One Man’s Cross is Another Man’s Scooter on the Via Dolorosa

---

Today begins our third day waking up in Jerusalem. We have basically the same breakfast buffet. Again they have the small four-inch olive pizzas. This morning the oatmeal appears to be very runny; and, unlike previous mornings the cauldrons on either side of the buffet line are nearly full. I try some anyway, and I detect a hint of burnt oatmeal and this may be why it’s diluted. The first morning I tried the oatmeal, I also thought there was a hint of having been burned on the bottom of the pan. I love the sesame pastries; which, I gather are similar to their larger cousins, an oval shaped sesame coated treat that must be the “donut of choice” for locals. I’m skipping the hot eggs and hot dogs again, and Sharon is going with scrambled eggs and a cinnamon roll. For me, I’m rounding out my morning meal with dry cereal, milk and honey (again dripping from the honeycomb into two bowls).

We assembled beside the green bus, and waited to get Erin’s scooter loaded into the under-carriage. And a scene repeated itself, as had happened many times on this pilgrimage, as we mingled with others with whom we hadn’t had a chance to talk to previously. Many were surprised to discover that Sharon and Erin were sisters; and, Erin got no small amount of pleasure explaining to people that “Sharon is my much, much older sister.” Sharon to this day feigns no recollection of referring to Erin as her much, much younger sister. What they say about “payback” certainly does seem to be true.

We drive a short distance and walk through the Jaffre Gate into the Old City. This morning there is a definite chill in the air, the first time that we’ve experienced that since we arrived in Israel over one week ago. Things were brisk, and many of our group had donned light jackets, windbreakers and pullovers. Sharon thought briefly about wearing her jacket, and perhaps; since, I was venturing out with just my short-sleeve shirt she wasn’t about to succumb to such mild conditions. Then again, the wind was blowing a bit, and my reason for not wearing a jacket might have something to do with it still being at the Pilgerhaus on the Sea of Galilee. Our weather in Israel and Jordan has been fantastic. On a pilgrimage last year at this time they experienced six inches of snow, and that would not have been pleasant; nor, scooter friendly I imagine.

We walked through the Muslim district to the Church of St. Anne’s. St. Anne was Mary’s mother and this place commemorates the birthplace of Mary, who as we’ve noted previously was also born in a grotto. This seems to have been very fashionable, back in the day. Jerusalem arose on rocky ground having one perennial spring capable of supporting a population of about 2,000 residents. By the time of Jesus the population had grown to about 100,000 for which a year round supply of water was provided by carving large cisterns in the rock and channeling water into these reservoirs during the rainy season. The cisterns carved out of limestone rock were plastered to make them water proof. Later today, we were to visit the jail Jesus was kept in before being handed over to Pontius Pilate. St. Anne’s is the best example of a twelfth century Byzantine church surviving today in The Holy Land. During the Muslim occupation most such buildings were sacked and destroyed, but this one survived for use as a Muslim Koran Study Center, as evidenced by the Arabic lettering over the door. And it could also be that this place honoring Mary was more acceptable to the Muslims than other Jewish or Catholic synagogues, churches and shrines. Mary is the only women mentioned by name in the Koran, as the mother of the great prophet Jesus. After listening to Father David offer some commentary of the history of this church in the courtyard over our Whisperers, telling us that the church is now under the care of a cloister of French nuns, we went inside to see the church. He also suggested that the French influence is responsible for not spelling “Ann” correctly. Though Sharon just corrected me and said the “Anne” spelling is correct which she should know since it is her middle name. The places that all of these events occurred was at first maintained by the oral history of the church. The Romans had outlawed Christianity, and the Jews considered it a heretical sect that needed to be stamped out. To be Christian after the death of Jesus was not the safest thing to be. Consequently, they didn’t go out and erect shrines or churches where these events occurred because that would be akin to putting a great big bull’s-eye on your back. Through the next three hundred years Christianity survived “under the radar” of local authorities. They did this by bringing worship into individual homes or sometimes by disguising a church (worshipping in a “Christian synagogue”). This branch of Judaism survived until Constantine legalized Christianity allowing it to become more mainstream and much more popular. Constantine figured why bother converting at an early age when he can be forgiven for a lifetime of sins at the end of his life. The difference between Jihad’s version and that offered by Father David is that Father David asserts that Constantine did get baptized at the end of his life. His mother being Christian may have been the single most important factor in what Wikipedia cites as a gradual conversion the Christianity, declaring himself a Christian at about age 40; but, declaring and being baptized are two different things. Constantine lived to be 65.

Next to St. Anne’s are the Pools of Bethesda, made famous being the place that Jesus cured the paraplegic. The Byzantines built a church here. Later the Crusaders didn’t think that church was big enough so the tore the first church down and built a larger one. Later still, the Muslims sacked that church down leaving the ruins we see today. There is a “North Pool” and a “South Pool”. Father David noted that that wasn’t the name back in the time of the Crusaders, only the names today that the archeologists have assigned to him, you guessed it, because one is north of the other. As I’m snapping pictures I start to lose my footing and start to fall towards a lady pilgrim facing me. Fortunately I’m sure for both of us (the railing behind her wasn’t that high and the pit down into where the ruins and Southern Pool was is very deep) I was able to get my feet under me as I come face to face with the lady who is looking quite alarmed her hands up in front of her and her eyes quite wide, and she utters in a very uncertain startled voice, “I would have caught you.” It’s probably a good thing Sharon was paying attention to Father David and not me.

We left St. Anne’s, after everyone that needed a WC break had had one. It would be a few hours before we’d get that chance again at lunch. We spent some time in the interior courtyard and Father David talked about advanced divinity studies available here.

We proceeded to the site where Pontius Pilate held court and sentenced Jesus to death. Knowing that some referred to him as the “King of the Jews”, he asked the Jewish council what he should do with this man, proposing to set free one of the three men convicted that day to appease the Jews. “Crucify Him,” was the response the crowd chose for Jesus. And so Pontius Pilate “washed his hands” of the decision, telling the council “His blood is on your hands!” This site marks the first station of the cross, where Jesus is condemned to death, as we begin our journey along the Via Dolorosa (or way of sorrow) and visit all fourteen stations. There is a replica and much lighter cross for us pilgrims to carry, two at a time (if we want to), and we can purchase a picture of our carrying the cross as well. Father David said that along this sorrowful path, winding up sometimes steep, cobbled and narrow streets, he would from time to time signal a change for those carrying the cross. The second station is where Jesus takes up the cross, and two of our pilgrims began carrying our wooden cross, which stood maybe five and one-half feet tall and two and one-half feet across. At the third station a white statue of this ordeal depicts when and where Jesus fell for the first time. The cross bearers changed here. The street narrowed considerable after this station and Father David informed Dennis a route he could take to maneuver the scooter to meet up with us after the eighth station; while, Erin continued on crutches to visit those stations prior to that meeting point. One vendor called out to Erin, “For you, fifty percent off,” and Erin responded, “When I come back.” The vendor smiled, and I think we all knew that wasn’t going to happen. I heard one lady mutter, “I wish he’d offered me 50% off.” Rounding one corner we saw the same “I don’t need Google, My Wife Knows Everything” T-Shirt for sale, just like the one I bought earlier this year in Bar Harbor. Next to it was a similar shirt for her “I don’t need Google, My Husband Knows Everything” and I thought that would make us the perfect trivia pair on some future cruise, but there really wasn’t any time to do anything but window shop as we walked by. We thought of Linda (and even Lin) seeing the T-Shirt between these, “F--- Google, Ask Me!” The final “Google” shirt really brought home the whole problem having four distinct ethnic communities (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian) and three zones: zone A controlled by the government of Israel, zone B ??, and zone C under complete autonomous control of the Palestinian Authority. At the fourth station, Jesus met his Mother along the Via Dolorosa commemorated in a high relief rendering above the entrance to a small Armenian Catholic Chapel. Each station is commemorated by a Roman numeral, such as “V” for the fifth station at the site of a Franciscan chapel where Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the cross. The narrow streets ascending with steps commemorated where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. At the Justice Gate, an old large stone archway long since walled in with stone and replaced by two heavy ornate doors, we come to the seventh station, where Jesus fell for the second time. We went up a ways in a narrow steep alley to the eighth station, where Jesus consoled the crying women of Jerusalem. We then headed back down the alley to meet up with Dennis; but, he was nowhere to be found. Dennis description of his ordeal, was that the route he had driven the scooter had become narrow and foreboding and he kept thinking, “Well, you have to die sometime.” Father David continued on with the trek, posting someone to look out for Dennis, and hoping that he hadn’t passed us while we’d gone up the alley to the eighth station (which apparently he had). It wasn’t long before Father David had caught up with Dennis. Erin road the scooter for a small way; but, soon a series of cascading steps made that impossible. Dennis and I managed the scooter, carrying it alongside the two now carrying the cross until we reached the ninth station where Jesus fell for the third time, by a column built into the door of the Coptic Church of Saint Anthony, on the hill of Golgotha. Here the flattened cobblestone street was flat for a bit, and then two to three steps would ascend to the next tier. Although two parallel concrete ramps defined the width of a small car to aid it in negotiating these streets, the width of either of these ramps was too narrow for Erin’s scooter to use it for handicapped access. Once while walking up behind Dennis while stepping on one of these ramps, someone cut in front of him, stopping him abruptly and sending me backward stepping with considerable uncertainty off of the ramp and onto the uneven steps. Father David recalled when he had first visited Jerusalem, donkeys had been used to pack cargo and make deliveries through the narrow winding streets. Today this same task is performed by the very agile tractors, and they are a wonder to behold especially when negotiating a series of stone steps. At each station we would stop, and Father David would present the significance of each station, citing from the Gospel and Ann would sing the response a Capella. I was busy taking some pictures and before I could get back to Dennis to help him with the scooter, the Archbishop picked up the front of the scooter and as going to help Dennis down the final stairs of a chapel to the last five stations. We all screamed for him to put it down as the driving column of the scooter started to rotate, and very nearly gave the Archbishop a memory he’d not soon forget. Dennis grabbed the front, and the Archbishop handled the rear, and the ascended towards the tenth station where Jesus was stripped of his garments, by the Chapel of the Division of Garments. The eleventh station is located inside the chapel in the right corner of the room, where Jesus was nailed to the cross. The twelfth station is on the right side of the room marking the crucifixion and death of Jesus. The thirteenth station is marked by an altar dedicated to Mary (Our Lady of Sorrows). Here Jesus was laid on the stone of the Anointment, and anointed with a mixture of myrrh and oils. The final station lies in the center of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where after three days Jesus arose from the dead from his burial tomb. The thing that I had never before appreciated was the close proximity of all of these things; indeed, the close proximity of many things in Israel. Bethlehem and Jerusalem are not far apart; although, the security wall makes it more difficult. The Dead Sea is close to Jerusalem, as is the Sea of Galilee. Of course the difference might also be due to comparing perceptions from a time of foot travel to today.

After visiting Calgary, we visited the spot where Mary Magdalene encountered a gardener, not realizing at first that this was the risen Jesus. A church venerates this event, and two circles on the floor indicate where the two had once stood. We also visited the Chapel of Adam. Jesus has been referred to as the second Adam; with, the former introducing sin to man and the later removing his sins.

Today we stopped at the Christmas Hotel for lunch (two days in a row). This is the first time we’ve been able to get a green salad, there have been many opportunities to get cabbage, so this was much appreciated. And the chicken, today they featured white meat, prepared pretty much the same way as the day before for the dark meat, chicken cut into smaller irregular pieces still with the bone. This is why Sharon had difficulty identifying the chicken as white or dark; because, for example there might only be part of the leg that you get. The chocolate mousse came with coconut dust and peanut dust on top.

After lunch the bus took us up Mount Zion. Here we visited the site of the Last Supper in the Upper Room. The Byzantines and Crusaders had established churches here. When the Muslims took control of the region they made the building a mosque. The Franciscans acquired the property and maintain it today.

We walked to the nearby King David’s tomb, again helping Dennis carry the scooter over many steps. At one point I said to Dennis, “I keep waiting for Father David to call for the next two people to help with the carrying of the scooter.” But he never did. Father David felt that it is unlikely that King David would have been buried in Jerusalem, but rather in the royal burial site recently identified for the City of David; but, the oral tradition once suggested that King David was buried here, and the rest, as they say, is history. Inside, men and women must view the tomb separately from different sides, men on the right and women on the left. Men must cover their head (a baseball cap works fine). For those without headgear little paper yomiker ?? are sometimes available, free of charge.

From here we went to the building on the corner next door, which is a Franciscan School for Advanced (Divinity) Studies. The large heavy door on the corner edge of the building was locked. Someone offered to help boost Father Ben of the Blue Group up over the wall, but he just smiled and the door did finally open. Continuing our walk down Mount Zion, we stopped at the Domitian Abbey, where Mary dies and her soul is assumed into heaven. There are a great many mosaic masterpieces in Jerusalem, and the floor of this church is no exception. The floor has concentric rings naming the minor prophets, and the major prophets, then the apostles and finally the signs of the zodiac. Father David noted that Mary teaches us that one thing Jesus could not: how to be the perfect disciple. This is where, late in the afternoon, that mass was held today, and again Dennis joined, likely because his bus driver buddies weren’t nearby. Dennis is figuring that this must be worth at least two Star Trek conventions.

After Herod captured Jesus, he was briefly imprisoned before Pontius Pilate could charge and try him in his court. We visited the sacred pit where Jesus was held in complete darkness. The pit at one time had been a water cistern, hewn out of the limestone rock with a hole in the top through which a prisoner could be lowered into the pit. Leading from this place of incarceration are a series of stone steps, the sacred steps that Jesus walked on the way to trial and conviction. This is unpleasant enough with the minimal lighting that we had, and the cutaway sides and roof of the cistern to provide viewing portholes to the depths below. The chiseled stairs we wound down to the floor of the cistern would not have been their during the time of Jesus, only that single hole in the top of the cistern wide enough for a man to pass through.

We concluded our visit to Mount Zion with a visit to St. Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster would crow as predicted by Jesus. This church features a gold weather vane shaped like a rooster.

Returning to our hotel, Father David informed us that Levon (our driver) had recommended a slight change in our itinerary for tomorrow. He suggested going straight to Bethany in the morning and holding our mass before noon as previously planned. Bethany is in Zone C under Palestinian Authority and following the problem with the Palestinian minister dying earlier this week, there could be trouble following noon prayers if an imam excites the masses to protest. Such happenings are always potential worse after the Friday noon prayers. Word is that the heart attack may have been triggered by tear gas intended to disperse the crowd. We were back at our hotel for dinner and today they had zucchini soup… I mean, why? Zucchini is my least favorite green vegetables, and if the zucchini gets mushy it seems to overwhelm and foul the taste of everything it touches. Now zucchini can be done right, not overcooked, and keeping it from getting mushy. Some said they liked the soup. But I’m skeptical. I think Dennis was right with his assessment of the potato leek soup a couple nights back: dishwater. And that was the consensus of those who tried it (including me). I liked the chocolate cake, again with the coconut topping; but, Sharon preferred the apple strudel. I got a large Pellegrino, taking most of it back to the room to right some more in the blog.

---