The Upper Room

Yesterday was the feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a very holy day for our Catholic and Orthodox friends.  We were blessed to worship at the Benedictine Church of the Dormitio at the area of Mount Zion in Jerusalem.  Mount Zion, just outside the gates of the Old City, has been a special place since the days of King David and beyond.  While we were there we saw the remains of the city wall and a market dating back to the First Temple period, prior to 586 b.c.e.   

Around the corner from Dormition Abbey in the City of David our new friend Barbara led us up a narrow set of stone stairs and out onto the rooftop.  This rooftop is known by tradition as the place where the people gathered at Pentecost and were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).  Each year a large number of Christians gather here to celebrate the Holy Spirit.

From the rooftop we were led to a small, quiet room – the Upper Room!  Just the three of us – no crowds of tourists, no vendors hawking their wares, no one for the next ten minutes.  Soon we could hear a tour group coming up behind us, but not before we were able to take a deep breath and take it all in.  Barbara left us for a few sacred moments as we stood in the place where Jesus said, “Take, eat.  This is my body, given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.  And this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Sometimes even a moment can be sacramental.  We would love to have had a few more moments to linger there, but we were blessed to have a few moments to ourselves in the place where the Lord served the Lord’s Supper.  Wow, wow, wow.  Just wow