We also spent time on the Mount of Olives. There we viewed the ancient Jewish Cemetery that covers the hillside, reviewed the story of Palm Sunday, and visited the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Garden is a lovely space, surrounded by an iron fence. The word Gethsemane means "oil press"--reflecting the fact that it is filled with olives trees, the source of olives for olive oil. Some of the trees in the garden are very, very old--one is purported to go back to the time of Jesus.
The Garden of Gethsemane is the place where Jesus prayed on the night he was arrested. It was a very human prayer as he faced the prospect of his own death. "If it is your will, Father, remove this cup from me--but not my will, but yours." The story raises many difficult questions about discerning the will of God--and just what God wills! Much food for thought.
Next to the garden is the Roman Catholic Church of All Nations, sometimes called the Basilica of the Agony. The current building was built in the twentieth century and consecrated in 1924. But it rests on the foundations of two earlier church buildings, dating back to the thirteenth and fourth centuries.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the unintended meaning of a sign posted on the outside walls of the Basilica.
Yes, I realize they are talking about tour guide patter, but heaven help us if we ever take such directions more literally! We must be forever seeing to understand and explain the faith! Yes, at times it may come down to mystery, but that shouldn't mean we should check our brains at the church (or synagogue or mosque or temple) door! No hats or caps? That's another matter!
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