Yamurkles, cappucino, and communion

15 Dec 2008 1 Comment

by crazysoccermom in Trip to Israel Tags: arab, church of the holy sepulchre, communion, garden tomb, holy sites, jerusalem, pilgrimage, sick, station of the cross, travel, trip, tunnel, vacation, via dolorosa, wailing wall, western wall

I was moving really slowly this morning. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and dragged myself down to the restaurant for some hot tea. I gulped down some eggs to try to energize myself and then begrudgingly boarded the bus for our last full day of touring.

Forgive me if my recollection of the day is hazy, but that’s how the day felt! Our first stop was back to the Temple Mount for a tour of the Western Wall Tunnels. Upon entering, the men had to cover their heads, and I had to laugh at Chase and Cody in their paper, disposable yamurkles. We entered a series of underground labrynths in which excavations had revealed the continuation of the western wall.

We saw one stone which is estimated to be 13.6 x 3.5 x 4.5 meters. Its supposed to weigh 570 tons! I can’t begin to imagine how they got that stone there! We passed one area called “Warren’s Gate” which is a section of the wall that is supposedly the closest point to the “Holy of Holies.” There were Jewish women here praying and crying in what they refer to as “the cave.” To simplify it, the Holy of Holies is considered to the be site of the innermost sanctuary of the Jewish Temple. It is considered the most sacred site, and possibly the house of the Ark of the Covenant and the 10 Commandments. As the site is now under Arab control, the Western Wall is the closest that Jews can get to it. I can imagine that to some, its like standing at the door to heaven, but you can’t get in.

As we exited the tunnel we were escorted by an Israeli soldier through part of the Muslim Quarter, then made our way to the Via Dolorosa. The Via Dolorosa is a street in the Old City that is held to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. The first nine stations of the cross are marked along the way, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I wonder about the accuracy of the sites, and I’m sure, as we’ve seen many times on this trip, that some were arbitrarily chosen, but I get the symbolism.

We traced Jesus’ fateful path through the Old City, beginning with the Monastery of the Flagellation, where Jesus was questioned and condemned by Pilate. A huge crown of thorns adorned the domed ceiling of the chapel. The second station is at the Church of the Sisters of Zion. This is the site of the Arch of Ecce Homo where Pilate showed Jesus to the crowd and Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothes.

The third station is small Armenian Catholic Chapel where Jesus first fell on the street. I once watched a science show where they tried to reenact the carrying of a cross on one’s shoulders. The “crash test dummy” was a very fit, 200lb man and he could barely walk 10 steps with the weight of the cross. Eventually they had him carry only the crossbeam and he made it about 100 yards before nearly collapsing. And, this man hadn’t been beaten to near death as Jesus had BEFORE the journey. It is estimated that Jesus had to carry the cross between 0.2 to 0.6 miles.

The fourth state commemorates the meeting between Jesus and his mother. The fifth station recalls the encounter between Jesus and Simon, who was given Jesus’ cross to carry to Golgotha. We were unable to visit this site, as the overseer was out to lunch! The sixth station is a Greek Catholic church in memory of the meeting between Jesus and Veronica, who wiped his face with her veil. Supposedly the imprint of his face was left on the cloth and it has been kept in the Roman Basilica.

At one point during the walk I actually broke down crying. I wasn’t necessarily overcome with sentimentality, but rather with fever. My fortitude was breaking down and I could feel myself getting really sick. I took some more drugs and kept on trucking, though. I felt so selfish when I thought about Jesus having to walk this road after being beaten to a pulp, being humiliated, betrayed, and knowing that death awaited him. How could I feel sorry for myself for even a second? I was embarrassed and wanted to crawl under a rock – and there were plenty to crawl under!

The next three stations commemorate: Jesus’ second fall, Jesus’ meeting with the pious women where he says “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” And, finally, his third fall on the street. Along our journey we were constantly berated by men and children trying to sell us things, “30 postcard 10 sheckle,” “nice Jesus picture,” “prayer shawl 20 sheckles.” Hmmm…Islamic men selling Christian paraphernalia in Jewish territory…okey dokey!

Our final stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is a dark, cold Armenian Christian church controlled by several Christian and secular entities. This complicated arrangement has led to an architectural hodge podge of a building with a confused identity. There is even a small ladder which was used in restoration that remained in the same spot for over a century because of a disagreement on moving it. The church is supposed to the be site of Golgotha, or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified. It also houses the tomb, or sepulcher, where Jesus was said to be buried.

Apparently, after converting to Christianity, Constantine sent his mother Helena to find the burial site of Jesus. She asked around town and the consenting opinion was that he was buried at the site of a temple of the goddess Venus. Helena had the temple destroyed, declared this a holy site, and initiated the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Just how much evidence is available to confirm this as the actual site is very controversial.

We entered the church and were ushered up a very steep, winding concrete staircase. Some of the steps had to be at least two feet tall and it was a difficult climb. Some of our group members chose not to make the trek. At the top is a lavishly decorated altar believed to hold the Rock of Calvary. Beneath the altar is a hole where the cross was believe to have been raised and we were encouraged to kneel and feel the rock in the hole. I did as I was told, but I didn’t feel any great epiphany from it.

To the left of the altar is a statue of Mary where it is believed that Jesus’ body was removed from the cross and given to his family for burial. We then descended a “normal” staircase back to the first floor and I found myself wondering why we couldn’t have used the “normal” stairs for both up and down. But, I’m sure I’m not important enough to argue with the Armenians and the Greeks and the Romans. “Christians” seem to be good at putting up barriers (like steep stairwells) to allowing other “Christians” to find God.

On the first floor we saw The Stone of Anointing, believed to be the spot where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial. This is a large, rectangular marble stone over which lots of strange, gothic lamps hang. There is a room holding The Angel’s Stone, believed to have sealed the tomb after Jesus’ burial. The Chapel of Adam is beneath Golgotha and holds a stone visible through a window with a large crack down the middle. The crack is said to have formed during an earthquake at Jesus’ death.

The “actual” tomb is a point of confusion. To the left of the entrance is a square room, or Edicule which holds the tomb. The interior of the tomb is open to visitation and controlled by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Apostolic Churches. After standing in line, you enter the small cavernous room in which an alter lies in front of a tomb. To the rear of the Edicule is a stone altar used by the Coptic Orthodox. As I walked passed this altar a man in priestly garments started fussing at me in his language. At least, by his tone, I think he was fussing at me, but I have no idea what I was doing wrong – perhaps he was just wishing me a nice day – though, I doubt it!

It was finally lunch time. I think our tour guide doesn’t get the idea of “lunch,” as we always seem to be eating at 2 or 3 o’clock. We stopped at a quaint little café with an outdoor patio. Other than having to sit outside in the cold wind, it was nice. I ordered the spaghetti, which was good, but it had a flavor I wasn’t used to in Italian food. My cappuccino however, was the best thing I’d ever tasted! I ended up drinking two cups and downed some more Tylenol.

After lunch we did a little shopping. I bought Jimmy a stuffed camel (well, not a real stuffed camel, rather a plush camel) then I drank more hot tea and tried to find a comfortable spot to sit. I have never seen so much concrete and rocks in my life. Our final stop of the day was the Garden Tomb. This is a beautiful garden which holds a tomb thought by some to be the actual burial site of Jesus. A British Major General in the 1880′s discovered the tomb outside the Old City Walls near a rocky hill resembling the face of a skull. As this fits the writings of the gospel, he proposed that this was the real site of Calvary.

Many Protestants were eager for a role in the preservation of holy sites, so they jumped on this possible discovery. While it is a beautiful garden, architecture has proven that the tomb is not from the right historical period and it is more likely that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is closer to the actual burial sight. Despite this evidence, we had a wonderful time in the garden.

To begin with, the garden charges no admittance fee. This was a first for our trip! Yay, Protestants! The garden is maintained by donations. There are winding sidewalks which lead through beautiful flowers and trees. The area is just outside the bustling city walls, but it seemed quite peaceful here. There were several weddings being conducted and people were singing and laughing . I watched as a group of Korean Jews (which I didn’t know existed) had a beautiful, simple wedding ceremony.

We were led to a small area with pews and an altar which had been set up for us to have a communion ceremony. The sun had set and it was getting dark and among all the greenery is was a very serene setting. We sang a few songs (actually, I just listened because my voice was gone), and Bro Gil began the communion ceremony. In the midst of this almost magical moment, the serenity was broken. Suddenly a loud speaker from the Islamic Dome of the Rock began calling its evening prayer.

Bro Gil had to literally yell to complete his sermon. We all exchanged glances as our train of thought was interrupted. My initial reaction was anger. What gives them the right to impose their noise, or worship, or religious views on us? Then I thought, well they have as much right to worship as we do. Yeah, but we aren’t bothering them – they can’t hear us! Well, maybe we are bothering them. Maybe our presence here defiles their holy places. What gives us the right. What gives any of us the right?

I felt myself become a part of the arguments and debates and all out wars that have plagued this land, and our planet for years…thousands of years. All at once I was in the war. I could no longer look at the conflict as an un-opinionated outsider, I could no longer be a conscientious objector – I was now a participant. I had become angry, and I could see my side of the argument, and I wanted to stand up for myself.

A moment later I realized that anger wouldn’t solve anything. Angry words and fists and weapons haven’t solved anything here – ever. So instead I chose a different weapon – I prayed. I prayed harder and harder until I was sure that God could hear me over the noise. I completed our communion service and I felt sure that God was God and we can worship him regardless of whether our background noice is a Muslim call to prayer, the chant of a rabbi, the peal of Protestant church bells or a Catholic latin litany.

We ended our service and returned to the hotel. I immediately crawled into bed and passed out cold – literally, because I was freezing. I was awakened a couple hours later by about 5 women standing over me, taking my temperature, shoving more pills down my mouth, and threatening to take me to an Israeli hospital. I mumbled my objections and went back to sleep.