Tuesday, May 31, 2011

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Thirteen

The dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Day 13 - Mount of Olives, Path of Jesus into Jerusalem, Stations of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulcher 

Not to us, Lord, not to us
But to your name give glory
Because of your faithfulness and love
(Ps 115)

Israelis have a tradition—a very loud tradition—of whooping and clapping whenever an international plane touches down in their homeland. Yesterday at the border crossing between Jordan and Israel, I had the same experience: you cannot help but rejoice when returning to Israel.

Last night and today, and until the end of our pilgrimage, we are in Jerusalem, staying in the Benedictine guesthouse at Dormition Abbey. We began the day at the summit of the Mount of Olives, visiting the place where Jesus taught the “Our Father” to the disciples; where he ascended into heaven (resurrected bodies are heavy: he left behind a footprint in solid stone); the garden (Latin and Armenian), and the cave (where Jesus camped out before the Passover) at Gethsemane; the place where Jesus wept for Jerusalem. Coming down the Mount of Olives and heading into the city, we visited the Greek church of the Dormition, the Latin Church of the Flagellation, Ecce Homo (run by the Sisters of Sion), St. Anne’s, and finally the Holy Sepulcher.

I’m sure you all want to hear about the Holy Sepulcher, but I’ll leave that to another blogger. Today, my heart and soul is all caught up at Gethsemane.

Yet another Barluzzi creation, the Latin Church of Gethsemane is truly a place of darkness, doubt, and struggle. The windows are made from slim-cut alabaster, so the light inside is eerie, opaque, and weak. Beautiful but dark mosaics of twisting olive branches and wild animals cover the domes on the ceiling, as if when inside you walk through the hollows of a dark wood. In the apse and on either side are mosaics done in midnight tones and dusky gold: the disciples asleep, Jesus crying tears of blood, Jesus speaking to his disciples, his friends.

The tympanum above the entrance (a door of that same alabaster decorated in twining bronze branches) bears the words:

SUSTINETE HIC ET VIGILATE MECUM

Or, “Stay here and watch with me.” It is an order. It is one of the saddest phrases I have ever read.

We all, hundreds of tourists, pilgrims, monks, nuns, friars, fathers, believers and non-believers, pass under these words to enter into Gethsemane. They are not an accusation or a request. They are an order.

This past Passion Sunday, I lead a Bible Study where we read the passion account, and my students simply could not understand why the Peter, James, and John, ordered to stay awake with Jesus, fell asleep. They boldly claimed that they would never sleep if Jesus bid them not to, but the truth is they would, we all would.

Stay here and watch with me. These words, over the entrance to the church, are an order not only for Peter, James, and John, but for all people the world over, that’s why we all pass beneath them, whether we wish to obey Christ or not. Like the disciples, we often fail miserably, sleeping when we should be awake, sinning when we should be doing good works.

But the words are not an accusation. God knows we will fail. God has already forgiven our failure, but they are still an order, not a request; required, not bonus. Stepping into the Church at Gethsemane, with all that twisting, frightening darkness around you, you know the struggle in Christ’s heart. You know the struggle in your own. Christ made that one perfect, salvific decision when the rest of us were dozing in the corner, so frightened we could not bear to keep awake, to keep praying, keep doing good.

Stay here and watch with me. I will try.

Siobhan

Monday, May 30, 2011

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Twelve

Day 12 - Jerrash and into Jerusalem:

Short entry today, as it was basically a transition day.  We started out the day with a tour of the ancient Roman ruins of Jerrash, and then it was back into Israel.  This one took a bit longer than last time around because there was a bit of confusion regarding border taxes being paid or not.  The process with both border crossings (out of Jordan and into Israel) took around 2.5 hours.

But all that was forgotten when we got to Jerusalem and our home for the final leg of the trip, Dormition Abbey, just outside the walls of the Old City.  The monks here are all German, and Brother Joseph, our main contact, was as welcoming as could be to us. We then had time to take a quick walking tour to get our bearings in the Old City, going very briefly to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter, as well as the Western Wall (Kotel) in the Jewish Quarter.  Obviously much more extensive time at both locations will be spent later in the week, with far greater detail addressed about the history and the significance of these and other locations in the holiest city in the world. (Oh, and by the way, Fr. Michael also showed us the location of a rather notorious showdown from the tour two years ago that involved a member of the group getting fleeced by a rug shop owner—got the police involved, somewhat ugly situation but brought somewhat under control and makes for a humorous story to tell later on).  We ended the night with a group conversation and visit up on the amazing roof deck of the guesthouse looking out across the entire city of Jerusalem, and marveled at being there as we debriefed on our time in Jordan. Topics covered here included observations from our women of how acutely aware of their gender travel in a place like Jordan makes them, although it came with an understanding that as far as this region of the world is concerned, Jordan is probably one of the better nations in that regard, despite its still rather rigid culture.   We retired early tonight (much to my chagrin, of course) and anticipate tomorrow’s walk of Jesus’s path from Mount of Olives (later the site of his ascension into Heaven) and into Jerusalem culminating with more time at the Holy Sepulchre.   Night all—keep following our adventures this last week…….

Alex

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Eleven

Mount Nebo
Day Eleven - Shoback Castle, Madaba, Mount Nebo:

Hello again from Alex the blogmaster--j/k, but since I am formally “in charge” of delegating the blogging duties, I reserve the right to assign it to myself when I’m practically going crazy to share an experience with all who will listen, because it was about the most powerful feeling I have ever experienced, at least in a very long time.  Today, our last full day in Jordan, we did indeed visit Shoback Castle, a structure dating to the crusades, as well as a Greek Orthodox church in the town of Madaba, but neither of these warrant anything more than a mention of what they are—not when today was the day we also went to Mount Nebo. For anyone not familiar with this location, you must read the last two chapters of Deuteronomy dealing with the death of Moses. It is the location to which Moses was ordered by God to ascend when his days were numbered.  There was discussion in our group today of what the reasoning may have been for Moses, after all he had done for the people of Israel, being barred from actually entering the Promised Land. I had personally heard several possible explanations, any combination thereof all adding up to Moses’s possibly unjust punishment (but who are we to make such a statement anyway?)  One says that it even goes as far back as Moses killing the taskmaster in Egypt, even though it seemed to be the only way to save the life of the slave who was being beaten.  Another theory is more fatalistic, saying that God simply decided Moses had done all he was meant to do and it was time for a new leader—Joshua—to take over. The last, and most often cited, refers to Moses’s apparent, if momentary, loss of trust in God—so vital to someone already having to contend with a people so prone to losing it, as the Golden Calf episode shows us—in his doubting of the ability to bring water from the rock, even with the help of a God who had led the children of Israel out of Egypt and fed them with manna in the desert for all those years.  The incident in question is, of course, often known as the rock striking, in which he struck a rock for water rather than trust God’s word that all he had to do was to ask the rock to bring forth water.  The striking, of course, did bring water, but also along with it, Moses’s punishment.  

In any event, Moses is told by God to climb Mount Nebo across from Jericho, where he will be able to SEE the land into which his people will soon be crossing, but will not make this final step of the journey with them, as he will die on the mountain after seeing the land. And that is where we stood today. We saw the final view taken in by Moses before he died.  Obviously, again, we cannot know the exact spot, but we can at least know the direction, as there is only one way from which one can see Jericho, Jerusalem, and other places in Israel, from Mount Nebo, so the sensation in knowing the significance of where we were standing simply cannot be put in words.  The group asked me to read the final chapter of Deuteronomy, detailing exactly what happened there so many eons ago, all of us understanding the significance of the line paraphrased as “Never again has there been another prophet like Moses, whom God knew face to face.”  I just stood there transfixed at the sight—it was through a bit of a haze today, so I was not seeing as clearly, perhaps, as Moses, but no matter.  I was taking in Moses’s final look at the world—there is simply nothing else that can be said.  I remembered the presence on my iPod (fitting how technology works its way into everything these days, isn’t it?) of a song written by a wonderful artist whom I know personally, written from the perspective of Moses as he stares out with an almost haunting serenity at the land he has brought his people within reach of but cannot be there with them as they take that final step.  I stood there listening to my recording of the composer himself singing the song, and singing quietly, half to myself, along with him. (A young woman came up to me and asked me what the singing was about—I think she originally thought I was a bit crazy, but I explained what it was and why I was doing so, and she understood its significance).  Again, you’ll have to try to imagine the power of that moment for yourself, but I’ll leave you with the words to that song, written by Danny Maseng, and see what you feel just reading it or saying it, and then picture yourself hearing it and saying it and singing it, while looking out at the very expanse in which the actual words (or at least the ideas conveyed in those words) could have been spoken:

On this rock I stand
And see the Promised Land.
Isn’t it pure, isn’t it sweet as honey?
Flowing with milk, rivers of silk and wine.

I led you by the hand
Into the Promised Land
Out of the past, out of the night
Your souls were drawn to the light
Calling you near, you’ve nothing to fear
No more to roam, your home is here.

And keep on walking to the Promised Land
And cross that glowing river hand in hand
All the chosen, the children, the promise of tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s at your command

Through these weary eyes
I see how close it lies.
I reach out my hand, now I can almost touch it
Land of my dreams, star of my hopes
Within my sight

Through the desert sand
To the Promised Land
Follow the lead, follow the sign,
Your fate is no longer mine,
Now I can see, there’s nothing for me
Leave me to die, don’t cry, you’re finally free

Alex

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Ten

Ancient structures in Petra.
Day Ten - Petra:  My name is Ashley and I am part of the St. John’s School of Theology - Seminary trip to the Holy Land.  Today I am going to fill you in on our hike through what is now considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World: Petra.  This ancient Nabataen settlement is about 125 km from the port city of Aqaba on the Red Sea. 

After getting off our tour bus, we passed through the first gates of Petra into what is called the holy route.  I have many highlights of this pass including the beautiful rock formations, red and black cliffs, ingenious water channels, and lastly, my favorite, the site of announcement for marriage.  It was two holes chiseled out of the rock for the man and woman to stand and face the god of the Nabataens, Dushares. 

After the holy route comes to an end, the most amazing site comes before you.  I think everyone’s initial reaction was, “Wow, Incredible” or my word, “Whoa.” (You could also have taken a picture of the dumbfounded look on my face, which would have probably been a little funny.)  This magnificent building is called the Treasury.  It is a massive sight with 13-meter high giant pillars that hold two rooms above them.  Underneath this building one can find the tombs of King Aretas IV and his wife (the most popular king during the time of the Nabataens).  I couldn’t help but think that the work it would take to hammer and chisel this outstanding structure is unreal.  The treasury, along with other buildings in Petra, contain Roman, Egyptian and Greek architectural influence.  This is special only to the Nabataens.

The Treasury, Petra.
There were many special things to see in Petra.  The tombs, church, mosaics, theatre, but my favorite is always the one that is so rewarding.  This would be our 860-step climb to the monastery.  Starting this arduous journey, I seemed to be doing ok until about step 300.  Then things started to get dusty, tiring, and HOT.  The donkeys to the top were looking more and more tempting, but I knew that I had to do it.  (Especially after 70 year-old men and women were doing it, I couldn’t be the 20 year old taking the easy way up.  That would be embarrassing.)  Eventually after a 40-minute hike on one canteen of water I made it to the top with the group.  The monastery was another enormous structure that you could climb in and take a look around.  Also, there were different trails to other structures or if you preferred, a trail to “The Best View in Petra.”  I settled for some of the other trails and I thought they were just as amazing.  The cliffs were enchanting with the black, red, purple, and orange colors being reflected from the sunlight.  A light breeze kept it cool and quiet.  It was definitely another surreal, “pinch me” moment.

Finally, the last highlight of the day would have been my trip back to the bus.  A few very interesting things happened.  First, I took a horse back from the holy route to the visitor center and my guide whose horse I was riding gave me his card and told me to call him later for a beer.  Oh, and I had the most beautiful smile and eyes.  Awwwwww!  So sweet.  Second, when I made it to the visitor center and shops, I wanted to go in and buy a hijab.  (The one I eventually picked out was silk and camel hair.)  The man that was selling me it said that he would marry me for 1000 camels.  Is that a compliment or a good salesman?  Who knows!  All I know is that today will be one of those days our tour guide says we will remember forever.

Asley

Friday, May 27, 2011

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Nine

Day Nine - Wadi Rum: Greetings, Y’all!

View along Wadi Rum

This is Siobhan again, live to you from the city of Petra. Today’s big news is that my companions have discovered (and mocked) my constant use of the word “y’all” to denote you (pl).

But in all seriousness, today we slept in deliciously, rolling out of bed around 7:30 to set sail (drive?) by 8:30 after feasting on a proper English breakfast at our very Europeanized hotel (bread pudding, stewed tomatoes, chewy little donuts…oh, and some cucumber-parsley-mint salad [typical to Jordan] got in there).

A short drive took us to the sweepingly majestic Wadi Rum. Remember, folks, a “wadi” is a dried river valley, a bit like the Grand Canyon if we took the Colorado out. Despite all the wadis we have seen, this is the most magnificent. A geological jewel of the world, Wadi Rum has recently (2007) been declared one of the Natural Wonders of the World and remains a huge nature preserve here by Order Of The King.

To view the Wadi, we took a “Jeep” ride—that is, we hopped in the bed of a Toyota half-bed fitted with wooden benches, a couple cushions, and shaded by a tight-stretched goat hair blanket—out into the desert. This Wadi was formed over 150,000 years ago by a now long-deceased ocean, the only remnants a flat country of very soft red sand and peculiarly sculpted igneous and sandstone mountains rising suddenly from the earth. The closest equivalent from the Western Hemisphere I can think of is the Oklahoma desert.

Our first stop brought us close to a low-slung Bedouin tent and a high-towering mountain. Our Jordanian guide (Hasam) ushered us over to a flat-faced rock to show us the oldest inscription found in Jordan—older than Nabateans and Thumadites, older than Armaic and Hebrew—an untranslatable series of hieroglyphs with a scattered few symbols *I* could recognize: #, ^, ~

Then we turned around to face a rock at our back where the ancient Thumadites had quite clearly carved 3 camels and 2 horses, “this is they are painting their lifestyle,” Hasam explained.

We saw all this while an unhappy camel lowed in the background. Have you ever heard a camel lo? It’s an interesting sound, a bit like singing, throaty like a cow’s moo but varied like a bird’s tweet. This particular camel, it seemed, was not a big fan of getting brushed by the Bedouin boy intent on unmatting its fur.

Skirting around the camel, we ducked our heads to enter the Bedouin tent for tea.

A word about tea. I love tea. I drink about a pot a day when at home, though here in the Middle East it seems Westerners are not offered tea. Tea is sold on the streets, it is part of business negotiations and hospitality, it is a way to cool off on a hot day (thank you, God, for inventing vasodialation so human beings could invent tea), but it is not something you give to foreigners at breakfast. But the Bedouin have the hospitality thing down, and we were guests.

Glass cups, less breakable than porcelain and ceramic, important in the desert wilds, a large brass pot heated directly on the coals. Black tea steeped in sage and a wee bit of cinnamon, served steaming on long, low cushions arranged about semi-open camel saddles so the guests could both recline and sit up, in two comfortable rows with the sweet, aromatic tea hot on the lips and cool in the belly. The tent, a breathable goat-hair fabric, shaded us from the piping sun and stood open to a cool breeze. An American woman, one of the Bedouin told us (possibly eyeing the blonde-haired blue-eyed Ashley or the petite, clever-eyed and broad-smiling Jane [I’ve gone dark, and probably look like the locals, so no one was looking at me]) decided to stay with them about 20 years ago. She fell so in love with the Bedouin life style that she simply didn’t leave. Now she owns herds of camels and goats.

At any rate, after tea we hopped back in the Jeep, a few of us climbed to the top of a beautiful red sand dune hot with the sun and looked out at the stunning landscape. I hope Alex is able to upload a picture for you,  because words do not explain, and pictures will only provide a glimpse of what it was to be there.

We spent the afternoon in Petra, swimming in our hotel pool and laughing together. Now it is almost 10:30 at night (still early in the day for you at home) and it is time for me to go to bed.

Sweet dreams from the Holy Land,
Siobhan

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Seven

Day Seven - Bethlehem: Church of the Nativity, Shepherd's Fields, and Herodian

The star in the crypt
Hello, it's Alex again.  So yesterday we only got into the Church of the Nativity briefly, enough to see the crypt with the star commemorating the location venerated as the birthplace of Jesus, as well as off to the side, where he was said to be wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger narrative.


So today we began the day with a mass in one of the side chapels of the church and then proceeded to tour the complex, getting a much more complete look than we were able to have yesterday.  The term "Church of the Nativity" actually only refers to the Greek Orthodox section of the church, while the Catholic section is St. Catherine's. (Though both use the same crypt.)  This is keeping with a tradition that we've seen in several locations before, including Capernaum and would be repeated later today with the Shepherd's Fields in that often the two traditions venerate two different sites as the commemoration locations for various notable events in Christian history.  This raises interesting questions again about how veneration is often done, but it does for some take away from some of the impact of the locations since, unlike later sites such as the Holy Sepulchre and the Cavalry, we don't have as strong of archeological evidence for these being the exact sites.  Fr. Michael emphasizes to us, though, that some of the holiness of these locales comes not from the question of exact historical accuracy of the spot, but of the long history of many before us coming to these same locations on pilgrimages of their own.

Church of Nativity
 At the Church of the Nativity side, Fr. Michael told us about the unsettling circumstances about ten years ago during the Second Intifada where it was the site of a long stand-off between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army and there was concern that things could get very ugly in any number of ways.  A number of sources intervened including the Vatican and a crisis was averted, but not before a stark reminder was given about the realities of the area.  On the whole, though, Bethlehem seems rather peaceful, comparatively speaking anyway.  Some of us were a bit surprised at this--the abject poverty many hear about in the Palestinian territories was not staring us in the face here, though Andy and Brother Michael-Leonard commented on the fact that sometimes people do their best to keep up appearances when this is, in fact, all they can do. They saw this in their work in Newark, NJ, and it cannot be discounted that this may be the case here. The city is concerned about a steady decrease in the Christian population. Christians once comprised 70% of Bethlehem's population, but as a result of the continuing strife and lack of a lasting peace, that number has dwindled to around 7%, the rest being Muslim.  (We would hear the Muslim call to prayer five times each day we've been here--a new experience for almost all of us as most have not been to a predominantly Muslim area before.)

After the Church of the Nativity, we continued a few blocks to the Milk Grotto--a cave-like site also impossible to venerate precisely, but the source is from a biblical text that refers to the mule hitting a bump during the Holy Family's passage into Egypt, at which time a rock became coated in breast milk, as Mary was said to have been breast-feeding at the time (hence the name).  The site has become the source of reported miraculous powers dealing with fertility, and Fr. Michael related a story about a past group in which a woman had a family member who had been having difficulty conceiving. She observed the tradition of scraping some chalk from the stone cave walls and putting it in water and saying a prayer.  The idea was to drink the concoction, and from whatever source it may have happened, the family member in question became pregnant soon after.  I guess God, in whatever form one believes, can work in some plenty mysterious ways, but it's pretty hard to argue with a story like that.

We had some time for a bit of souvenir shopping after this, and though I had resolved to for the most part follow the "take only pictures, leave only footprints" motto here, I felt I needed to get something for a couple of individuals.  Fr. Michael gave me the idea to touch what I got to all the holy sites we visited for the rest of the trip, so the gift itself will be holy when presented to the recipient, and I immediately fell in love with the idea, sucker for symbolism that I am.

We visited the two traditions' different Shepherd's fields after (another) delicious falafel lunch (the stand we went to yesterday was closed, but a nearly identical one provided us with a fine meal, likely operated by a family member of the first stand, given the similarities of the two places). The fields are meant to symbolize possible locations for the receiving of the news of Jesus's birth. Again, imprecise, but still a feeling of awe knowing it happened somewhere around where we were. Our final stop of the day was Herodin, the remains of the fortress of Herod the "Great" (more like Herod the Terrible--vicious butcher that he was, killing multiple wives and step-children, among other horrors we learned about and I won't even repeat on here). But the architecture was certainly plenty impressive, indeed Fr. Michael explained that the "great" in his title mostly refers to the structures of which he oversaw the construction.  Guess they had a lot lower standards for "greatness" in those days, huh?

These are our last major sites in Israel and the Palestinian territories before heading into Jordan tomorrow, but our day wasn't over. I needed to take a walk back down to the crypt to sanctify my items to be gifted, and Siobhan wanted to get another look too, so we walked over there together, being approached along the way by multiple shopkeepers trying to get us to check out their wares. We were the last ones let into the crypt for the day, and as we were waiting for a large group from India to finish (their leader seemed to be rushing them quite a bit, insisting they go in two at a time--not exactly making for a highly spiritual experience--one of them came up to us and though we must be proper young British lads for how patiently we were waiting--somewhat closer to appropriate for Siobhan I suppose, as she is of Irish descent, but in my case a bit humorous. As I was the one holding holy items in my hands, to be made holier by touching them to the site, they also appeared to assume me to be a quite pious and devout Christian, which, those who know me will know how ironic this is.......


After our visit to the crypt we went into another souvenir shop where the owner was showing us some decorative cloth items, at which time Siobhan's and my eyes fell simultaneously on a swastika in the middle. (Granted it was not tilted as the Nazi one was, but straight up and down, so it was likely the original design which came from India and was a generic symbol of power before the Nazis stole it, adapted it, and forever tainted it, but still quite jarring for us to see.)  Siobhan thought quickly and sharply, however, and critiqued the stitching as somewhat defective. Whether the gentleman caught the drift, I'll never be certain, but he gave what looked like a knowing smile and said that perhaps he should send it back.   Over dinner we had some quite enlightening conversations, as several of the lay people in our group wanted to know more about the monastic life, and some of the very negative ways in which it can be regarded.  The consensus seemed to be that what people fall in "love" with, so to speak can be very mysterious, as can the reasons behind it, and this can be hard for outsiders to understand.  It impressed me, though, the openness with which both groups (monks and lay people) discussed this highly personal matter in a group in which most of us have only known each other for a few days.

We ended the night with a visit from Brother Robert, a friend of Fr. Michael's, originally from Minnesota but now teaching at Bethlehem University, established by the DeLaSalle brothers as a way of catering to Palestinian women. He told us of the success they have had in the past and the different atmosphere of trust and hope the brothers are able to create through their mere ability to stay there steadfastly through thick and thin, as opposed to some of the other universities in the West Bank and Gaza, and how many parents have said they would send their children to no other school.  He also explained difficulties they have in recruiting students from as wide an area as they would like due to the inconvenience and difficulty of travel within and between these territories due to restrictions and checkpoints. I reminded that some would be surprised at the ways in which weapons have been smuggled into Israel and that if they don't maintain stringent security, bombs go off within their borders.  He did say, however, that although he has a hard time trusting politicians in general, he sees some hope for peace within the current generation of students' attitudes and that many of them are tired of war and strife may now truly ready to make peace.  He said this in response to a question I asked regarding their positions keeping pace with the Israelis' in large part supporting an eventual two-state solution, something that concerns me greatly in the wake of such recent developments as the Fatah/Hamas alliance and from a personal level, banners I saw in souvenir shops showing all of the land west of the Jordan River (Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza) under the single label of "Palestine." He assured us that from his vantage point, this is not the greater sentiment he sees, and all the rest of us can only hope and pray that peace will be possible at long last in the very near
future....



Day Seven Slideshow (Pisasa Web Slideshow)

Alexander Adams-Leytes

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Six

Day Six - Bet Shean and Bethlehem: Words from Brother Bradley

What tel is that?

We headed south today, spending the morning at Bet Shean, an ancient tel that became the major Roman city-state Scythopolis in the first to fourth centuries.  The tel is very high, comprising twenty layers of civilization, each building atop its predecessor, going back perhaps six thousand or more years.   King Saul and his sons died in their failed attempt to take this Canaanite stronghold.   In 732 B.C. the Assyrians destroyed what had by then become an Israelite city.   The Byzantines renovated the city, but it was destroyed by earthquake in 749 A.D.  

We learned a bit about Roman and Byzantine hygiene at the excavated and partially reconstructed public bath and latrine.  From the top of the tel, we saw remnants of ancient temples and fortifications along with a great view of the Harod river.  Alex performed for an international audience at the theater, where he received a standing ovation.

A big transition

As we headed south on highway 90, parallel the Jordan river, the land became browner, the hills more sparsely covered with trees.  Only in the valley where the land was irrigated did we see much green vegetation.   The villages in the Palestinian West Bank showed signs of poverty.   In the vicinity of Jericho and on the way up toward Jerusalem, we saw Bedouin villages on a very barren, mountainous landscape.   Our chartered bus worked hard to climb to Jerusalem, a crowded, busy city in great contrast to the desert we had just passed through.  Bethlehem, too, is crowded and busy, but poorer, with narrow streets where pedestrians jostle with cars.   A high wall, built by Israel, separates it from Israeli-occupied territories, and makes life difficult for the Palestinians, who have to pass through checkpoints to get from one city to another.

The birthplace of Jesus

The silver star in the crypt
We went to the Church of the Nativity, where you pass through a very low door to enter a large nave.  I find it uncomfortable to be part of a group of visitors when a liturgy is going on in a church, as was the case in this Orthodox sanctuary.   We were permitted to visit the grotto below the sanctuary, where we venerated the place held by tradition as the birthplace of Jesus and the place where he was laid in the manger.  The houses in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth were likely built atop caves that served as shelter for the cattle or sheep.  It was a much humbler place that would be Scythopolis.

Entrance to the Milk Grotto
 We emerged from the grotto and moved to the adjoining Catholic Church of St. Catherine, where Fr. Michael celebrated mass in a side chapel.  As he concluded the Eucharistic prayer, the muezzin at a nearby mosque started chanting on a loudspeaker, adding harmony to the great Amen and the Lord’s Prayer.  It simply heightened the sense of contrasts we saw today in geography, climate, wealth and poverty, freedom and restriction on the road from Bet Shean to Bethlehem.  I left prayer requests for some special intentions at the church in a place where life is difficult but the promise of help for difficult problems is offered.

Br. Bradley, OSB

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Five

Day Five - Golan Heights: Words from Brother Elias

Day five of our excursions:  we set out driving due north from the Sea of Galilee.  This region is known as Upper Galilee.  We were headed to a pair of national parks from which flowed the origins of the Jordan River.  As we drove north, we passed numerous orchards and fields situated among rolling hills.  We were anticipating the climbs and walks of the day with varying degrees of enthusiasm, as some of us were still sore from yesterday’s climb and descent of Mount Tabor.

At the end of our drive, we entered the city of Qiryat Shemona, in far northern Israel where we stopped for a replenishment of cash from an ATM.  We also declined to give a ride to three young hitchhikers (“absolutely not”) and then proceeded to Tel Dan National Reserve.  It was impressive to see the water flowing so strongly there underneath bright sunshine and a cloudless sky.  The rushing waters here were quite clean and cold.  We have so far not seen any rain during our stay in Israel.  We trekked over a rocky path under and between the trees in a heavily forested area.  Tel Dan is also home to the ruins of one of the worship sites created by Jeroboam, first king of the northern kingdom of Israel after its secession from Rehoboam, son of Solomon.  In order to dissuade his subjects from traveling to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam built two temples and installed a golden calf in each one as alternate worship sites.  Here in Tel Dan we saw the foundations and some of the walls of the temple at this site, as well as the location of the altar that would have been used to offer sacrifices.

This is a good time to mention that a “Tel” is a site where repeated construction has occurred across different historical periods.  Each subsequent period built on top of the ruins of the previous period, which gradually increased the elevation of the site.  Archeological excavations had unearthed a classic Bronze Age archway that marked one of the entrances to the Bronze Age city on the site.  This is the only one in the country that has been found so far.  At another location, we saw the foundations and layout of the later Iron Age entrance to the Iron Age city on the site.  The main innovation here compared to the Bronze Age was a series of switchbacks and turns, along with additional gates, which provided much better protection for the city from attacks.

Our next stop was Banias, another major source of water for the Jordan River.  Banias was a major pagan worship site, principally to the Greek/Roman god Pan (hence the name Pan-ias from which Banias is a corruption).  At one time, a strong spring flowed out of a cave, and a temple complex was built in and near it.  Currently, the underground streams bypass this cave entrance and flow out of the ground at other locations, but the cave remains well defined.  Because of the mythological connections and beliefs, this cave mouth was known at the time as the “gates of the netherworld.”  Since the site is also the location of the ancient city of Caesaria Philippi, we gained new insight into Peter’s confession in Matthew’s gospel that tradition says occurred at this location.  In the context of the location, Jesus’ reference to the “gates of the netherworld” not prevailing against the church would have had a rich meaning for his disciples.

We stopped for lunch at a Druze restaurant, where the main speciality was Druze pitas.  These were made with olive oil and cheese made from sheep’s milk, all wrapped in a very thin pita bread, lightly toasted.  We ate our lunch with gusto and then enjoyed the views of the adjacent lake, which was the water-filled crater of an extinct volcano.  Something in the climate or soil or a combination of all of these has made the site quite fertile for roses.  The parking lot of the restaurant was surrounded by rose bushes that were taller than humans and covered in roses of varying colors.  The blooms were quite fragrant.

The afternoon was composed of a quick series of stops.  The first site gave a magnificent view of Mount Hermon, which still has snow at the top from the winter.  The next stop was on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, where we saw the excavated ruins of a 6th century Byzantine monastery.  Tradition has claimed this location as the site of Jesus’ miracle healing of the Gadarene demoniac.  On the steep hillside, there were the ruins of a small chapel that had once commemorated the event at this location.  Finally we stopped in Yardenit, near where the Jordan River flows out of the Sea of Galilee on its south side.  At this location, various Christian pilgrim groups came to administer baptisms in the Jordan River.  We saw a group of people, all dressed in white, descend into the river to be baptized.

At the end of a long day, we gratefully returned to our guesthouse on the Mount of the Beatitudes.  The afternoon sun and heat were especially strong today, so a shower and time spent within the air conditioning were especially welcome!  The rest will be welcome tonight before another full day tomorrow.

Br. Elias, O.S.B.

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Four

Day Four - Mt. Tabor: Hello loyal followers and fellow pilgrims!

My name is Siobhan (SHUH-von), writing to you from the Holy Land. This is our second day home-basing at the Franciscan guest house on Mount Beatitude, where we have a spectacular view of Lake Tiberias/Sea of Galilee, the sun shining on the manicured gardens, a cool breeze billowing off the lake and putting a fresh breath on the hot day.

But enough about the weather, we're here for holiness, right? This morning we began with a light (and distinctly odd--Israeli Italians cum Western-food) breakfast before heading out to Mount Tabor, where Jesus was transfigured before the apostles Peter, James, and John. At this point you should be envisioning something with a lot of light, some white and gold, and be faintly recalling something to do with the cleansing power of Baptism and those resurrected bodies we're all looking forward to (so skip the diet, say a prayer) ;-)

At any rate, today we behaved like real pilgrims. Our driver, Jamel, dropped us part way up the Mountain (looking very skeptical at our plan) so we could HIKE all the way up the mountain to the Latin Church of the Transfiguration run--you guessed it--by the Franciscans. Actually, the hike wasn't all that bad, just over a mile on switchbacks up a very steep mountain in bright sunlight and strong heat, from 1,000 to 1,908 feet. But the breeze was nice, and I, at least, stopped often to rest and enjoy the gorgeous views of Galilee. The compound at the Summit was gorgeous, run as a bit of a boot camp for juvenile delinquints from this side of the world--the Franciscans get them, have them plant flowers and work in the gift shop and clean things, and then send them back home as upstanding, prayerful citizens. But the church itself was another Barlutzzi (sp?) this one nothing like the one at Mount Beatitude. It had a tripartite form, the entrance flanked by a chapel of Elias and of Moses, the Altar bearing a gorgeous mosaic of Christ transfigured (beneath it, the highly original Latinate words: "And he was transfigured before them"), to the right, a chapel to St. Francis, to the left, Madonna with Child.

When you hike up Mt. Tabor (and I encourage you all to do so at some moment in your lives), there is an option to turn left or right. Left takes you to the Latin church, but right takes you to the Greek. The Latin church is open to all, but the Greek church is famed for being closed to non-Orthodoxers. On our hike back down the Mountain, I convinced Fr. Michael it would be a good idea to storm the Greek citadel---I mean, make an eccumenical request to see their church. With Koine running through my head and my hand searching my bag for a head scarf, I sent a quick prayer to God that we would be allowed in. The Lord did not hold the sun in the sky for us, though, for by the time we reached the stolid metal doors it was past 11:30, when both the Greek and Latin churches close on Saturdays.

Alas, the journey down was much faster, and when we met Jamel at the bus he ushered us off to an INCREDIBLE Lebanese restraunt, run by Muslims who offered us beer and a veritable feast of 11 kinds of "salad" (I counted), pita fresh from the oven, and falafel fresh from the frier. I think I ate my body weight in delicious Middle Eastern food.  (And to clarify, we did not have the beer, we had water and lemonade).

After a morning of pious pilgrimage we headed out to a site of largely secular interest, the ancient ruins of Zepphori. Originally built by Herod Antipas as a capital city, it sports an impressive system of Aqueducts that feed into the city, gushing into a well preserved mikva (ritual bath) beside a Hellenist Jewish synagogue, floored by glorious mosaics, including a Zodiac which Fr. Michael explained as a sign that all the little Greek gods, though existent, are underfoot to The God. From the Synagogue we went to a rich Jewish man's mansion, this one with a mosaic of Dionysius (that's the Greek god of Wine, Parties, and Drunkenness) surrounded by various party scenes, the goddess Fortuna smiling mysteriously from a central position. This Fortuna (you know, the goddess of *fortune*, good or bad) is known as the "Mona Lisa of Galilee" for her great beauty and secretive smile. There were other mosaics, other ruins (a crusader castle, thick walled and cool on the interior; an ampitheter where Alex sang us a lovely selection from the Magic Flute [Der Vulgerfanger, the Bird Catcher] to applause from our group and a family of natives; the Nile House with flora and fauna from Egypt and some fierce looking Amazons).

Then we came home. Back to the beautiful monastery with the incredible view, the marbled interior and the manicured gardens. I suppose a vow of poverty and a steady stream of pilgrims will do that for you. Life as a pilgrim is hard, let me tell you, all prayer and sight-seeing and relaxing in monasteries. Enjoy life at home, we keep you in our hearts and in our prayers.

Under God's Wing,
Siobhan

Thursday, May 26, 2011

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Three

Church at the Mount of the Beatitudes

Day Three: No extensive commentary today--that will be provided by one of the group members tomorrow morning, but sites today included Tagbha, the location of Jesus' miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, as well as the location of his statement to Peter that "upon this rock [Peter--the translation of rock] I will build my church." (known today as the Peter Primacy church)  We took a pilgrimage walk along a road overlooking the Sea of Galilee leading to Capernaum, the location of the home of Peter's mother-in-law and one of the places with the most concrete evidence to date of any of the places we've seen of Jesus residing for a time in that precise location.  There is a synagogue next to the ruins of the house, in which Jesus is known to have worshiped.  Father Michael explained the "gospel triangle" of the towns around the Sea of Galilee, in which around 80% of the miracles attributed to Jesus likely took place.    

Later in the day we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes, the church built to commemorate a possible location of the Sermon on the Mount, also overlooking the Galilee. It came up that it is possibly more likely that the sermon would have actually taken place on a plain as stated in Luke's gospel rather than on the mount as stated in Matthew because Matthew appeared to have a specific desire to make Jesus the fulfillment of what began with Moses, and thus equated the Sermon on the Mount to Moses going up to Mt. Sinai.  Thus, the plain may be more historically accurate, but tradition has, for a number of reasons, chosen to commemorate the site as though the revered words of the sermon (applicable no matter where they were presented) were presented just below where we stay for the next three nights, in the town of Tiberius. 

Day Three Slideshow (Pisasa Web Slideshow)

Alexander Adams-Leytes 

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Two

Day Two - Nazareth and Cana: Me again, Alex. I'll get my compatriots to add their thoughts and reactions soon, but some are still pretty tired right now. We had a long day of touring, but it went by quite quickly. We started out from Tel Aviv along the King's Highway up the Israeli Mediterranean coast. King's Highway was in ancient times a major trade route, and it goes into modern-day Syria. Our ultimate destination was Nazareth, the home of Jesus. Father Michael explained to us that there are conflicting stories regarding how and when exactly the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph ultimately came to Nazareth after Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, but these basic facts of location are generally not in dispute, at least as far as the towns are concerned.

Our first stop was the Annunciation Church, built at the location Christian pilgrims have taught to be where Mary was informed by Gabriel that she would bear the son of God. Pictures from these sites will be posted later, once I figure out (or someone does) how to upload them to a computer. Some days the pictures will tell the story. But today I want to bring up an interesting point that came up at this time with Brother Michael-Leonard, in which he explained to several of us standing in the yard of the church that the term "Immaculate Conception" is often misinterpreted by those using it to refer to Mary's impregnation with Jesus, but this is not accurate. The term actually refers to Mary herself being immaculately conceived in order to spare her from original sin and make her worthy of bearing the son of God--a concept that he explained is a bit of a controversial one in Catholic doctrine. It is sometimes questioned why, if humans are made in the image of God, why then would it even be necessary give someone such a status in order to bear Jesus, when some would say humans are, demonstrably, good enough for God if indeed created in God's image, even without the purity and lack of original sin of one immaculately conceived. But effectively, the Annunciation is actually the proper term for what many people incorrectly refer to as the Immaculate Conception. We had mass in the church, amidst a cacophony of sound of other prayers (much louder than ours, of course), which Father Michael thought was actually a fitting start to the trip, because amidst our travels we will always find things to stand in our way and will sometimes miss the forest for the trees, and the ability to work through and around that only enables one to see (and hear, and otherwise experience) God even more clearly.

Our next stop were two locations of Mary's Well, where Mary would often gather water in the mornings, as was the typical role of a woman at the time. We saw both the location of the well itself as well as the original water source of that well (coins and all--seems people treat it as a wishing well sometimes!!). From the footsteps of Jesus's early years, we continued on to the town of Cana, the site of Jesus' first reported miracle, the turning of water into wine at a wedding feast. This gave Father Michael the opportunity to explain that with certain Christian holy sites, the exact location of the events is somewhat fuzzy (this holds true both for Nazareth and Cana, though not so much for some of the sites we will later see in Jerusalem, particularly the Holy Sepulchre. But these early sites in Jesus' life were often assigned to certain locations by early pilgrims often more by convenience of location than strict archeological evidence, and sometimes varied from tradition to tradition. We were demonstrated this a bit comically in Cana (the city itself having two different locations, with it even somewhat unclear as to whether the accepted Cana is actually the historical Cana of Jesus's wedding feast miracle.) There are two different churches built on possible sites for the miracle, one by the Greeks and one by the Romans (Latin church). After finding, to our great disappointment, that the Latin church was closed, we tried to get into the Greek church, which was open, but apparently no to just anyone. The woman in charge (not sure by what authority, but clearly she had it) opened the door briefly, apparently asked one of our guys "Group"? (as in were we part of a specific group she was expecting), and then for whatever reason, she slammed the door in our faces! Father Michael tried going to the side door--she was coming out, maybe to try to escape from us, but he talked to her again, not sure what was said, but still she refused to let us in. We waited a bit, though about giving up, but then our fearless leader went back to her again, and something he said this time did enough of the trick for her to let us in for a few minutes, at least to look around at the artwork and get some basic explanations of it. Even here, she hovered over us and shooed us out in a few minutes, barely hiding her contempt. We really weren't sure what that was about, but Father Michael explained that in some cases it's just a territorial thing and those in charge sometimes only let in those groups with which they are familiar, and it can even change with the mood. We didn't make too much of it, but some of us found it somewhat humorous.

Now we're in Haifa tonight at an abbey guest house, having stopped along the way for a couple of photo ops overlooking the city and the sea and the harbor, as well as the Baha'i Gardens--breathtaking to be sure--photos to follow later. We were discussing what we saw, and the consensus in a few of us was that in places where exact locations are somewhat ambiguous, it is less about the specifics and more the awe we feel at the very idea that we are walking where Jesus walked. As Brother Michael-Leonard said--you know you're bound to cross his exact paths somewhere. This is something that may not sink in completely until later, though, and hopefully more thoughts on that idea will follow in the coming days.......

Alexander Adams-Leytes

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day One

Day One - Tel Aviv: Well we all made it to Israel safe and sound, although several of us had quite the adventures getting here--flight delays and cancellations galore for a few of us (including yours truly). In one case a flight through Detroit was delayed too long to get to New York to catch what was supposed to be a flight directly to Tel Aviv so the two on that flight had to be routed through Frankfurt. In my case I had a flight cancellation in Chicago and, after being stranded at O'Hare for nine hours, was finally rerouted through Paris. It's actually a much longer story than that, but this is all about Israel, so all that happened to get here are just side notes.

Though they certainly make for good ice-breakers at dinner, as seven of the ten of us learned in no uncertain terms tonight, as Brother Michael-Leonard and Andy--two excellent storytellers--were relating their own crazy experiences from their flight, everything from people constantly in the aisles, angry flight attendants, large groups of Orthodox Jews regularly getting up to congregate for prayers next to the exit doors, a man being threatened with a "report to security" when they landed because he wouldn't follow directions, to even a woman becoming ill and the flight attendants only thinking to ask after 10 minutes whether she was taking or had taken any medicine, at which time it was revealed that someone had tried to "help" her out by giving her a sleeping pill. But don't think that this was the extent of the dinner table conversation, and although we were missing three including our leader at dinner because he had to make a late trip to the airport to pick up the two who had been rerouted through Frankfurt, over dinner the tone was set for what is shaping up to be quite a group.
For starters, we have five monks and five lay people. Of the five monks, one--our leader, Father Michael--is a priest while at least two others (possibly more, but this hasn't come up in conversation yet with Brother Elias or Brother Stephen) are in the process of ordination, Brother Michael-Leonard and Brother Bradley. All Benedictines, four of the five from St. John's Abbey, the fifth, Brother Elias, a visiting monk and St. John's School of Theology graduate student from an abbey in North Carolina. Of the five lay people we have three women. Ashley is an undergrad from St. Ben's who just finished her sophomore year and was inspired to take this trip by her older sister's similar experience. Jane is from Canada, near Vancouver, and is working on a part-time theology graduate degree on the side of her career as a family practice physician. Siobhan is also a graduate student in theology, her program at Villanova University in Philadelphia. Then two men among the lay people, the first--Andy--is also working on a graduate degree at St. John's while working on campus as well, and of course, yours truly, Alex, a 2006 graduate of SJU, old friend of Brother Michael-Leonard and Andy from our undergrad years, and a current graduate student at the U of M in vocal performance
Not much to do the first day of any trip, of course other than group members getting to know each other, so beyond dinner various combinations of us were able to enjoy our settings--a couple even managed to get in a swim--our hotel is overlooking the Mediterranean here in Tel Aviv with seafront high rise hotels, apartments, and other buildings as far as the eye can see, making and a gorgeous setting in the center of modern day Israeli life independent of the religious content. We were reminded, though, that this scene changes quite a bit, as if you walked along these beaches for around 60 miles south, you would end up in the Gaza Strip. Obviously not an area we are going anywhere near, though I'm quite certain implications of this situation will come up at times in the upcoming three weeks. (It may start becoming more clear as to what direction things will be going rather soon, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be in Washington this week, supposedly to deliver a speech on where he sees things progressing next in the light of recent events.) But for today, this was not forefront from our mind as several of us took a walk along the beach and just asked each other more of the basic questions that members of groups that include some complete strangers must always ask. Tomorrow after a possible tour of Jaffa, we head north towards the Galilee, with Nazareth as a main highlight. From the modernity of Tel Aviv to the footsteps of Jesus in Nazareth tomorrow, the adventure awaits us........


Alexander Adams-Leytes

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

2011 Holy Land Study Tour - May 18 - June 6, 2011


Fr. Patella talks about the Holy Land Study Tour.

The Saint John’s Holy Land Program sets study of the biblical sources of our faith within the context of pilgrimage.  Offering more than a typical tour, this unique combination of study and pilgrimage deepens the prayer and scholarship of its participants; it is life-changing.

During the next couple of weeks, different participants will be blogging about their experiences on the trip.