Today we made our way to Jerusalem’s Old City.  Entering through the Dung Gate, we passed through security on our way up to the top of the Temple Mount.  The Temple Mount only opens twice a day, and our guide referred to it as the most “heated” piece of real estate in the world.  Why?  Because the Temple Mount is the land under the Dome of the Rock.

Our Jewish guide, Hannah, was an absolute treat!  Warm, passionate, informed—yet another wonderful teacher.  The morning schedule was packed to overflowing, so our pace was fast.  We saw the sights, but no doddling allowed this time around!

A few things the average wandering tourist might not know… Continue reading →

Today was “Monastery Day”, as we visited two in the wilderness landscapes just beyond Bethlehem.  Wisely, we began as early as we could to avoid some of the day’s heat.  Still, some of our group were cooked and dripping by the time we returned.

Mar Saba.  Charles had called this the “mother of monasteries”, but we weren’t sure why.  It’s not because it’s the largest one, though it does have an impressively large compound.  It’s not that it was the home to the most monks in days gone by—today, there are less than twenty monks who call this home.  Much of its claim to fame is found in its location.  It is perched on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a very deep wadi (a riverbed, sometimes dry, which funnels water from higher ground to lower; can be the sites of powerful flash floods).  The land around Mar Saba could be called “rugged”, and it’s certainly not the type of place one would choose to live…

Unless you were trying to get away. Continue reading →

Juxtaposition.  That was the word Charles used to describe the two church services we attended this weekend. Continue reading →

One aspect of this trip has been well-nourished without any choice in the matter: That of intellectual stimulation and fresh experiences.  Those were scheduled and booked; all I needed to do was show up!

But another portion of this trip is quite different.  It is the finding of space to breathe.  It is quiet and stillness.  It is what differentiates between a journey and a retreat.  To be sure, this experience has been a rich journey, as I knew it would.  But my soul came needing the other as well.  And this weekend has provided enough room to carve out just such a spot. Continue reading →

Today or tomorrow marks the halfway point of this trip.  And I am glad for it.  While I’m extremely grateful to be here, I am certainly missing my family.  Besides that, it seems that a portion of our group, myself included, have hit something of a wall.  I seemed to be running on empty until mid-afternoon today.  Some of it is simple physical wearniness; some better sleeping would cure that.  But another part of it is more mental.  There’s an intensity to most of our days that one cannot sustain indefinitely.  Basic processing of this experience is neither quick nor easy.  Part of the wear lies in this realm too.

But time wasn’t waiting for us, so we plodded on.  Back to the Old City.

Right near the Old City is the City of David, a fascinating area thought to be the earliest portions of Jerusalem.  Continue reading →