November 11, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

November 11, 2009 - 
Jesus the Healer

 

            We begin
with an early breakfast, then head to the Temple Mount.  Can only go from 8:00 – 10 am and 12:30 – 2:30
pm.  We have one security check to get
in.  Al Aqsa Mosque is rather plain
looking.  It was built in 780 AD.  The Dome of the Rock was originally simpler
looking than it is now.   Built from 685-91
AD, it is not a Mosque, but a memorial to Muhammad, who is said to have
ascended from this spot.  Original
building was destroyed by an earthquake in 1016, and rebuilt.  Much of the tile-work was added in the mid 19^th
Century, and King Hussain of Jordan gave the gold leaf for the dome in the 1960’s.  The Temple Mount is vast – lots of
space.  There are gardens, plazas, olive
trees and the El Kas fountain, used to wash before prayers and as a sign of
penitence.

            We next
went to St. Anne’s, where the remains of the pool of Bethesda are.  This is where Jesus, on a Sabbath, healed a
man who had been sick for 38 years [John 5]. 
The tradition was that this was already a place of healing, and whenever
the water was stirred up, the first person to reach it would be healed.  This man could never get to the water first,
and was healed by Jesus.  We had some
quiet time, and our chaplain offered prayers and anointing for any who so desired.  St. Anne’s, dedicated to the mother of Mary
(husband, Joachim), has wonderful acoustics, so we went inside and sang “Jerusalem,
my happy home,” before leaving.

            We then
walked up the street to the convent, Ecco Homo. 
They have great views of the city from their roof, and we had a great
lunch there as well.  Ecco Homo, “behold,
the man” is from Pilate’s words when Jesus was condemned (near here?).

            After
lunch we walked to the Western Wall (“wailing wall”).  Had to do another security check.  Earlier today, when we walked on the bridge
to the Temple Mount, we saw a large number of men, with prayer shawls, etc.
praying.  This afternoon, there were
mostly tourists.  Note, there is a
separate part of the wall for women.  Men
must cover our heads, and they had cardboard yarmulkes for us to use.

            Finally,
we went to the western and southern wall excavation sites.  The most significant being the Huldah steps
on the southern wall (we saw these last Tuesday after lunch at Beit Abraham
monastery).  These steps led to the
Temple during Jesus’ day, and were the ones that common people would have used.
It is very likely that Jesus, on the occasions he went into Jerusalem and /or
to the Temple, used these steps.  The “Triple
Gate” would have been where the money-changers and merchants sold animals for
Temple sacrifice to faithful Jews coming from far away, and where Jesus “cleansed”
the Temple by overturning their tables, saying, “You have turned a house of prayer
into a den of robbers.  [Matthew 21:12ff ].  We had more quiet time here, before heading
home after a long day.

   Peace,

            Bob