Holy Week in the Holy Land...Holy cow!

Ok ok, so I know that the title to this post is cheesy, but seriously, I could not think of a better way to spend Holy Week than in the place it actually occurred. This week has been full of church services and hopping between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, which was amazing. I started out the morning in my congregation in Beit Sahour. After the normal service, we paraded around the church building and sang celebratory songs. Then the children were given their palms and they proudly and eagerly showed them off. After the service, I went to grab the bus back to Bethlehem but, in the process, got swept into a Catholic parade going around Beit Sahour. So I joined in with one of the teachers from the school. As any other celebration in the West Bank, it wouldn't have been complete without Scout troops playing bag pipes.

The weather was absolutely perfect. I cannot believe that it is starting to get hot already though...it's too early for that! (I'm sure some of you from MN would hit me for saying that).

In the early afternoon I went into Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. The parade there started at 2:30 in Bethphage, and we walked from Bethphage down into the Old City of Jerusalem, the same path that Jesus took on his descent. There were children selling palm branches on the side of the road, large tour groups with umbrellas, and thousands of people from all around the world. It was pretty surreal. One of my favorite parts about the day was the music. I walked along with a band consisting of a violin, clarinet (yes!), guitar, baritone, and vocalists. Their music was very soulful and upbeat...it made me want to sing along, even though I didn't know the words!

Along the way we stopped at the church marking the spot where Jesus stopped and wept over Jerusalem. This was further along in Holy Week, but it was neat to see it then anyways.

Yesterday was Maunday Thursday. I attended a joint English, German, and Arabic service in Jerusalem at the Church of the Redeemer. This was a very significant service, and the distribution of Communion was really special...knowing that Jesus gave the Holy Communion to his disciples in this place was really neat. The service also reminded all of us to stay awake and keep watch, in this season and always. It was also a reminder to be servants to one another, as Jesus was to everyone. The washing of the disciple's feet is a clear sign that we are to put others before ourselves. After the service, we all walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. We all followed the cross (and, unfortunately the armed Israeli soldiers who insisted on coming along) to Gethsemane, the place where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before his crucufixion. The garden is beautiful and, as it was early evening, the smell of the flowers permeated the air.

Today is Good Friday. I stayed in Jerusalem last night and woke up in time to participate in the 6:30 AM Via Dolorosa walk. There were 14 stations, starting with the site of Jesus' trial in front of Pontious Pilate and ending with the laying of Jesus in the tomb. Since it was so early in the morning, there were few other groups out, making it possible to have more a spiritual experience (usually in Jerusalem and Bethlehem there are too many tourists at the holy sites to really be able to get anything out of them, for me anyways). We were accompanied by Bishop Younan (the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land), and Anglican Bishop, and Pastors from various other congregations in the area. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I wish all of you a blessed Holy Week and a very Happy Easter!