In my last post I told you that Butch and I participated in a pilgrimage to Israel. Our tour leader was Mike Fanning and our pastor, Trey Little, was co-leader. Mike took care of the archeology and Trey took care of the spirituality. Two busloads of people, mostly from our church, toured from one end of Israel to the other. More than a check-off on the bucket list, it was indeed the trip of a lifetime.

People who had been before warned me that I would never read the Bible the same way nor think about Jesus the same way. This was certainly my experience. For instance, I was amazed at how small Israel is and how close together all the famous biblical sites are. The gospels are jammed packed with stories about Jesus and his travels from this town to that village. But while sailing on the Sea of Galilee, Mike pointed out that the area of Jesus’ ministry encompassed less than a quarter of the shore. I was shocked. Such big things happening in such a small area. How I read the Bible will never be the same.

I learned that Jesus probably traveled to a large Roman city, Sepphoris, that was within a few miles of Nazareth in order to work as a carpenter. While he was there he was undoubtedly exposed to Roman culture, religion, architecture and society. He was not the small-town, unsophisticated boy that I have always pictured. I will never think of him in the same way.

Before the trip I expected that visiting the Garden Tomb would be spiritually overwhelming. But no. It was interesting and enlightening, but not the knock-your-socks-off experience I was sure it would be. I anticipated that I would feel the crush of historic and spiritual significance at the Wailing Wall. But again, no. Don’t misunderstand; both were significant experiences, just not as I imagined.

Where I did experience the most profound spiritual experience was in the Garden of Gethsemane. I’m not going to write about it here. But if you go to this link (click here) you will be taken to a reflection I recorded for Morningside Ministries* and hear what I experienced that morning. In the video you will see a photo of what I saw as I gazed across the Kidron Valley toward the walls of the Old City. As I saw what Jesus saw it helped me to understood more profoundly what he experienced. Now I know him better. I certainly will never think of him the same way.

Moving through Lent toward Holy Week and Easter Sunday always causes me to pause and reflect on what Jesus was doing and feeling on those days. However, this year my Garden experience is illuminating my meditations of that time so long ago and what it means in my life today. Jesus was called to stand during the most agonizing time of his life. And he did it faithfully. I will never be called to stand and wait to be arrested and then crucified, but every day I am called to stand. I’m called to stand in difficult situations from which I’d rather run. I’m called to stand and wait patiently when what I’d rather do is run, or scream, or threaten to get my way and get it now. My hope and prayer is for me, and for you, to stand when called to do so and to do so faithfully.

Woodpile Kitty hopes for you a meaningful Lenten season in preparation for a joyous Easter.

* The website mmLearn.org is a service of Morningside Ministries. mmLearn was created and designed for caregivers, both those who work in care facilities and those who care for loved ones at home. The webcast, Called to Stand: A Lenten Reflection, is part of mmLearn’s Prayers for a Caregiver series which offers spiritual support to caregivers in the home.