Day 2: The Passion of Jesus, From the Garden to the Resurrection

Happy Easter! It is 2:35 AM, and we just got back from the Easter Vigil services. It has been an incredible day and to try and pack it all in to a readable blog post will not be possible. On top of that, I am sleepy. I will do my best to share my day in brief.

We started our day by walking through the Kidron Valley, along the Old City walls. Seeing them up close left me feeling speechless. I wanted to rush up and touch them to assure that they are real. To think of the thousands of years of history that these walls contain is simply mind-boggling, and now I get to be a part of that history.

We walked to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane that sits outside the city walls across the Kidron Valley. I sat and prayed at what is believed to be the same rock that Jesus sat and wept at, during his agony in the garden. I learned that Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew words Gat and Shemanin, which mean “oil press”. Back then oil represented so much, such as longevity, prosperity, and peace to the Israelites. The fact that olive trees plaid such a prominent role in ancient Israeli life can be seen in the scriptures. When it says that a “shoot will come out of the stump of Jesse”, it can be clearly seen in the olive trees, how roots are born out of the stump.


As I was mentioning yesterday how incredible it is to find the Bible so alive. Our tour guide shared something that went along with that idea. He said that there are actually “five Gospels, four that are written, and the fifth can be found in the place they call holy”. Today was very much a large reflection of that.

So, we began our day at the Mount of Olives, at one of the beginning places of Jesus’ passion. We then continued on to the Via Dolorosa, or the Way of the Cross. I reflected a lot on where I was around this time last year. I was very fortunate to do the Way of the Cross, while walking the streets of Manhattan in New York. Today’s stations were a far leap from New York City, but were very similar in large ways. The largest similarity that these two Way of the Crosses had were that they weren’t held in a sanctuary or church, but rather they were strewn through a bustling metropolis, just as it was when Jesus walked it. Life didn’t stop for Jesus to walk through the city of Jerusalem carrying His cross. Its serves as a nice reminder that in the daily run of our lives, there will be people who will fall, who will weep, who will need someone to wipe their face, and we are invited to be there, to be the Simon’s along the way.

In what way have can you experience the Way of the Cross in your day to day life? Have you had the opportunity of being Simon for someone who has fallen along their way? Can you thing of anyone who has been Simon for you?



As we continued along the Via Dolorosa we walked through the Muslim Quarter, one of the four main sections of the Old City. It was incredible to see the diversity of people as you walk through the markets. And then several hundred yards beyond the Muslim Quarter, we came upon the entrance to the Western Wall. I had the opportunity to go and pray at the wall today, which was a deeply moving and restful experience. I felt that after walking so much in the high heat, having time to pause and cool down in the shade of the western wall was such an incredible gift. I did not have all of your prayers with me, and so I will be returning, but your prayers have been introduced to the wall through my voiced prayers. It was nice and quiet when we got there since many people had finished their prayers. But there were a few fathers with their children showing their sons how to pray. It was a deeply moving experience and I am looking forward to going back again, and I pray that this may be an experience that I may be able to bring my own kids to, if I ever have any.

My experience of prayer brought me to a great reflection point. I can truly see why Jerusalem is such a Holy City. In so many instances will you find people praying through the streets or in different Holy sites, and in Jerusalem’s case you can often times find multiple on every street corner. Whether it is Muslims, Christians, or Jews praying, the fact of the matter is that people are communicating with God, which makes God so palpable as you walk through the streets of the Old City.

In the evening we came back to the hotel to have dinner and then hear a speaker talk about Israeli democracy and the current Peace conflicts that plague the region. The speaker is a political science and communications professor at the Hebrew University here in Israel. He did an excellent job at explaining the current state of Israeli politics, especially in terms of relating the current political sentiment towards the United States. It is clearly a challenging topic, and in the end it left me feeling very disheartened when looking at what hopes are to be had for the peace process. I will be crossing the Green Line tomorrow to visit Bethlehem, so I hope to be able to share more about these sentiments tomorrow.

We ended our day by taking a walk to the Notre Dame Pontifical Institute for Easter Vigil Mass. I was moved several times during the mass, whenever the prayers mentioned Israel. I will never be able to pray the word Israel the same again, because I am beginning to understand the deep and rich importance that this land has. I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit here, because you will never be able to look at the Bible or experience mass the same ever again, at least I know I won’t.

You are in my prayers! Paz, shalom, salaam, kinamwe, Peace!

Day 1: Shehechiyanu & the Living Bible

We have arrived after a fourteen-hour plane ride to Tel Aviv. As we began to approach Israel and the Tel Aviv coast, it was interesting to me that the view looked similar to coasts of LA. If I weren’t paying attention I would have thought that I had arrived back at home. But as we got closer the unique architectural colors of the city make it stand out. One of the unique aspects of the Israeli architecture, especially in Jerusalem, is the use of a white, clean stone known as “Jerusalem Stone”. It is the same stone that was used to build the Getty museum. One of the members of our group said how she keeps on thinking that she is at the Getty looking around at all of the buildings. It’s amazing to see the many similarities in look and weather that this place has to Los Angeles.

One of the major differences though is the language. From the moment I walked into the airport at LAX, I was being spoken to in Hebrew. I am told that I look like I can be Middle Eastern, and perhaps that’s the reason why everyone greets me in Hebrew. I’m okay with blending in, but it really is a humbling experience for me. Typically, I am aware of the second language being spoken in LA, because more often than not it is Spanish. While I am out here, I will get the experience that all of the non-Spanish speakers of LA experience when they don’t understand what people are saying. I have learned a few words, which I am grateful to know, Shalom and Too da(sp?), which mean peace and thank you, respectively. I believe that when visiting a new place, these are two key words to know, they could possibly save my life!

We boarded a bus and then made our way across a valley that had been used to fight many battles, by Joshua (Joshua 10:1 – 27), Maccabees, the Philistines and many more. As I finish my first day here in Israel, I am going back through the bible and I am able to see the names and places that I have visited today. Suddenly the Bible is no longer a book of words, but real life that I am living and breathing. It is a challenge that I know I do not do daily when I am at home, even as a Religion teacher. If I take anything home from my time here, it will be a new challenge to live the Bible out, in the way that I am doing here. Finding the parallels to my daily life, and spending more time searching for the City of God in my midst.

What role do you find the Bible playing in your life today? How can you live out the Bible more daily?

As we entered into Jerusalem, we took a moment to pause on a hill over looking the walls of the Old City, the walls that were built by King David to surround the Temple Mount and protect the Holy of Holies. Now the Western Wall is all that remains of that original Temple. It is Jewish tradition to pause and pray the Shehechiyanu, a prayer said for many joyous occasions, like the beginning of Jewish holidays or the first time you taste a fruit in its season, but most especially for ones first visit to the Holy Land. The prayer goes as follows:

Baruch ata adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam, shehechiyanu, v’kiyamanu, v’higiyanu lazman hazeh

We give thanks to You O Lord our G-d, Ruler of the universe, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach the moment of joy.

Are there any joyous moments in your life that you can recite the Shehechiyanu for?

One of the reflections that someone else in my group shared as we gathered together to pray was that this journey we take is not merely one that seeks the historical aspects of our Jewish and Christian traditions, but one that calls us to deepen our spirituality. They shared about the many thousands of people who have made pilgrimages to this holy place, and how we now continue in their footsteps, seeking a deeper spiritual relationship with the God who is present here in this place. I cannot help but feel that God too is present between you and I, in your following along and reading this. I am grateful and pray that these relationships between God and others may continue to be strengthened by my time here in the “City of Peace” as Jerusalem is also known.

There is still so much more to see and do here in Israel, and the next week and half will be filled with a lot more heart and eye opening experiences. I am grateful to have you walking this pilgrimage with me. You are in my prayers, thank you for yours.

Paz, Shalom, Salaam, Kinamwe, Peace