I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ~Revelation 21:2 Scripture calls Jerusalem home, but it has always seemed far from my home. This pilgrimage has been too brief. The places we've visited don't really feel like … [Read more...] about Easter, Lent Pilgrimage, Home
#40 Lent Pilgrimage, Golgotha
May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~Galatians 6:14 We are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built over the place where Jesus died. We have the opportunity to stoop over, crawl beneath … [Read more...] about #40 Lent Pilgrimage, Golgotha
#39 Lent Pilgrimage, Good Friday
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? ~Psalm 130:3 Headed toward the last of the stations of the cross, we pilgrims pass beneath a high window where some schoolgirls cluster. We can see them, wearing their school uniforms. The girls toss water balloons on us and yell: "It's … [Read more...] about #39 Lent Pilgrimage, Good Friday
#38 Lent Pilgrimage, The Upper Room
Then Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. ~Luke 22:19 The Upper Room on the Via Dolorosa was built by the Crusaders in the 11th century, so it is not "authentic" to the Holy Week story. The … [Read more...] about #38 Lent Pilgrimage, The Upper Room
#37 Lent Pilgrimage, Drowned by Noise
The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him. ~Mark 10:33-34 We pilgrims are walking the Via Dolorosa through the Old City … [Read more...] about #37 Lent Pilgrimage, Drowned by Noise
#36 Lent Pilgrimage, Stations of the Cross
Jesus took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him. ~Mark 10:32 We enter the Damascus Gate before dawn, in silence, to walk the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering. Pilgrims take turns leading our group, carrying a 4-foot cross. The stations of the cross, a series of … [Read more...] about #36 Lent Pilgrimage, Stations of the Cross
#35 Lent Pilgrimage, Ancient Roots
Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial. ~Luke 22:46 The roots of the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane are purportedly 2,000 years old. Olive trees are known to live a long time, and these particular trees have been lovingly tended since Jesus prayed … [Read more...] about #35 Lent Pilgrimage, Ancient Roots
Lent Pilgrimage, Palm Sunday
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! ~John 12:13 The Palm Sunday Chapel marks the place where Jesus is believed to have begun his triumphal journey on a donkey. Inside, the walls of … [Read more...] about Lent Pilgrimage, Palm Sunday
#34 Lent Pilgrimage, Tears
As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it. ~Luke 19:41 Dominus Flevit is the name of a modern church on the Via Dolorosa, outside the city gates of Jerusalem. The church was built in the shape of a tear. The front window overlooks Jerusalem to honor the tears that Jesus wept over this … [Read more...] about #34 Lent Pilgrimage, Tears
#33 Lent Pilgrimage, What We Eat
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you. ~Psalm 128:2 As the days wear on, there is increasing dissatisfaction about the food we are served, which seems foreign to some members of our group. Perhaps fears get externalized to this concrete … [Read more...] about #33 Lent Pilgrimage, What We Eat
#32 Lent Pilgrimage, Lingering in Glory
We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.?~2 Peter 1:18 The Hebrews believed they were closer to God on the top of a mountain. Mount Tabor makes that concept easy to understand. The air seems thinner here, as if there is less between us and the … [Read more...] about #32 Lent Pilgrimage, Lingering in Glory
#31 Lent Pilgrimage, Shortcut to Glory
Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. ~Mark 9:2 Mount Tabor, which is believed to be the site of Jesus' transfiguration, rises from a flat plain. The road to the top is a series of hairpin curves too … [Read more...] about #31 Lent Pilgrimage, Shortcut to Glory