Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Our trip culminated with a celebration of Jesus’ ascension (40 days after Easter) at the Garden Tomb. This park overlooks a stony hillside with rocks that look like a skull, which may be an alternative location for Golgotha where Jesus was crucified and buried (instead of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). The tour guide said he didn’t want to disappoint us—but there wouldn’t be a body in the tomb!

We gathered for devotions from Luke 24 and Acts 1. After Jesus had ascended to heaven, the disciples were asked, “Why are you standing here looking heavenward?” It was a call to action, just as the women were asked on Easter morning, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

The service seemed to be a fitting end to our travels. We have seen many biblical sites—most of which are traditional spots because we don’t know exactly where things happened. We have also built relationships with many people we have met, especially some Palestinian Christians and peacemakers in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. More than historical places, we discovered the living story of Christ in the people and places we visited.

Jesus said, “You are to be my disciples to Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As we are leaving Jerusalem and heading home, we are talking about what this trip has meant to us and where we go from here.

Please join us next Sunday, May 23, at 10:15 am to hear our stories and the stories of Living Stones in the Holy Land.

(Betsy Hoium)