Jerusalem

It is during Holy Week that I most often find myself longing for Jerusalem. Twice in my life I have been privileged to walk the narrow streets of that ancient walled-city so important in the scriptures. And both times (each 3-5 days in length) I had an overwhelming sense that I was in some way "home". It is difficult to describe such a feeling in detail, but from the first moment I entered through the Jaffa Gate, I felt a familiarity that often I only feel when I am at home.

Some of the most powerful and profound moments of my faith occured there within the Old City walls, or just outside them in places like the Garden of Gethsemene on the Mount of Olives. It was almost as if my faith became real in a tangible way as I wandered the pathways and felt the great slabs of stone beneath my feet. These were the paths of Jesus. The stories I had read and heard came alive. And through those pilgrimage experiences, they still do.

In two short days we will experience Maundy Thursday. As I hear the texts of that evening in the midst of a Service of Tenebrae, I know already that my mind will transport me back to a place that I long to see again. A place that I wish all could see and experience. I often pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as the scriptures command. And in my heart this week, I pray with expectation that great Jewish prayer and farewell greeting..."Next Year in Jerusalem!"