Category: Lent Devotional
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Easter Sunday
Easter marks Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, which occurred in Jerusalem. Little wonder that scripture calls Jerusalem our true “home” even if we’ve never been there.
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Lent #40 Golgotha
I know the bedrock of Golgotha is ordinary rock, grimy from other people’s fingers. But when I touch it, I am absolutely certain that a sinless Jesus suffered and died because he loved us humans, even with our dirty hands.
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Lent #39 Good Friday
As we pilgrims walk the Via Dolorosa, some schoolgirls toss water balloons onto us, and the large cross we carry.
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Lent #38 The Upper Room
The Upper Room on the Via Dolorosa is not “authentic” but helps me picture the scene where Jesus gave his disciples the sacrament of the Last Supper.
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Lent #37 Via Dolorosa
Early morning, we pilgrims walk the Via Dolorosa through the Old City of Jerusalem. The city is a noisy hubbub, distracting me from my pious task.
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Lent #36 Stations of the Cross
To walk the Stations of the Cross we enter the Damascus Gate before dawn, in silence. We will walk the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering.
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Lent #35 Garden of Gethsemane
The Garden of Gethsemane has olive trees which are purportedly 2,000 years old. They are misshapen but healthy. Olive trees are known to live a long time. These trees have been lovingly tended for two millennia.
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Palm Sunday
The four interior walls of the Palm Sunday chapel are painted with life-sized frescoes of people. The crowd of people wavings palms are all painted in sepia tones. Only Jesus, on the front wall, is in color.
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Lent #34 The Lord Wept
Dominus Flevit is Latin for “the Lord wept.” It is also the name of a modern church on the Via Dolorosa, outside the city gates of Jerusalem.
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Lent #33 Pilgrimage Food
As the days of the pilgrimage wear on, there is increasing dissatisfaction about the food we are served. Many of the dishes seem foreign to members of our group.
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Lent #32 Lingering in Divine Presence
Pilgrims often desire to linger in the divine presence. On the top of Mt. Tabor, I understand why.
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Lent #31 Jesus’ Transfiguration
Previous generations of pilgrims would have spent days trekking up Mt. Tabor. We accomplish the ascent in just twenty minutes as the taxi zooms around the hairpin turns.