But not to diminish

While the day was spent walking the Via Delarosa, I can’t forget how our day was bracketed. We began at the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus told the man to pick up his mat, and ended at a place where Jesus stood.


At the Pool of Bethesda is the Church of St. Anne the mother of Mary. It is a simple church, not known for its beauty, but for its simplicity and echoes. Together we sang the Lord’s Prayer led by a skillful song master, who directed us to maximize the echo. It was worshipful and haunting. I have enjoyed the singing of songs in these holy places and it brings to mind the importance of song in our learning.

In closing the day, we prayed at the Western wall, a very sacred site for the Jewish people. It is a portion of the platform wall for the temple that they can access, and they pray at the wall inserting written prayers into the crevices. Even at the bottom of the wall, there are thousands of scribbled notes creating a foundation for the prayers of others. To enter the area you have to go through security like an airport, and there are armed soldiers patrolling the area. We exited the site and walked through the archeological site to the excavation of the southern wall. Here archeologists have unearthed part of the Herodian era road as it entered the city. This small piece of road, near the teaching wall facing the Mt. Olives, would most certainly have been a place where Jesus would have walked. Who would have imagined that a slab of material no more than 4 by 4 feet would take your breath away?

This was a thin place.