Yesterday afternoon Charis and I had a few hours to kill before Zach got home from school, so we decided to take a little (okay, not little -- pretty long) walk down to the Old City. Now, I've lived in some pretty cool places in my short twenty-three years, but I have to admit that being within walking distance of places like the Garden of Gethsemane and the Western Wall is pretty unparalleled.
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| The quite crowded Damascus Gate |
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| The place (according to tradition) where Jesus hung on the cross in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
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| Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre -- sometimes I wish Charis weren't too young to remember this trip! |
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| Just hanging out in the front-pack carrier; she has lived in this thing for the past few weeks and (thankfully) loves it |
As we walked to these places, I began to think about the idea of "holy sites." In the Islam tradition, the three "holiest" sites are the Ka'bah (in Mecca), the Mosque of the Prophet (in Medina, Saudi Arabia), and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem, marked by the Dome of the Rock). In Judaism, the Foundation Stone on the Temple Mount (the former Holy of Holies) is considered holiest, and the Western Wall is where the Jews can come and be closest to that place.
As I began thinking about Christian holy sites, I of course thought about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Via Dolorosa, but I realized that Evangelical Christianity does not elevate a particular site as highly as the other two religions do. That might be an obvious fact to many, but the significance behind it struck me today. The reason Christianity does not place such emphasis on sites is simply because we as believers have become the dwelling place of God Himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit -- we ourselves are the holiest sites of God. That fact should not puff us up, but rather it should bring us to a place of reverent humility at God's unfathomable grace toward our fallen -- yet glorified -- humanity.
I will leave you with this picture of our street -- our apartment is right inside the first door on the left. Pretty cool, huh?
Love seeing these photos. And that is wonderful insight, Kels. "In Him, we live and move and have our being" . . . . He is our Life and Breath. Hey, there's a song in there! Love you so much!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful devotional for me this morning...Cherry
ReplyDeleteLove reading the blog and seeing the pictures, Kelsey. Your life in Jerusalem sounds incredible, and your writing is so descriptive that I feel like I'm there, too.
ReplyDeleteNancy P.
Kels, the pictures are amazing! Also, I must say you are doing an impressive job keeping your promise to keep the blog updated! It's funny...now that you're in Jerusalem (instead of on the West Coast with us), I feel like I know Charis better, because I get to see so many pictures and videos of her, which is great! Love you and praying for you...
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