Day 6

Jerusalem means, “they will see peace”: Ironic name given the continuous political turmoil of the country. Jerusalem has over 70 different names including Zion, which means ‘place that is marked by God’. Jerusalem is also mentioned 700 times in the Bible. A couple of other tidbits that I found interesting: Everywhere you go in Jerusalem you can see the golden dome which is an Islamic shrine, placed on top of the dome of the rock/ Mt. Moriah. Mount Moriah is where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac until God provided another sacrifice. This was the location of the first and second temple. Muslims believe this is the place where Abraham came to sacrifice Ishmael. I never realized that Mohammed never actually came to Mount Moriah. It is considered a sacred place for Muslims because Mohammed had a dream that he leapt from Mt. Moriah into heaven. 2000 years after Abraham this became the place where God once again provided the sacrifice through Jesus.

Our first day in Jerusalem we went to the Mount of Olives, we pictured Jesus’ entry into the city riding his donkey. A horse was used for battle, a donkey for civilian affairs. Palm branches were a ‘patriotic’ symbol used by the people to honor Jesus. Once again as the people looked for a mighty warrior, Jesus came to them humbly, choosing to be the lamb although capable of being the lion. The gate has now been concreted in as if that can somehow stop the lion from returning.

At the Garden of Gethsemane we sat at the stairs of a beautiful catholic church which overlooked a busy road, past that a Muslim cemetery, and past that the eastern gate. From this vantage point I realized for the first time, that Jesus would have seen the guards coming for him. The lands from the garden of Gethsemane sloped gently down and then back up, so you could clearly see straight to the gate. As he prayed the three times, I wonder if when he came back to wake the disciples, he saw them coming. He would have had time to get a head start, to perhaps escape, but we know he prayed “not my will but thine be done”. The area was busy and chaotic with many tourists, buses and cars honking from the street below, but as you entered in to the somber, dark sanctuary there was a reverence. As I tried to reflect on the pain he willingly and knowingly endured, the sweating of blood in the garden, the pain of betrayal, the physical agony of beating and crucifixion I was struck with my own weakness, my own inability to deserve this sacrifice made.

This same day we visited Yad Vashem (Israeli Holocaust museum), again with heavy hearts we walked through the stories of lives ripped apart, lives ended too soon, and while viewing the awful depravity of what mankind is capable of, a few glimpses of light - heroes that risked their own lives to help others. One of the first quotes I read there was “A country is defined not only by what it does, but also by what it tolerates.” As the list of countries that ignored the holocaust was shown, the personal stories were recorded and played on video; personal artifacts from those killed were also displayed. One area did commend those that worked through the underground system to get Jews to safety, but mostly this was a museum of horror and shame. The last room was called the room of names. It was a circular white room with thousands of notebooks lining the walls. Six million names, six million lives with potential, talents, skills, abilities, and relationships gone. I know that evil exists. I know we are capable of it directly, but also we must know we are capable of it indirectly when we do not stand up to injustice. As I stood in the room of names, grieving the injustice, I still knew, God knows their names.

As a little girl I remember reading Corrie Ten Boom books at my grandmother’s house. So many beautiful, amazing stories she lived through with grace and a desire to be Christ like. While at the museum I learned that she had a tree planted there in her honor. She and her sister had been involved in helping Jews, and when caught had been sent to a concentration camp. On the day that she died, her tree at the holocaust museum also died.

We also visited the Israel Museum, some of which was under renovation. We were able to see a model of the second temple, which started to give me an understanding of the size and scope of the area. We also were able to read about the Dead Sea scrolls that gave us a great introduction for our trip to Qumran the next day.