We had a 6:00am wake-up call in order to beat the crowds walking the Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus walked to Golgotha. The early start worked. The typically crowded narrow streets were deserted except for the children on the way to school and a few early vendors opening shops.
There are 14 stations on the Via Dolorosa. We snaked our way through the old city streets stopping at each station. Sandy brought along short readings and a prayer written for each station of the cross. The 14 people in our group took turns reading the passage and the prayer at each station. It was perhaps the most spiritual experience of our journey. I felt like a pilgrim seeking God through following the way of Jesus and his way is the way of the cross. If you remember the Mel Gibson film “The Passion of the Christ” you can get a sense of the experience of walking the Via Dolorosa. The film follows the 14 stations of the Cross. I loved walking the narrow streets Jesus walked. There were shop keepers and street vendors hawking their goods. There were children playing on the way to school. There was garbage in the streets in places. There were old men smoking. There were women talking. There were armed Israeli soldiers posted at key intersections with hard faces. None of these things distracted me; these were things going on when Jesus walked these streets with a cross on his shoulder. We practice our faith in the world’s marketplace, not in a monastery.
There are 14 stations on the Via Dolorosa. We snaked our way through the old city streets stopping at each station. Sandy brought along short readings and a prayer written for each station of the cross. The 14 people in our group took turns reading the passage and the prayer at each station. It was perhaps the most spiritual experience of our journey. I felt like a pilgrim seeking God through following the way of Jesus and his way is the way of the cross. If you remember the Mel Gibson film “The Passion of the Christ” you can get a sense of the experience of walking the Via Dolorosa. The film follows the 14 stations of the Cross. I loved walking the narrow streets Jesus walked. There were shop keepers and street vendors hawking their goods. There were children playing on the way to school. There was garbage in the streets in places. There were old men smoking. There were women talking. There were armed Israeli soldiers posted at key intersections with hard faces. None of these things distracted me; these were things going on when Jesus walked these streets with a cross on his shoulder. We practice our faith in the world’s marketplace, not in a monastery.
Denver doing a reading
Women cleaning the stone slab from the tomb of Jesus
Children on the way to school on the Via Dolorosa
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