The following reflections on part of the Holy Week events (and  accompanying photographs), are offered by the Revd Liz Howlett, Bishop’s Adviser for Lay Adult Education and Training, who spent a fortnight at St George’s College, Jerusalem in November 2009, participating in their ‘Palestine of Jesus’ course, a combination of both study and pilgrimage.

 

As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!” Luke 19: 41, 42a
The church called Dominus Flevit (The Lord wept) stands on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the city of Jerusalem and through its window, with its pattern of cross, crown of thorns, chalice and paten, you can see the city that Jesus loved and wept over as he made his descent on the colt, with his disciples praising God joyfully around him.
Our mood was sombre at this place.  We were not experts on the Middle East, but we had been in the country long enough to catch a glimpse of the current deep troubles.  Amongst other things, we had heard the stories of the Palestinians working at St George’s College and their struggles every morning to get through the Barrier to reach their place of work in Jerusalem.

 

 

 

 

 
Jerusalem is a beautiful city, a place of huge significance for three of the world’s major religions, and a place where still today peace seems so far away. 
And when Jesus came to the place (Gethsemane) he said to his disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation”.  Luke 22: 40 -46

 

 

 

The land made a big impact on me whilst I was in and around Jerusalem – it is dry, rocky and the desert is never far away.  Finding a garden, a place where there is any vegetation, is somewhere to be treasured.  Perhaps this was one reason why the garden of Gethsemane was a favourite place for Jesus.
There were many pilgrims in Jerusalem when I was there in November.  This is good, as the Palestinian Christians living and struggling there can feel forgotten by the rest of their brothers and sisters around the world.  On the other hand, some of the holy places can become very crowded.  We were fortunate: our course leader took us to another part of Gethsemane that was empty and gave us time to be alone and to reflect on Jesus’ own experience in this place.  Luke tells us that ‘In his anguish Jesus prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.’ Luke 22: 44

 

 

 

Then they seized Jesus and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house.   Luke 22: 54
In what was part of the upper city, where the wealthier members of Jerusalem’s population lived, there are steps, built before the time of Herod, that lead from the remains of a house, down the hill towards the site of the Temple.  This house is thought by some to have belonged to the high priest and the dungeon it contains, the place where Jesus was kept when he was arrested that night.
Going up and down those steps, as Jesus may well have done at this critical part of his life, was a powerful experience for me.  I don’t think I had realised before I went, quite how important it would become for me and for my faith, to walk where Jesus walked.  In a way that is difficult to describe, I felt myself at this and at a number of other moments, being in place of the bedrock of my faith.
St Jerome called the Holy Land ‘the Fifth Gospel’ and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity, even if only in a small way, to study this fifth gospel, and in doing so, to enrich my study and love of the written gospels and above all, of Jesus Christ, our good news. 
For more information about St George’s and their courses, see their website   www.sgcjerusalem.org