Faith and Travel: A Trip to Israel

Growing up Catholic in the Philippines, I was exposed to the rich traditions of the religious seasons. The practices and traditions particularly during Lent had a hand in shaping my faith and in my perception of the God I was worshipping.

As a child on Good Friday and Black Saturday of Holy Week, I was often told that I shouldn’t run, laugh, play, or have fun. Everything was shut down. Stores and restaurants were closed. No one went to work. The TV only had religious movies and shows on. The city’s noises came to a halt. “Patay ang Diyos” (the Lord is dead) was what I was told. I don’t know if that was a prank, or a just a chance to silence rambunctious children during the adults’ rare chance for peace and quiet during the year.

Some of the most memorable marathons I’ve witnessed were “pabasa” sessions lasting from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday. The non-stop singing, chanting or wailing of Christ’s Passion reverberated through the community via loud speakers, casting a cloud of mournful woe befitting remembrance of the trials of Jesus. Then there was the Visita Iglesia, or the Stations of the Cross, and the Salubong, the symbolic meeting of Jesus and his mother Mary after his resurrection.

These experiences and expressions of faith provided a means to grasp, remeber and honor the events that transpired 2000 years ago.  To this day, it continues to inspire a sense of reverence in me for the Passion of Jesus Christ.

Visiting Israel

By the time I visited Israel in 2009, I was regularly attending a Baptist church in Atlanta for about three years. My belief system had shifted, with a focus on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ taking precedence over rituals and ceremonies.  I had also started traveling and seeing the world.  I started to find myself in destinations where events and places I’ve only read about in books, learned in school or saw on television and movies were right before my eyes.

Our trip to Israel was a particularly moving experience for me. There were so many details and emotions to process. On one hand, it was one giant lesson on Jewish and Israeli history and culture.   Visits to the Western Wall, the remnant of the Second Temple and the holiest site in Judaism,  the ancient fortress of Masada, where Jewish residents and rebels committed mass suicide to avoid being captured by the attacking Romans, and Yad Vashem, the moving memorial in Jerusalem to the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, stirred up compassion for and a deeper understanding of the centuries-long external and internal journey of the Jewish people.

 

On the other hand, it was a place where I confronted the reality of Catholic traditions I grew up with and the Biblical lessons I was learning more of.   Millions before me have embarked on pilgrimages to this sacred land for ages.   People came for enlightenment, to revere, to worship.  I went and felt my faith taken for a roller coaster ride.

During the weeklong trip around the country with the company Tours in Israel, we visited several places that I’ve come to know about from watching the Christian children shows Superbook and The Flying House, reading Bible stories and attending religion classes for 10 years.

 

Bethlehem  and the Church of the Nativity

The upbeat tone of the Christian song Going to Bethlehem was a complete contrast to the sobering journey into the town of Jesus’ birth, which lay within the Palestinian territory of central West Bank.  Tourists and pilgrims were in for a jarring experience as they were shepherded off their buses and made to walk from the Israeli side to the Palestinian side through a heavily reinforced wall that looked like it belonged to a maximum security prison rather than one of the holiest sites of Christiandom.

Upon emerging on the other side, a Palestinian guide took over as our Israeli guide stayed behind the wall.   We boarded a van to the Church of the Nativity.  Commissioned by Constantine and his mother Helena in 327 AD, the church is traditionally regarded to mark the site of the place where Jesus was born.  The structure holds two churches:  the main section is controlled by the Greek Orthodox while an adjoining section is controlled by the Roman Catholic church.

In one corner of the basilica, lines formed by a small, low door  that led to an underground crypt.  Slowly, we made our way down the narrow passageway until we emerge in a small room that held the Grotto of the Nativity.   On the floor of what looked like an elaborate fireplace adorned with heavy drapes and lamps, a silver metal star marks the spot where the Jesus was born.

As I knelt down to touch the star, I had conflicting emotions.   The Catholic in me wanted to venerate the very ground Jesus was born.  The Protestant side warned against the temptation of placing too much reverence to a physical structure. The traveler within me was perturbed by the incessant picture taking of the tourists, concerned for the lack of opportunity to truly experience this site for what it is.   Finally, another voice, the one fed by need for historical proof and evidence, questioned the authenticity of the site.

I later emerged in the church’s courtyard, confused by my experience.

 

Jordan River

The water was cold, the bottom green and slimy with algae but according to tradition, it was in these waters of the Jordan River that John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ.  The Yardenit Baptismal Site is the one of two regulated sites in the Israel side of the river.  Hundreds of pilgrims in white gowns are baptized every day.  It was inspiring and touching to see people professing their faith and being baptized in the same waters as their Savior two millenia ago.

 

 

Sea of Galilee

The area around the Sea of Galilee,  which is actually the largest freshwater lake in Israel, witnessed many moments of  Jesus’ ministry.  Among the many Biblical accounts that took place here were the miracle of the abundant catch of fish, the calming of the storm, and Jesus walking on water.

We took a ride in a boat that claimed to be a replica of those used during the time of Jesus.  As I looked out in the waters in the middle of the lake, I pondered several faith questions: Do I really believe that Jesus commanded a storm to calm down? Do I buy into the miracle of the abundant catch of fish? If He came and walked on water to me right now, how would I react?

 

Last Supper Room

In a building  located on Mount Zion and situated above the Tomb of King David, this second-story room is a representation and not the actual upper room where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples.  As the real room is lost to antiquity, it was good to have a place in Jerusalem to reflect upon the moment Jesus shared this last meal that provided scriptural basis to the Holy Communion.

Garden of Gethsemane

According to Matthew’s account, Jesus went to pray after the Last Supper in a place called Gethsemane.  Today, a garden of ancient olive trees situated beside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is said to be the historical location where Jesus spent an agonizing night of prayer before his arrest, torture and crucifixion.  There are four other sites claiming to be the said Garden of Olives.  Whether it was the exact place or not, the garden provided a restful place for pilgrims to remember that fateful night.

Via Dolorosa

During our walk around Jerusalem, we found markers for the different stations of the cross, representing different points in Christ’s passion leading to his crucifixion.   They were signs along busy walkways where people have carried on with their daily business for ages.    The routes and markers have changed through time, as alternate locations and points have been proposed.  But the general proximity to Jesus’ actual path to Calvary is enough for most pilgrims.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The biggest struggle and enlightenment I had during my time in Israel happened while visiting the two places that claim to be the place where Jesus was crucified and buried

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built by the Emperor Constantine around 325 AD, is traditionally accepted by the Catholic and Orthodox churches as the site where Calvary and the burial place of Jesus are located.   Just like the Church of the Nativity, control of this church is also shared by branches of the Orthodox religion as well as the Roman Catholic Church.

The inside of the church was dark, cold and crowded.  Tourists and pilgrims shuffled from one corner to another. Priests and other attendants rivaled club bouncers in crowd control.   The air was thick with the scent of incense.  I was in a daze.  I tried to get my bearings and keep up with my group to avoid getting lost.

The Place of Crucifixion is a chapel controlled by the Greek Orthodox Church.  In this area lies a outcropping of white rock that is acknowledged to have held the cross.

 

In another part of the church is a small chapel called the the Edicule, which preserves what is said to be the location of Christ’s tomb.  The Greek Orthodox priest managed the traffic of people and hurried us through.  The antechamber leading up to the tomb has a marble pedestal that holds what is believed to be a part of the rolling stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb.

The Edicule

Entering the tight main chamber, I saw lamps surrounding a bench covered by a marble slab. According to antiquity, it was on this shelf that Jesus’ body lay until His Resurrection. I searched my heart for some sort of supernatural feeling as if it would somehow validate the authenticity of the place. As I felt the crowd around me shift following the direction of the attending priest, I laid my hand on the cold marble. At that moment, it occurred to me that whether or not this was the place where Jesus was buried, I believed that He rose from the dead and that His mortal remains would not be found here or in any other place. I said a prayer of thanksgiving to my Savior for his sacrifice and shuffled out of the tomb

 

 

Just as in the Church of the Nativity, I came out of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre flustered and unsettled.  I understood the significance of the place and why people were jostling to find the best positions to view the sacred spots that tied them to Christ. I understood why the priests controlling the site had to be strict about crowd control, as they wanted to protect this holy place.  But all in all, the ambience was not conducive to prayerful reflection of significance of this place.  If given chance, I would love to visit and stay overnight and have an experience like the one in this blog post.

Garden Tomb

At the end of our sightseeing day, we asked to be dropped of at the Garden Tomb.  While this place is believed to be the garden and sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea,   the site makes no official claims about being the location of  the crucifixion and tomb of Christ.  It is run by a Christian non-denominational group and is unceremoniously located beside a busy parking lot.   The quiet, peaceful atmosphere of the garden was a welcome change from the dark, cold and crowded churches we visited earlier.

Our guide pleasantly presented their organization’s basis for believing that this spot could be the true place of the crucifixion and burial tomb.  As we sat in the orientation area, he waved over to a rocky hill behind and pointed to a spot that eerily looks like a skull.  Calvary’s other name was Golgotha, the place of the skull.

He went on with other information about the garden, but the one thing he said that stood out in my mind was their emphasis was not on the physical structures and supporting evidence, but on the message of the sacrifice on the cross and the miracle and blessing of the empty tomb.  

Hearing those words, a wave of peace washed over me.   It all came together and finally made sense.  I was able to appreciate my time in Israel in its fullest.  It was enough for me to walk where Jesus was and to have seen places that witnessed his time on earth.  It helped me visualize the reality that Jesus had in fact walked on earth and touched people’s lives.  It informed my mind, strengthened my faith and renewed my spirit.

The budding history nerd in me sought for a factual accounting and historical proof of whether or not these places are what they claim they to be.  The traveler within wanted to soak up the richness of the culture and just be present in the moment.  The Christ follower inside me sought to have an authentic experience of faith during this journey.  I was pleased that all sides were satisfied and satiated.