Probably my last post from the Holy Land

Jerusalem from Dominus Flevit

The Tantur programme is drawing rapidly to a close. And I have to say it has been great. I'm sure I'll be reflecting on the experiences of walking where Jesus lived and walked for a long time - and probably driving everyone mad with my reminisces!

There's a view of the Dome of the Rock behind

Sunday morning a group of us went to Dominus Flevit - "The Lord Wept" to celebrate Mass there. They put up the ropes so no-one could get in during Mass, and just as well. A large party of Asian tourists squashed up to the door and almost blinded us with their flashes! I had a laugh at the thought of being "local colour" for their holiday snaps. I remembered all of you back home during Mass - I hope you felt the vibes!

 Four of us bundled into a taxi on Sunday afternoon to go to Bethany. You'll remember that Jesus had some friends there - Martha, Mary and Lazarus. And that he visited them and Martha complained about Mary sitting around doing nothing while she did all the work. And then later how Jesus, while in Jerusalem was informed that Lazarus had died, waited a couple of days and then went and resurrected him.

Bethany from the Bethphage on the Mount of Olives

The taxi ride took us about 40 minutes to get to a dusty Arab town. We had much earlier spotted it from Bethphage on the Mt of Olives. It's really just a stone's throw from Jerusalem and it is thought that Jesus may have stayed with his friends when he went up to Jerusalem to the Temple.

Mosaics from the 1st century CE - protected from all the elements except water!

Modern Bethany is largely Moslem now, but the Christians maintain a toehold there. The church is a recent one built in 1954, but there are the remains of two older churches.

The columns from the Crusader Church

In a corner are the mosaics that date from the 1st century CE. And ruins of the other churches from the 6th and 12 centuries. The wall of the modern church has a couple of nice modern mosaics of the three siblings.

But the real attraction is the cave said to be the tomb of Lazarus. The original entrance, now blocked up, is in the mosque, with the vestibule where Jesus called to Lazarus to come out. The alternative entrance is from the street. It is a real tomb - a bit scary and claustrophobic. 

The "new" entrance

The cross scratched where Lazarus was laid

Eric happy to be coming out of the tomb!

A plaque on the wall of the tomb

It was really interesting to visit, and a little moving too. I was glad to get out of the tomb. As I imagine Lazarus was too!

We hopped back into the taxi for another 40 minutes ride back to Tantur. The reason it takes so long is that the Israelis have divided Bethphage from Bethany by the Separation Wall. What used to be a ten minute stroll down the Mt of Olives across the Kidron Valley now is a large detour around the wall and through a check-point. This, of course, makes it difficult for the people of Bethany to go to work in Jerusalem, and perhaps worse, very difficult for tourists to visit Bethany. This, in turn, impacts on the economy of the village. The owners of the handicraft stores were desperate for us to visit - and buy something. It would be good for Vice-President Biden of the US (at present visiting Jerusalem) to go and visit Bethany. He might see that his government's unqualified support for some of Israel's "security" plans has a real negative impact on thousands of people here and in other places.