Day 1 - Israel

We passed through and boarded our buses; the real journey had begun! Three and a half hours of scenic drive totally different to what we see and know in our parts of the world. The ground was a lot barer than ours, mountainous on either side but with rocks everywhere looking just like the scenes in that old movie “Ben-Hur”. The really striking feature however was the presence of olive trees everywhere. Where in our islands we would have Bougainvillea and tropical trees and lots of grass there were olive trees here.  

We passed Palestinian villages on one side and Jewish villages on the other and never the twain shall meet. We passed Ramallah the former home and burial ground of the late Yasser Arafat right up on the hill and Israeli military outposts and guards keeping a close watch on the roads below.  

Our guide was Anton and we knew from the onset that we were privileged to have his guiding thoughts and presence with us for our entire journey. The wisdom of the Living Water Community in every aspect of the planning of this trip was evident. Anton appeared to be a gentleman in his early 60’s who knew everything like the back of his hand. He was a Palestinian Roman Catholic with degrees in History, Archeology, and training courses in his chosen profession – Tour Guide of the Holy Land. His gentle manner and also his contacts throughout Israel and even neighbouring Jordan put us in good stead for our trip, as did his knowledge of History and profound understanding of both the religious and cultural aspects of all we saw and experienced. 

It was just about 3:30 pm when we were told by our guide that we were now approaching the city of Jerusalem.

“We always speak of going up to Jerusalem” he said. We are 2,600 ft. above sea level at this point. As the tour bus glided into full view of the city before us, the soft strains of “Jerusalem , Jerusalem … lift up your gates and sing” could be heard in the background – a view I will never forget in my life time. The city walls still so magnificent, with the Golden Gate prominently displayed before us, The Dome of the Rock with its Golden top glistening in the sun; just all of it lying there before us and knowing this was the place where our Lord and Saviour lived and died was a truly profound experience. 
 

There was more to come. We turned in to the Mount of Olives and drove to the Chiah Guest House that was to become our home for the next two weeks. The concept of staying in the Mount of Olives was itself something that took some getting used too. It was a feeling of walking on Holy Ground. There was a quick reality check as we looked around the grounds of this beautiful convent/guest house and saw the tallest dividing wall I had ever seen (25 feet or more) separating ‘us’  from ‘them’. Anton explained that on the other side of the wall was the West Bank where the suicide bombers often came from hence the wall. The old building right next to the wall would be the remains of the house of Mary and Martha and Lazarus with Lazarus’ tomb where Jesus called him back to life right near to the house.                     

Mass was in 20 minutes time we were told and so at 4:00 pm we streamed into the chapel in the Mount of Olives to have our first Mass in Israel. The chapel was in itself a religious and cultural experience. There were very large ‘wall size’ paintings depicting aspects of the life of Jesus, only this time they were really ‘authentic’. The picture of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha had included every detail of what the house and room where they sat would have looked like almost 2000 years ago. It resembled culturally what we were seeing all around us. 

Father's Sermon 

What a sermon! Father reminded us about Palm Sunday and that the Passion was about ‘relationships gone really wrong’ – about friendships that were good that went the other way. People who could not see and because they could not they got gradually incensed to murder. 

He said the ‘real’ pain of Jesus was not physical but the pain of the dissension between the people, between friends and family. ‘We cannot embrace other people who are different from us’. The pain was that we couldn’t love the way that we should. We are divided. 

“We must be the signs of love and unity in the world. It is the love that he has poured out so freely that will not be received, cannot be received, does not want to be received.”   

It was now 5:00 pm ‘Day 1’, the day before Palm Sunday. We had such a warm and welcoming ‘dinner party’ for party it was as we ate with each other for the first time and just shared our joy at being there and about journeying together. The Sisters put on a spread fit for a king and the children from the orphanage (part of our convent who had lost their parents or had become separated from them as a result of war) all made us feel so welcome. It was supper, relax and then an early night and well needed rest.

  Chiah Guest House - Mount of Olives

Cont'd ...... Day 2