40 in the class from the US, England and Australia, including a group of 10 from Pohick Church in Lorton.

On the Mount of Olives looking toward Jerusalem. The white are the tombs in the cemetery. The gold dome in the distance is the Dome of the Rock which is the Muslim holy site built on the Temple Mount at the former site of the Jewish temple.

Today is a free day. The course starts tomorrow. We walked to the Old City and wandered around. It’s very different from what I pictured. You enter a gate. The roads are very narrow, used by pedestrians now. Shops fill the sides. There is no free space. Just shop after shop. I’m amazed they can all stay in business. There are food shops, butcher shops, candy shops, clothing shops, hardware stores, pottery stores and stores that sell all kinds of touristy souvenirs. It’s like spokes of a wheel go out from each gate. It’s not an open space like I expected but a lot of alleys.

We found ourselves at the Western Wall ( aka the wailing wall). Since Jews are not allowed to pray at the Temple Mount because it is a Muslim holy site, they adapted by making this spot on the outer wall, near where the Holy of Holies would have been, a holy site. There is a section for men and a section about 1/2 that size for women. I went in and prayed and left two names. Several times a year rabbis pick up all the prayers left and bury them on the Mount of Olives. I found praying there a very moving experience.

FLAN at Damascus Gate

FLAN in Jerusalem!

FLAN at airport.

Ready to go!

Update, post-flight: They put you in a secure area to go to Israel. Then they swab you and your belongings for explosives. Reminds me of flying into DC following 9/11.

I had a great visit with my cousin. We spent Friday at the zoo. It was the public debut of two lion cubs—two girls who were born to Naba on 29 Jan 14. They are so cute!

 

We also spent some time watching Bao Bao the baby panda.

If you haven’t been to the zoo lately, I urge you to go. It is a great way to spend a day (or part of the day) observing Sabbath time! And you get your daily exercise too! Bao Bao is outside early (8:00) and goes in between 12-1 pm. You can see her once she goes inside. The lion cubs are out from 11-1 each day. Once they go inside, you cannot see them. Of course, there are no guarantees any of the animals will be out as planned; unforeseen things do arise.

This morning a group of nine of us formed a team to walk in the Susan G. Komen 5K Walk for the Cure.  (If you look carefully, you will see Nikol in the back row.) The walk was fun and it felt good to do something worthwhile on a Saturday morning.

Now it’s time to turn my attention to some serious packing.  My adventures are about to begin!

In faith, Ann

I’m as ready as I can be for my big trip to Jerusalem. Now to pare down the large pile of stuff I’ve set aside to take with me into something more reasonable and more manageable. I’m actually going to be glad to get on a plane to stop. (I’m sure about 4 hours into my 15-hour flight I will have had enough!)

My cousin arrives tomorrow. She is coming to be part of a 9-person team of which I am captain to walk in the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure Saturday. She is coming early to see Bao Bao at the zoo. Also, something I’m really excited about is two of the lion cubs (born in January) will go on display Friday and I will be there!

My Eva (my cat) is doing great! I never thought she would do so well—she was so very sick 6 weeks ago. I have not even given her any medicine since Saturday. It makes me feel so much better about leaving her.

I’ve seen quite a number of you out and about and it’s always great to see you.

In faith, Ann