Easter In Jerusalem

One of the great side benefits of the timing of our trip has been that our arrival coincided almost perfectly with the start of Holy Week, since we landed just a few days before Palm Sunday. While we haven't considered ourselves to be pilgrims in the traditional sense of the word, it is easy to view our travel here to Jerusalem as a journey for spiritual renewal, direction and connection. We are privileged that we get to do that in the land and city in which our Lord lived, died and returned.

On Palm Sunday we attended the Jerusalem Alliance Church; a small but lively place in the heart of the Old City, only a stones throw from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in one direction, and the Western Wall in the other. We had expected that we would see large crowds and parades, waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna" packed in the narrow, winding streets of city. Instead, the cobbled alleys were relatively calm and quiet. Some church attendees going to or just coming from services offered by one of the many denominations present in the city, kiosks and vendors opening up for the day (Friday and Saturday is the typical weekend here, and most people have to work on Sunday), but not much celebration. We heard from friends the next morning that later in the afternoon on Sunday thousands of Christians had gathered, shutting down the main road to all traffic, and worshiped and celebrated for hours. We were told it was one of the largest gatherings of Christians in Jerusalem, and for many is a sign for a new era of visibility for the Christian minority here.

On Thursday, we helped prepare and decorate the christian bookstore we mentioned in our last post. This involved making a makeshift empty-tomb out of a sideways table, cardboard boxes, table clothes and rocks scavenged from the side of the road. All that considered, Katelyn and one of the bookstore employees did a great job decorating. From noon to about 3PM, Jared and another one of the employees set up a small stage and played Arabic hymns together. The idea was that as kids got off of school, and workers left their jobs for the day, they would see the decorations and hear the music, and hopefully be intrigued to come into the bookstore, take a free DVD, coloring book or piece of chocolate, listen to some music, and maybe learn something about Easter beyond colored eggs and bunnies.

Later on Thursday evening we attended St. George's Anglican church for their Maundy Thursday service. Maundy Thursday is the day when the Last Supper, the washing of the apostles feet, the prayer at Gethsemane and the betrayal of Jesus are remembered. Our service at St. George's was a stark and beautiful reminder of Jesus' last full day with his disciples, and his last private words to them as he prepared himself for the sacrifice he was to make the next day. The significance of that day was made all the more poignant by a solemn processional from the cathedral to the Mount of Olives, just above Gethsemane.

On Easter Sunday we attended the sunrise service at the Garden Tomb. Hundreds of people from around the world packed themselves into the small garden to worship and remember Christ's resurrection. However, to visit the Garden Tomb on a normal day, without the worship band, and TV cameras and crowds of people; when it is just you, the empty tomb and silence, that is when the profundity of the place, regardless of historical provenance, truly sets in. We hope to visit the tomb again on a day when we have time to meditate on the significance in peace.

St. George's Cathedral.

Jared's feet being washed by the Bishop.

Garden Tomb sunrise service.