Holy Communion service for Christ's Church began at 9:30 so we had a little extra time to relax in the morning. The service was a mix of contemporary and low church liturgy. The message covered the first miracle of Jesus in John 2.
Because of possible inclement weather our schedule changed to take advantage of the beautiful day given to us and we began by walking through the Jewish quarter, followed by the southern wall excavation and finally to the western or wailing wall. The tour was helpful to set us up to understand how the second Temple era started in 538 BC to 70 AD which was a new way to consider it for me as I learned that the Jews did not accept Zerubbabel's rebuilding as a legitimate Temple.
Another lesson learned was that I had always thought that the Western Wall was the only wall of the Temple left standing. Actually much of the Southern Wall is left as well and it was magnificent touch the southwest corner and gaze up at the massive structure while imagining what it once was. The privilege was to step on the very steps that Jesus and his disciples would have stepped on to walk through the Southern Gate. This is what makes for a true pilgrimage.
Most men decided to go into the section gated off to get to the Western Wall but I stayed behind the fence. For me it was sad to watch so many devoted men rocking, praying and hoping for a deliverance that had come 2,000 years ago and who was and is the True Temple.
We finished with standing on a roof top in the evening to see the Holy City. It is a honor to be here. Peace, Pastor Eric
January 17,2016
ReplyDeleteService this morning at Christ Church was a wonderful experience. It lasted more than 2 hours but I never noticed. Father Lawrence gave the sermon, and it was great to reconnect with him. Eric and I went in the old city to do some shopping. We bought some souveniers and a Seattle Seahawk T-shirt in Hebrew. We also stopped to have lunch at a Lebanese restaurant having falafel and hummus with pita, we enjoyed it very much. We then met up with our group for our trip to the Jerusalem Archeological Park. We walked through the Jewish quarter where we were suckered by a Jewish man who tied a scarlet thread on our wrists and said what we thought a blessing and then wanted money. We gave him some he said it was for supper. We later found out that it is all mystic garbage. As we rounded a corner at the end of the road the temple mount stood grand in front of us. We then descended the steps to the park and saw the remains of the southern wall and the steps leading to the temple. While Eric was taking my picture on the steps there was a skirmish behind me taking place. A uniformed policeman and a non-uniformed armed man were running back and forth behind me and yelling at us to get away. They apparently were in pursuit searching for someone. My heart was pounding a little faster,but soon all was well and we were able to stay and explore some more. We then went to the western wall. We were all exhausted by the end of the day and walked back to Christ Church for dinner. After dinner some of us took a walk on the rooftops for a panoramic view of the city which was beautiful and a nice end to the day. Tomorrow we have another full day ahead of us. We are enjoying every minute!