Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: In Jesus’ footsteps

We did our Pilgrimage with a group of 39 from St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Oviedo, Florida, with Pastor Schuschke as our spiritual leader.  We were nearly 24 hours in transit each way, transferring in Frankfurt, Germany, but it was not so bad.  We slept on the longer flights.  Don and I have done a few trips of a lifetime, but this was the ultimate sojourn.  By the end of the trip we felt like a big family.  Don explained retinitis pigmentosa on the bus one day.  After that people understood how to help him, and they did.  If I wandered a bit to take a picture, there would be a woman taking his arm to warn him of a rough step.  Everyone was wonderful.  Pastor Schuschke read from the Bible at most sites, led us in a bit of meditation on the events there, and moved us to sing praises.
(Click on pictures to enlarge them)

Bethlehem and Nazareth 

Nazareth back in the day was a small town with perhaps 40 families.  Tradition identifies this cave built out into a home as Mary’s childhood home and the place the angel announced her destiny as the mother of God.  A large church is built above it, complete with mosaics and artwork from many countries. 

Less than a quarter mile away is another church dedicated to Joseph built above caves and buildings that probably contained his carpenter shop and living quarters.  Shop and home were often connected.  Pastor remarked that poor Joseph was always being visited by angels with orders—marry Mary, flee to Egypt, safe to return home.

At Ain Karem at Zechariah’s home, a pregnant Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth and John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary arrived.  The church was built over the spot where early graffiti marked the cave with the words:  “Here was born the forerunner of God.”   This was my first place where I thought, “Jesus walked here!”  Surely He visited His cousin’s family.

Zechariah’s declaration at John’s birth is produced on tiles in many languages in the church courtyard.

The Church of the Nativity marks the cave traditionally accepted as the site of Jesus’ birth.  This Byzantine church is the only one not destroyed by the Persians in 614 because they saw a fresco of the wise men in Persian dress.   The grotto has a 14 point star at the presumed place of the birth and a stone manger nearby.   

 Our St Luke’s group sang Christmas carols there and outside in Manger Square in an emotional celebration of our Savior’s birth.

Other underground caverns include a chapel for the innocent children killed by Herod.  

The room where St. Jerome translated the Bible into the Vulgate which was commonly used for centuries.  We sang the Doxology which resounded in the small stone room.

Shepherds’ Field in Bethlehem was a bit of a walk for the shepherds that night to visit the newborn baby Jesus.  The shepherds were nomadic in the areas between the desert and the greener regions.  We saw a black ceilinged cave that provided shelter and a bit of warmth with a fire.  The hillside fields are full of rocks, but I guess the sheep and goats don’t mind.   Of course we sang Silent Night in the field.

We stopped in Cana where Jesus told His mother His time had not yet come, but He helped out anyway by turning water into wine in stone jars that may have looked like this.  The church on what is thought to be the place of the wedding.

This is what is nearby.  We had a wine tasting here, and Pastor bought wine to use for our Easter communion service.

Jesus’ cousin John, son of Zechariah, was a man of God living in the desert near the River Jordan.  There are two places on the Jordan that are strong contenders for being the site where John actually led Jesus into the river and baptized Him, with the dove and the voice of God announcing, “This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” We visited both places, stepped into the water and renewed our own baptismal vows.  Don and I dipped our fingers into the water and made the sign of the cross on each other's foreheads and hearts.  So we were able to contemplate the saving grace of God through baptism twice.

This site is in the desert near Jericho, a long trek from Galilee, but the terrain fits the description of wilderness on the edge of the desert where John preached and baptized others. 

Pastor led our baptism meditation at both sites.

This is the area where the Jordan flows out of the Sea of Galilee, closer to where Jesus lived at the time, but in a lush river valley.  Some people in other groups here bought white gowns and immersed in a rebaptism.  Lutherans hold that a person gets born again in baptism only once.

The account of Jesus' baptism was shown in many languages. 

Click to enlarge and read this--so cute.

Israel:  Galilee

An old wooden boat on the Sea of Galilee, steep hills rising above the big lake, drifting on the water as Pastor read passages and talked about Jesus and His many experiences on this sometimes calm, sometimes stormy, Sea of Galilee.  It’s another high moment, saying, “I can’t believe we are actually here where our Lord walked and taught.”  A crew member raised the American flag next to the Israeli flag and they played the “Star Spangled Banner” for us.  We sang hymns.  We danced the Israeli folk dance Hava Nagila (Let us Rejoice).  The cruise ended too soon.

This boat was exactly like the one we were in. 

We continued around the Sea of Galilee stopping at the likely spot where Jesus sailed to a remote spot to rest and was followed by crowds.  He healed the sick and spoke to the people, then miraculously fed over 5000 with five loaves and two fish.

Note there are only four loaves; the fifth is that given to us during Holy Communion.

We also had a chance to get our feet into the waters of the lake, again feeling that Jesus was in these waters.  Wow. 

The region around the north side of the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus did much of His ministry.  Jesus left Nazareth when He was disbelieved and threatened, and he moved to Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee where he gathered an assortment of fishermen as His disciples. Peter’s house has been identified ever since he lived there and welcomed Jesus to stay with his family.  As our guide Johnny said, Peter was a big shot after Jesus’ resurrection, and people pointed out his house ever after.  Capernaum is all ruins but Peter’s house, the synagogue, and other buildings are partially reconstructed.

Peter’s house

The synagogue where Jesus taught

Nearby a Greek Orthodox church was built on the site of the centurion’s house where Jesus healed the lame man lowered through the roof.  A group of Orthodox Christians arrived at the same time we did, many of them black-robed priests or monks and their scarf-clad women.  They filled the church with chanted song—full, rich voices.  It was beautiful.  We usually break into song at church sites, but we were pre-empted here.

At the Mount of the Beatitudes Pastor led us in a worship service focused on the Sermon on the Mount.  We could feel the impact of Jesus sitting there overlooking the lake and speaking of how we are blessed.

Kursi on Galilee is likely the place where Jesus called demons out of a hopelessly demented man and sent the demons into a herd of pigs which plunged into the lake and were drowned.

Jesus performed many miracles in the towns around Galilee, but not every town accepted Him He said, "Woe to you Chorazin.  Woe to you Bethsaida."  He added Capernaum to the list too of towns that were cursed to disappear.  None of the three exists anymore except for ruins. 

Chorazin

 

Pastor's sister Melissa

Mt. Tabor is generally accepted as the Mount of Transfiguration.  It is so steep that buses cannot maneuver the road, so we took vans to the top—vans careening around the switchbacks as we gasped at the drop-off views.  Imagine Jesus, Peter, James and John hiking up there.  No wonder Peter wanted to put up shelters and stay a while.  We have been seeing the places Jesus lived and interacted as a man.  Here we focused on His divine nature—that glory that will be more than we could ever wish for on our own,

 Jerusalem

Law requires all buildings in Jerusalem to be built or faced with Jerusalem stone—the dolomite and limestone that forms the Judean Mountains where the city is built. The effect is a timeless world, looking both archaic and modern at once, glowing in the sun.  The beautiful cream-colored buildings perch in rows on the terraces.

We saw the alternate possible site of Mary’s birth and the ruins of the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the cripple who had waited for many years next to the pool of mercy. 

Pater Noster, high on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem commemorates Jesus teaching his disciples and us to pray that perfect prayer that focuses our petitions on the spiritual rather than what we think we need and want.

Bethany is very near the Mt. of Olives, but the wall between Israel and Palestine turns a couple minutes drive into half an hour.  Jesus often went to Bethany to visit his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  Mary was the sensitive sister who simply wanted to sit and listen to Jesus talk.  When their brother died, both sisters told Jesus if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died.  Jesus reminded them that He had said no one who believes in Him will die, and he promptly raised Lazarus from the dead. Now a church marks the spot of their home.  This resurrection was the final straw for the Pharisees; from that day they plotted how to get rid of Jesus once and for all.

The Garden of Gethsemane in the Kidron Valley is a peaceful beautiful garden with many ancient olive trees, some over 2000 years old.  These are the very trees Jesus prayed under before being taken into custody.  I had a powerful sense of His dread of the ordeal to come and the weight of the sin of the world to carry. 

 Possibly the stone Jesus knelt at, praying.

 
Judas led the authorities to arrest Jesus and take him across the Kidron valley to Caiaphas’ house for trial before the Sanhedrin.  The original stone steps coming up the hill are still there and do date back over 2000 years.  I found myself again touching the stones and thinking that my Lord trod these exact stones, ready to face His mission. 

The church here is called St. Peter in Gallicantu (cock's crow).

The Sanhedren found Jesus guilty but did not have authority to do more than beat, mock and imprison Him.  We went down into the stone cells with shackles in the walls and down further to the pit where they put more serious criminals.  It is just that—a stone pit about 10 feet across deep in the cellars, emanating horror. 

We walked in Jesus footsteps—literally.  We walked a very crowded Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows.  Jerusalem’s Old City has narrow cobblestone streets packed with shops and vendors.  We came in the Lion’s Gate, also called St. Stephen’s Gate for the first martyr who was stoned here.  I thought of our late son-in-law Stephen named for the martyr. 

We saw the site, now demolished, where Pilate condemned Jesus to death.  An arch built earlier by Hadrian still stands, and it is considered to be the place where Pilate said "Ecco homo."  "Behold the man." 

 We walked on the original stone street dating to Jesus’ day, uncovered and preserved below the current street level. 

Several churches commemorate the flagellation.  We saw the stations where Jesus fell and where He met His mother and the other women, and where Simon of Cyrene was enlisted to carry the cross when Jesus collapsed under it.

An imprint of a hand in the stone is supposedly where Jesus fell against the wall. 

Many of these stations of the cross are merely traditional, of course, that this was the actual spot.  The impact, however, of walking these narrow old streets, knowing that yes, Jesus met his mother and other women weeping somewhere along the way and yes, he assuredly stumbled a lot under the weight and pain, made the whole walk very sobering and heart-rending.

Then we arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  The Mount Calvary site is topped with altars, mosaics and lights.  

The stone hilltop under glass.

 

Here is the purported stone where Jesus was anointed when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Him down from the cross. 

 

The crowded streets gave way to a seven person wide line waiting to see the tomb.  Our group actually linked arms to keep people from pushing through our group and separating us.  Crowds behind us physically pushed and shoved.  It made us think of the unruly crowds that followed Jesus on His final day.  We waited 1 ½ hours, moving inches at a time, feet and backs aching.  Not an uplifting experience.  Then we arrived at the tomb room, and all that fell away.  I prayed and touched the stone slab in the tomb and a wave went through me.  Jesus went through all that pain and died and was laid in the tomb for me!  And the tomb is empty!

Our defensive line.

The tomb itself 

We left the crowds and went to the other contender for the site of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Garden Tomb just outside the walls of the Old City. It was the general practice for crucifixions to be outside the walls, not in the city itself.  The hillside there looks like a skull which is the meaning of Golgotha. 

Early 1900's photo of Golgotha cliff

The Bible says the tomb was hewn out of the hillside which certainly describes this tomb and does not quite fit the one in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  Other details also fit for this site in a peaceful garden. 

The tomb has two small rooms, one for preparation of the body and for the family to gather and grieve; the other for the body to be laid to rest.  The second room here is fenced off for viewing.  The local guide noticed Don’s blind cane, brought us in, and unlocked the gate.  He took Don right into the place where the body would have lain and helped him touch the walls and ledge.  I was overcome with emotion, humbled, thankful, lifted up.  Being in a tomb—the tomb—brought home the reality of Jesus ordeal.

We gathered in the garden then as a group for an Easter worship service (never mind that Easter is weeks away) and communion using olive wood cups that are a gift from our guide and driver.  We ended the service with sharing the Peace of God—hugs and tears and joy.

The disciples were fishermen.  In their confusion and distress, they probably wanted to escape and go fishing. In Galilee we had visited the possible spot where Jesus appeared to the disciples after His death and resurrection, cooking fish on a fire for them.  The church here commemorates the Primacy of Peter.  By asking Peter three times, “Do you love me?” and telling Peter to feed His sheep and lambs, Jesus showed Peter that He forgave him the three denials during Jesus’ trial and commissioned him to spread the news of the Savior.

Mindy at Galilee 

Mount of Olives

Near Shepherds’ Field in Bethlehem was a tent restaurant where we had our final celebratory dinner.  The staff there dressed several of us in old-time costumes; Pastor was the shepherd.  We danced a bit and just had fun.  Wine flowed freely, and the party was animated as we all enjoyed the new friends we made on this trip. 

Myself, Debbie, Pastor, and Cindy 

 Don, our guide Johnny, me, our driver Ghol.  They asked us to pray for peace in Israel.

I asked others who were on the trip for reflections.

Lynn said this:  I relive those places and those overwhelming feelings of walking where Jesus walked and healed, and suffered and died, and rose from the dead for us.  The scriptures are so alive for me and Jesus is so present every day.  I feel so blessed to have been able to take that journey with so many wonderful people, and with such examples of Jesus' followers

Sue said this:   I think for me, as others have articulated, that walking where Jesus walked was such a surreal blessing.  I could hardly believe it,  but I was in the same place He lived 2,000 years ago.  I will forever read the Bible differently, listen to a Bible story and actually picture where it was on the map, in comparison to where we were, ask the questions, who were these people in history, was Herod in power then, what is the meaning of the story, is it meaningful today, why/why not.  This trip added richly to my life culturally and spiritually. 

I (Jean) am struggling to put the effect of this trip into words.  As we recite the Apostles’ creed now, I picture each place where the events took place—conceived by the Holy Ghost in that little cave built out into a home in Nazareth, born of the virgin Mary in that stable in Bethlehem, suffered under Pontius Pilate at the Antonia fortress, was crucified at the hill Golgotha, was buried in that tomb hewn out of the rock wall, rose from the dead in that garden, and ascended into heaven from the Mt. of Olives near Bethany.  We have seen Galilee where Jesus taught, the Jordan River which is the lifeblood of this region, the mountains of the Beatitudes and Transfiguration.  We walked the same stone streets He did.  We touched walls and places that Jesus touched.  We stood in the places where He suffered, not just for everyone, but for me, even me.  Jesus is not abstract anymore; He was a real person in real towns and countrysides.  But more than that, His healings, His teachings, His love have become real.  He sacrificed everything—surely I can sacrifice a little more than I do. He came to forgive—I should be able to forgive others freely.  He came to serve—certainly I can serve with more love and patience.  He came with love for all—I can reflect His love to those around me.  Praise be to the Lord.