Retracing the Final Week I

Over the next two days, our group from Mississippi will be retracing Jesus' final week in Jerusalem. In the Church, we refer to this period of his ministry as "Holy Week."

By beginning the day in Bethany, we realize that the retracing can't be on true chronological lines. Nevertheless, the sites visited are crucial in understanding the drama of Jesus' final hours.

Bethany was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Perhaps, another Mary (who anointed Jesus' feet) lived here. Yet another of Jesus' friends who lived in Bethany was Simon the Leper.
The combination of such acquaintances attracted Jesus to Bethany often. Tradition holds that Bethany was Jesus' base for the crucial days before Passover.

From Bethany, we made our way to Bethphage located where the ancient road in the Wadi Qelt opened onto the Mount of Olives. Here we remembered Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on what the Church today calls "Palm Sunday" (Mark 11). We spent time seeking out the meaning of what appears to be a diliberate claim of kingship, albeit a different kind of kingdom. It was not difficult to imagine a pompous procession from the west by Judea's prefect, Pontius Pilate. What a contrast it must have been!

Leaving Bethpage, we walked down the Mount of Olives to Dominus Flevit Church which commemorates Jesus' pause to weep over the city. "O Jerusalem! O Jerusalem!" the cry continues.

In the garden of Gethsemane, we prayed in the Basilica of Agony or the Church of All Nations. The architect, Antonio Barluzzi, has captured a sense of night inside the church even on the brightest of days. Nearby is the cave where the disciples might have slept through the cold night.

The afternoon was spent on Mt. Zion at the traditional site of the Upper Room, the tomb of King David, and St. Peter in Gallicantu (the place of the crowing of the cock). Between the garden of Gethsemane and Mount Zion, we were able to set the context of the events of Maunday Thursday. Some of the group took time to visit the grave of Oscar Schindler in the Protestant Cemetery.

The final stop of the day was to view the Second Temple Model of Jerusalem. This model is located now at the Israel Museum. Although it is not, the model appears of a larger scale and even more impressive in its new location. The model remains one of the great teaching tools in this land.