Day 3

We began our day with a visit to the Mount of Olives for a Palm Sunday walk. This mountain ridge east of Jerusalem played an important role in Jesus ministry. Stop #1 Dominus Flevit. This church commemorates the fact that Jesus wept as he overlooked Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Luke 19). From there we walked to the Church of All Nations next to which is the Garden of Gethsemane. The Pools of Bethesda were next Jesus healed the paralytic here. Lots of nice singing in the Church of St. Anne. Then a walk down the Via Dolorosa ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (COS). The COS is always a disappointment. What a crazy place. How can anyone worship there? But they do! Crowds of people come to touch holy stones, light candles and really seem to believe that it helps them. The whole thing is so different from what we are used to that it just boggles the mind. The only good thing about it was that there was so much smoke from the candles that the light shining through the dome really did look divine! We finished the day with a visit to the Garden Tomb. It's NOT the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again, that's the Circus of the Holy Sepulchre. But I wish it was the place. It's beautiful. Nevertheless, Jesus is risen so does it really matter where they laid his body? It matters where that body is right now. It's in heaven interceding for us! One day it will come back to take us home.