Jerusalem Day 4, June 17

Our fourth day began with a short walk to St. Georges Cathedral. We thought we might have lunch there before visiting the Garden Tomb, but they only served meals when they had large groups. So we wandered around the church for a while. It was very "Anglocatholic" and cathedral-like. The reception at Christ Church was much warmer and the people who served the public much more friendly.

After lunch at the Olive Tree Hotel across the street, we headed for the Garden Tomb. I would like to say that it was a great spiritual experience, but....He is not here, He is risen....to quote an obvious scripture!

It was interesting, how- ever, to be a few meters from the place where some believe Jesus was crusifed and then laid in the tomb. There was a lot of interesting detail which seemed to coincide with Scripture and I can see why there is a controversy about where events actually took place. The stone seen here must have been similar to the one that originally covered the tomb.

The tomb's door was about 1/2 the size it is now and that small round rock would have covered the opening ... and it weighed 100s of pounds! The small window is original and in the morning would have shone a beam of light onto the place where Jesus was to have been laid, and consistent with the biblical record showing clearly that the grave was empty. As I said above...He is not here. He is risen indeed!

On a lighter note, and for my wine making friends, the garden also contained an ancient wine press. When it was pointed out, the guide mentioned the scripture when Jesus said that he was the vine...as in grape...and we are the branches. I know that it is taking a lot of license, but it made for a good story.

We finished the day with supper at Papa Andreas, a Palestinian Christian rooftop restuarant. There was a wonderful view of the city, a cool breeze and great food. On our way home we went through a beautiful park the has an ancient Herodian tomb right in the middle....unguarded, and surrounded by lots of flowers. Speaking of which, check out these flowers which are typical of Jerusalem gardens.

This is a fallow year. We were speaking with a Rabbi last night who owns a shop not far from our apartment. He told us that orthodox Jews will not be tending their gardens this year, and would allow anyone to pick and eat what hey needed from their fruit trees and vines. So, any beauty we see this year will be mainly from perrennials that don't need to be fussd with. Rabbi Immanuel Zadoc told us that the Jewish people are going through much of the same issues with faith as the Christians. Their so-called reform believers have essentially started a new religion.

We also met a young pastor, Aaron, who is the Assistant at Christ Church, Jerusalem. Both he and his Senior Priest, David, are licensed by off-shore Bishops...(Orombi of Uganda & Frank Lions of Bolivia). Christ Church is not technically a part of the Jerusalem Diocese. They are run by a Mission Society and consider themselves to be an AMiI church, that is Anglican Mission in Israel! They are the ones who are the on-the-ground organizers of the the GAFCON conference, not the Jerusalem Diocese or Bishop. The Diocese is funded mainly by monies from Los Angeles TEC Diocese, and although the Bishop would consider himself to be orthodox, they are still trying to balance on that fine line between the two realities. Hmmmm, sounds like much of the ACC in Canada.