Via Dolorosa

On the last day of the tour, we visited sites associated with the passion and resurrection. You should remember that I am a lay person, not a student of biblical archaeology, and I am relying on memory. So if one of my accounts does not match some expert’s account, go with the expert.

Here’s a view of the Old Jerusalem from Mount of Olives. We’re facing west and are a little farther south than Jesus would have been when He halted His triumphal entry procession to weep over the city. You can see all the caskets that cover the hill. Many believe this will be prime real estate when the Messiah comes (either the first or second time, depending on your religious background) and they want to be near the epicenter of the resurrection.

The stones on the caskets are a sign of respect. They last longer than roses, and the breeze doesn’t blow them away.

We entered the Tombs of the Prophets, and you’re about to go there with me.

Once your eyes have accustomed to the dark inside, you see that you’re in a large room with side rooms. Dead people would be laid out on a slab and left to rot. Meanwhile a stone would be rolled across the mouth of the cave so that animals wouldn’t desecrate the body.

Later, when another person died, they would roll away the stone and bring in the fresh corpse. If the former one was decomposed so that only bones were left, they would gather the bones and put them in an ossuary (a small bone box carved from stone) and slide them into one of the smaller cubbies that surrounded the central room. It sounded like sometimes their bones would just be gathered up and placed on the bones of the ancestors. This is what was meant when they said, “And Abraham was gathered to his fathers.”

Back on the surface, there’s a beautiful church honoring Mary Magdalene. Of course, hers would be the sparkliest.

Carl bypassed the traditional Gethsemane and took us to a spot that would have been more like the natural landscape of the time. We spent some moments in reflection there. Later, Ginger read that some scholars believe this would have been a more likely spot for Christ’s final conference with His Father than the traditional site which is too close to a main thoroughfare.

And yes, there were olives growing there. Gethsemane means “oil press” so it was a place where these fruits would be put under tremendous pressure to remove the oil that would light the lamps in the temple, feed the populace, and manage more menial tasks.

Our guide in Nazareth explained that the olives were first crushed with a large stone wheel.

Then they were pressed three times: first, for God; second, for man; and third, for common use. He showed us the huge crushing weights that were used to press the oil from the pulp. It seems like a fitting symbol for the pressure that Christ endured in Gethsemane. (This press was in Nazareth, not here in Gethsemane, though in days of old one would have been here.)

Later that night, Jesus ended up at Caiaphas’ palace which was probably this ruins. It was here that people believe Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. And, of course a church rises over the spot.

The ruined palace is down the slope from the church, but directly under it is the pit in which Jesus was held until He could be tried by Pilate the next morning. This was prophesied in Psalm 88, “You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit.”

Next stop was near the Antonia Fortress and, yes, another underground holding place.

Carl shared passages related to Christ’s mistreatment by the Roman soldiers which, as you will remember were actually local Samaritan hires commissioned by the power of Rome.

It was from here that Christ began His long walk to the place of crucifixion. In this underground chamber, almost in a forgotten corner someone invested much artistic effort to construct a beautiful mosaic of the Christ whose actual message also seems to occupy an almost forgotten corner. We focus on and clash over the details of theologies that have arisen since His walk here, but His main message of forgiveness and of the divine affinity for all people is often barely given a corner. We may loudly claim it for ourselves, but barely practice it towards those we dislike or distrust.

If He came to accomplish some cosmic requirement essential for our salvation, hallelujah! We should be eternally grateful. But the surest sign of our gratitude would be to live as He lived; seeing with hope the value of our enemies.

Another remaining structure is this arch from which Pilate declared, “Behold the man!” prior to Jesus’ death walk.

Today when you travel the Via Dolorosa you pass shop after shop. They are not hawking religious relics but spices, clothing, food, etc.

Anybody for some fresh pita?

This is definitely a well-traveled lane for today’s masses. I’m not sure what put the bright light around this woman’s eyes, but it’s a striking photo, don’t you think?

A common T-shirt was the “Guns and Moses” one on display here. If you order one, they will have you look at blanks, choose your size and color, pick the art from a drawer of choices, and do the heat transfer there before your eyes.

In time you wend your way to the traditional spot of the crucifixion and true to form a huge stone shrine covers the spot. This woman is placing her hand in the hole where they claim the cross was planted. Again the spot is so marble-encrusted that it stretches the imagination to envision a God-forsaken rocky knoll upon which countless crosses had been erected.

A little lower, but in the same shrine is the slab they believe He was laid on when removed from the cross. Today the devout bring their souvenirs and icons to lay on the stone. I assume this is to allow the item to soak up some of the lingering holiness before packing them into suitcases for the trip home. Again I wonder about the dividing line between reverence and superstition.

Within the same shrine (did I mention it was very large?) is this two-storey structure that was built over the spot where they claim Jesus was buried. That is natural light seeming to draw things up from this ceramic-oven-shaped shrine-within-a-shrine.

Yes, you can go in to see the spot and again touch where He was laid, but you will be at the direction of a very business-like priest who had mastered several words in English: “Come, come come. Go, go, go. Stop!”

Pilgrims get instructions from a variety of sources. This sign seems reasonable, but I think the sign-maker’s attention drifted when he/she matched the words to the photos.

There is some disagreement on exactly where Jesus was crucified and buried. The Garden Tomb is a relatively recent discovery, and there are some arguments for why it should be considered the real spot. The arguments have not convinced Carl, but he took us there, because it presents a better place for contemplation. The hill is less developed, though a bus lot has been built which has obscured the lower half of the hill. An arrangement of caves on the face of this cliff created the appearance of the face of a skull. Hence, its discoverers felt this would have been called Golgotha, the Place of the Skull.

Nearby is a family burial tomb thought to be Joseph’s. Some stone work and an engraved Byzantine cross makes one wonder what else the Church would have been commemorating as they were in possession of this land long ago. Inside is a plaque which reads “He is not here for He is risen.” That is our belief and our hope. Regardless of the controversies that raged around His ministry, and the ones that still continue about His final hours and His remains (or lack of them) we read a gospel that brims with hope in a life that transcends this one; a vision that lifts us above the threats of our current world and focuses us on the One who loves us and has set our worth above the heavens. All of the hubbub, the argument, and the devotion that continue 2,000 years later are themselves an affirmation of the veracity of Jesus. What other being has so dominated the philosophical, political, and archaeological landscape?

As I stop to reflect, the inspiring and horrible events of this place, the urgency and patience of God, and the positive and non-violent teachings of Jesus lead me to grasp the depth and breadth of God’s love for His children. In that is anchored my own worth despite my defects and shortcomings. I didn’t pass a test to earn His favor, nor was I born into the right family. I have value because He sees something in me worth salvaging. When I grasp that mystery then I am aware that I must treat with respect each of His other kids regardless of their defects and shortcomings. A follower of Christ who is harsh and critical is not a follower of the real Christ.