A Journey to Remember

Today we went into the Old City part of Jerusalem to spend some time at the Western Wall and to walk the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering/Way of the Cross.  The Western Wall, known to some (Gentiles) as the “Wailing Wall,” is the exposed portion of the retaining wall that King Herod built around the Temple Mount.  The Western Wall, or Kotel, is among the most holy sites to Jewish people other than the Temple Mount itself.  But here you will see people of many faiths standing as equal to bring their prayers, many of which are written on slips of paper and inserted in cracks within the wall.  My time at the Western Wall was perhaps my most profound experience of the day.

Most of the wall is underground, having been covered by the construction of city expansion over the centuries.  A tunnel has been excavated running the length of the wall from south to north, and you can take a guided tour through the tunnel.  I took this tour and it was rich with history and knowledge.  Our guide was well-spoken and I learned a lot.  There are places where you have to duck and squeeze between underground rock walls, so it is a place you should avoid if you tend to be claustrophobic.

The tunnel emerges on the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount, near where Herod’s Antonia Fortress once stood, the place where Jesus was tried and condemned by Pontius Pilate.  This is the site of the “praetorium” referred to in the Gospels and is the first in the journey of the Stations of the Cross.

The second Station is now marked by the Franciscan Church of the Flagellation, a beautiful church with magnificent sculptures and stained glass windows remembering where Jesus was flogged by Roman soldiers after he was convicted and sentenced to death.

Leaving the Church of the Flagellation, the Way that marks the footsteps of Jesus takes you through the narrow, stone-paved streets of the Old City, which is lined with shops and markets much like it might have been 2,000 years ago.  Your way takes you down into the western part of the city, then rises toward Golgotha.  Along the way the stations lead you to contemplate where Jesus stumbled and fell, where he met the women along the way, and where Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry his cross.  Spoiler alert: there are so many distractions that it is difficult to walk this in silence and awe and wonder.  That has to take place later when there is time to be quiet and reflect.

 

At the end of the journey, the last five Stations are all contained within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  There is a large rock which is purported to be the location of the crucifixion itself, and not far away is the tomb.  The tomb is encased in a marble edifice and placed under a great dome that dominates the whole area.  I took very few pictures here, partly because it just didn’t “feel right” and also because the realities of the sites were so obscured by all the ornate stuff that has been added by the Church over the years.

Perhaps the most moving thing to me about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was the plainest:  just inside the entrance to the church was a large flat rectangular stone known as the Stone of Unction.  This is where it is said that the women anointed the body of Jesus.  This is where tears came to my eyes and I choked up a little bit.

 

My final photograph was taken looking straight up, into the light, from the otherwise dark place.  I turned to Linda after we emerged from the tomb, smiled and said, “He’s not here!  He is risen!”  And Linda said, “He is risen indeed.”