September14

After nearly a month in Israel, I visited my first Christian site—an ancient synagogue in Capernaum
where Jesus probably preached. It sits next to the ruins of a dwelling that is thought to have been
Simon Peter’s house. The synagogue may be the one where Jesus taught in Mark 1; later in the
chapter he goes “straightway” from the synagogue to Peter’s house.

Meanwhile, an area in Jerusalem that is surely part of the Gospel story is the Mount of Olives. It is
also of great significance to Orthodox Jews, who seek to be buried in its cemetery—across from the
Golden Gate to the Old City—because they hope to be the first ones resurrected when Messiah
appears. According to Jewish tradition, this is the gate through which Messiah will enter Jerusalem. I
was interested to learn that in 1541, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sealed off the gate,
allegedly to prevent the Messiah's entrance. The Muslims also built a cemetery in front of the gate,
assuming that the precursor to the Messiah, Elijah, would not be able to pass through, because
walking through the graves would defile him. One thing is sure—the ground surrounding the Mt. of
Olives is a sea of graves: Muslim, Christian and Jewish.

At the base of the Mt. of Olives are the ancient olive trees of Gethsemane, some of them 2,000 years
old. From Gethsemane, looking across the Kidron Valley at night, perhaps among those very trees,
Jesus could have easily seen the lit torches of the Roman guard approaching to arrest him.
Meanwhile, inside the Old City where the story continues, beneath the “traditional sites” of Jesus’
passion and resurrection are deep archeological digs revealing 1st Century structures that parallel
biblical accounts.

It is easy to be cynical amidst all the hawkers selling religious paraphernalia, the carefully preserved
splinters of the “True Cross,” and an endless parade of Christian priests in every sort of attire
solemnly censing tiny corners of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. But there is, at the same time,
something real in the air, something powerful and hauntingly unfinished.

The Holy Mountain in Jerusalem has drawn faithful pilgrims for more than 5,000 years. It remains a
place of the One Great Hope—that the completion of all things will dawn here, fulfilling ancient
promises: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of
the LORD hath spoken it… Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for
him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him…they that wait upon the LORD shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall
walk, and not faint.