14 Stations of the Cross

In Jerusalem, we also walked down the Via Dolorosa, which is the 14 stations where Jesus stopped while carrying his cross. Like with everything else, most of it is just tradition-- but it is always important every now and then to take the time to remember what happened on that day.

The first two stations were the places where he was brought before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:1-11 and John 19:1-6). You walk a little further and you come across the 3rd station where they say he fell for the first time. Above one stone wall hangs a Roman numeral IV, which is where they say Jesus met his mother as she weeped for him. The fifth is where Simon was commanded to help Jesus carry his cross and the 6th (which comes more from Catholic tradition) is where Veronica met him and wipes his face with her handkerchief, a vision of his face remaining in her handkerchief after he has already left. It was at the 7th stop where they say Jesus fell for the second time before meeting with the women of Jerusalem at the 8th station. He fell down for the third and final time at the 9th station. The others go along in this manner-- until finally he was crucified. They have built a church over it called, "The Church of the Holy Sepulchure." Most of us were fairly shocked and disappointed when we went in. First of all, I'm a "land" girl. Some people want to have a fancy church over a holy place; I, on the other hand, get so much more out of a piece of land with nothing on it. I want to stand there, feel the breeze and remember. The fight to get into this church can only be compared to Wal-Mart right before Christmas. Pushing, shoving and lying, sadly enough, were used to get into a place commemorating Jesus' death. We had a group of tourists who told us they needed to get through because they were going to a different place. After complying, we soon saw that there was no other place to go and that they had in fact cut in front of us after we had been waiting for quite some time. When we finally got into the church, I was quite blown away by the spectacle. Dimly-lit lanterns hung from every spot in the ceiling and a large gold-leaf, aluminum foil Jesus hung from the wall. People were placing their hands on a stone they say Jesus was laid on and they are rubbing their glasses and other things on it to be healed of their physical affliction. There were times where I had this overwhelming feeling that this is not what Jesus ever intended.

This is good for today. I will finish my bloggings each day as I can. The end is near! :-) Thanks for reading!!