Israel Trip Part 7

Today is our last full day in Israel. We went first to the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, the retaining wall of the Temple mount. I delivered the prayer requests that had been given to me by members and friends of the church where I pastor. It was a very moving time for me. I spent the first few minutes just praying at the wall, lifting up prayers to God. Then I went into the tunnel next to the wall. Inside were many Jewish rabbis and students and other devout praying and reading prayers. There was a rabbi teaching students. There was a circle of young Jewish men outside signing their praise to God very loudly. We all wore our heads covered. The women in the group had to go to the women's side of the wall.
We had to pass through metal detectors. We saw a group of about forty young police, looking about young twenties, carrying rifles and having on bullet proof vests and helmets. Last night and today was a Jewish holiday of Pentecost of I think they call it Shavaout. We had tried to eat at the King David Hotel last night but it was full to overflowing of people celebrating the holiday.
After spending about one hour at the Wailing Wall. We then went up to the Mount where the Al-Aqsa Mosbue and the Dome of the Rock are located. We could not go into the Dome, but it was good to walk around the Temple area.
We left there to go to Gordon's Calvary or the Garden Tomb. This place looks like what Calvary and the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea would have looked like at the time of Jesus. Although scholars do not believe it to be the actual burial place of Jesus, it was a helpful visual aid to our faith. Our group celebrated the Lord's Supper at the Garden Tomb. The sign at the door of the tomb reads, "He is not here, He is risen". That my friends is Good News.
This might be my last post. We will be leaving Israel on tomorrow. We go to Bethlehem for a final feast. We will then return to Tel Aviv to board our flight home. These two weeks have been life changing to say the least. I have made new friends. I have felt the pain of the Yad Veshim, holocaust memorial. I have felt the pain of oppression and prejudice that comes when people do mean things in the name of God. This land of promise is a land of pain. Christians fighting over who runs the holy sites in Jerusalem is not a great witness to Christ. Jews fighting Palestinian, Christian against Muslim, this is all wrong. We have been called to the ministry of reconciliation. So I leave a holy land, full of sorrow in my heart because of the pain people of faith have caused each other.
I look forward to going home. I have been away long enough. I will carry these memories with me forever.