Good Friday
I actually had Good Friday off, so I began the day by sleeping in a little. The service at Christ Church began at 1:00pm, and it was sober and reflective. Scripture readings included Isaiah 52-53, Psalm 22, and John 18-19. Songs included O Sacred Head Now Wounded, How Deep the Father's Love for Us, Once Again, and a beautiful Hebrew song--Seh Ha Elohim. Like many traditional Good Friday services, we were requested to leave in quiet.
After the service, I was torn between how I felt I should spend Good Friday and how I wanted to spend Good Friday. I opted for the latter. Who knows if I will be here next year to experience Good Friday in Jerusalem? I would like to be here again, but I thought I better take advantage of this year when I am here already.
It was important to me to be at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at 3:00 that afternoon. The Old City was a zoo with all the pilgrims here for Holy Week, and it took a lot of patience and time to work my way down the streets to the courtyard of the church. The courtyard was packed!!! On a normal day, there are hundreds of people working their way through the church, but this afternoon, it was wall to wall people with barely any room to move. Definitely something worth seeing, but the mass of humanity was almost unbelievable!
Crowds of people inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. There was a huge line waiting to go up the stairs to the Greek Orthodox chapel of Calvary . . .
I worked my way inside the doors and found a quiet corner to stand and consider things. The atmosphere in the building was anything but quiet and contemplative. People were everywhere, and priests were everywhere attempting some crowd control. A ladder was set up for people to take pictures. At one point, one man began shouting and trying to clear a path. A group of 20 or so Greek Orthodox (I think) VIPs came through. It is one thing to hear about the crowds that come to Jerusalem to celebrate Holy Week; quite another to experience it. I am grateful for the experience, and despite the crowds and chaos, I was able to spend some quality time in thought and prayer.
While I was out fighting crowds on the streets of Jerusalem, I decided I might as well go to the Western Wall. The Jewish holiday of Passover lasts a week, so Jerusalem was also the center of a large gathering of Jews. The Western Wall plaza was also packed. Jerusalem was a busy and bustling city that week!
Looking down on the Western Wall plaza; Friday, April 2, 2010
The commercial side of things--this was a shop in the Christian Quarter, outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that was selling crowns of thorns.
Saturday
I don't know about your experiences, but in my past, the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter is generally a quiet, around-the-house type of day. Not so in Jerusalem. This Saturday is "Holy Fire Day." I knew nothing about this until coming here, but I learned in a hurry!
I was on the breakfast shift that morning, and we quickly learned that local authorities had virtually shut down Jerusalem's Old City. Our cook barely got in Jaffa Gate, and the couple who manage the Guest House spent over an hour going from gate to gate before they were finally able to talk their way in. Virtually nobody was allowed into the city that morning. The contrast from the busy streets the day before was huge--it was almost silent. Upon venturing out of the Christ Church complex, we found police at the end of our street not letting anybody down, and there were police barriers at the entrance to David Street (the main street in from Jaffa Gate, full of shops). The shops were open and the shopkeepers in the doorways, but there was no customers.
Come to find out, the city was shut down in hopes of preventing any trouble at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the day of the ritual Holy Fire. Wikipedia has a good summary on exactly what this is; check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Fire. If you can believe it, this ceremony has been going on for at least 900 years!! There were crowds of people outside Jaffa Gate hoping to get in, but no luck. The streets remained locked down all morning and half of the afternoon. It was an extremely quiet day at the Guest House as there was no pedestrian traffic in the city.
Looking down from my bedroom window at the empty Old City streets on Saturday morning. You can also see some of the police who were helping keep the roads closed.
Police barricades at the entrance to one of the main shuks (markets) in Jerusalem.
Crowds of people outside Jaffa Gate. I was so glad I live inside the Old City as there was no way I would have gotten in this day.
Around 2:00pm, the bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher began pealing joyfully, signaling the Holy Fire had appeared and was being spread. An hour or so later, numerous parades from the church traveled through the streets. Candles lit from the initial flame were brought through the streets and people stood along the sides with candles of their own to receive the flame. After this, the city was opened back up and the streets quickly filled up. Thankfully, the day proceeded without any major squabble (apparently, a big fuss broke out in the Holy Sepulcher church itself two years ago!).
That night, I attended an Easter Vigil service at Christ Church. I had never been to something like this before, and found it interesting and meaningful. In church tradition, Christ rose from the dead Saturday night; therefore, it is traditional to hold a special service Saturday night anticipating His resurrection. Like earlier services this week, this service was marked by song and Scripture readings. The highlights of the service were Communion and a renewal of baptism vows. I thought that was really a special--baptism is a one-time thing, but it was meaningful to remember why we do it and reaffirm that decision.
Resurrection Sunday
I had asked for Easter Sunday off so I could take advantage of being in Jerusalem for this special day! Despite it being a day off, I began the day earlier than usual. Christ Church had a sunrise service at 6, and I really wanted to be there. This service was a joint effort between the English and Hebrew congregations that gather at Christ Church. It was smaller than I expected it to be, yet so memorable and special. Songs were sung in both Hebrew and English. Easter is the only time I would even consider going to church while it is still dark outside :-), but there is something so special in walking into church while it is still dark and seeing the windows get lighter and lighter as the sun rises. Although it might have been nice to sleep in a little, there was no way I was going to miss this special service! I consider myself so blessed to be able to attend a sunrise service here in Jerusalem on Resurrection Sunday!
The sunrise service concluded around 7:30am, and the normal morning service was not until 9:30am. After a lovely breakfast, I opted to go for a walk and enjoy Easter morning. I walked out of Jerusalem's Old City and into the neighboring community of Yemin Moshe. The best view of Jerusalem (in my opinion) is from the Mount of Olives, but that was not a possibility for me by myself. Yemin Moshe also offers a good view of the Old City; it was my second option and the one that I could actually do. After 15 minutes' walk, I found an overlook to stop and absorb the beauty and peacefulness of the morning.
I then attended the 9:30 service, ate lunch, and took a nap in the afternoon before Bible study that night. It was then an early to bed night as I was back on breakfast shift the next day!
Sights from my walk through Yemin Moshe Easter morning. It was absolutely beautiful, and I hope these pictures convey a sense of the quiet and peacefulness of the morning.
Looking at Jerusalem from the west on Easter morning. I would have preferred the more panoramic view from the Mount of Olives, but this was better than nothing. And, it was breathtaking to see the Old City in the light of the rising sun. I had brought my sansa along with me, and listened to the song "Was it a Morning Like This?" while taking in this view of the Old City.
So, now you have the complete story of my experience of Holy Week here in Jerusalem. I truly consider myself blessed to have this opportunity!
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