Day Three - Evening Prayers, Shabbat and Christmas Eve

By -
Today was another full day. We got to experience several key locations in the Old City. We walked along the Via Dolorosa, went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, prayed at the Western Wall, saw the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock, and visited the Garden Tomb. 
Mosaic of the Old City
Prayers of the People - the Western Wall
Candles lit by pilgrims at the tomb
Dome above tomb
Golgotha 
Chapel of Flagellation

In the late afternoon as we departed the Western Wall and Temple Mount Jewish families were heading toward the wall to pray as the setting sun marked the beginning of their Sabbath. Simultaneously, the Call to Prayer was sounding all across the city beconning all Muslims to prepare for their evening prayers. Above our heads hung twinkling Christmas lights reminding all of the Orthodox Christians that today is the eve of the birth of the Christ Child. All the while, the marketplace continued to buzz with foot traffic and shop owners pleading the people to come into their stores. 

There was something absolutely beautiful about this scene. Three faiths have converged here. Three faiths call this place holy. Three faiths live life in the midst of one another. Yet somehow, the beauty of this moment gets lost in a political and inter religious maelstrom that leaves destruction and uncertainty in its path. 

There must be a way through this labarynthian via dolorosa, this tangled way of sorrow. It will not be easy or convenient. The way may be complicated and confusing. But the walk will indeed be worth it. 

Let us walk this way together.

There are many more pictures on my Facebook account if you want to take a look. It was truly an amazing day in a totally different way than yesterday but equally moving and transformative. 

Shabbat Shalom 
and may I say for my Orhodox brothers and sisters...
Merry Christmas! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Persistence is her name (a poem)

By -
Persistence "firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition." Persistence is her name. She stands when it would be more convenient to sit. She sits when others wish she would move. She moves when action is demanded. She speaks because her voice shall not be silenced nor stolen yet again. Persistence is her name. She has birthed nations. She has ended wars. She has toppled empires. She has nursed change. Persistence is her name. Mercy is found in the milk of her breast. Empathy is seen in the tears on her cheek. Justice is felt in the sweat of her brow. Righteousness is coursing in the blood in her veins. Persistence is her name. Difficulty will not stop her. Obstacles will not stand. Opposition will not cause delay. Trouble will not linger. Persistence is her name. Nevertheless, she persisted; for Persistence IS her name. — bshivers
Read more

Lent: Walk - John 5:1-18

By -
Image
JOHN 5:1–18 1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids — blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They a
Read more

Actively Giving Thanks

By -
Image
Land acknowledgement: I live on the ancestral lands of the Kickapoo and the Miami. They were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands. This Thanksgiving, I have found myself thinking about what it means for thanksgiving to be an active exercise instead of something akin to a passive counting of blessings.  What if my thanksgiving were not just a self serving activity?   What if my giving thanks actually led me to something more than keeping a tally of the ways in which I have been #blessed throughout the year? What if it was more than a naming of the results of my privilege and advantage? What if it was more than a list of the same old things that I know I should be thankful for but often take for granted because I can? What would happen if my thanksgiving actually spurred me to action? What would that look like? Perhaps an active thanksgiving would result in a process of discovery of who/what is on my list, of who/what isn't on my list, of who/what is ignored, of who/what I hav
Read more