To Jerusalem with a detour

As the group travelled from Galilee to Jerusalem, the route was down the valley of the Jordan River as far as the Dead Sea. Both represent the border between Israel and Jordan, and much of the journey was alongside the electronic fence by which the Israelis monitor any attempts to cross, either by terrorist or economic migrant.

For the latter there are good reasons to want to do so, because the average monthly wage in Israel is ten times that in Jordan, for instance. In addition, many people fleeing Darfur have walked the painful and dangerous route to the Israeli border.

Once we left the Jezreel plain we were in more difficult terrain to farm, but the various intensive and often ingenious techniques used by the Israel farmers truly make barren land productive.

Then we were into the Judean hills and the beginnings of the desert. It is a Martian landscape when we are out of sight of water, as we are most of the time because the Jordan River at this time and in this part of its length is a very small river indeed. The mountains are dry beige, in some parts riddled with small caves. Close to the roadside is dry stony land and it is easy to imagine how difficult it was to travel on foot in the time of Jesus.

Eventually we've gone beyond where he would have turned off for Jerusalem and drive by Qu'ran where the first Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in one of the caves in 1947 by a shepherd trying to find his dog.

Finally we stopped at the oasis of Ein Gedi, which is also a national park protecting some typical flora and fauna of the region. The animals seen locally include the little Rock Hyrex, which looks like a hare but is actually related in DNA terms to the elephant. The Tristram's Starling is a bird which always seems to be whistling for your attention. The most prolific bush is the Christ Thorn, also known as the Jujube tree.

This is, as the name implies, the bush from which the original Crown of Thorns was made. It is a bush that won't die simply by cutting it down or even by trying to eradicate the roots ... it will simply grow again in even greater profusion. The people of ancient times knew this and found it best to let it grow tall, where its upper leaved branches formed a canopy from the shade.

The lower thorny branches burn well and were often gathered and stored for kindling. It is believed that from one such stored bundle in the yard of the prison where Jesus was being taunted by the soldiers the 'crown' was twisted together and stuck on his head.

So at a relatively quiet point on a track inside the park it seemed appropriate that mass be celebrated for the Kilcullen pilgrims in the shade of a grove of these Christ Thorns.



It also happened to be Mission Sunday. The theme for the day, Fr Murphy said, was to 'reflect on God's love'. "The best way is, within ourselves, to be aware of God's love for us, and externally by our behaviour."

Concelebrant and fellow pilgrim Fr Niall Thornton spoke about the need for vocations to the priesthood and asked those present to 'pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send laborours to work in his fields'. "You are all missionaries in your own areas," he said. "Keep your eyes fixed on your spiritual needs as well as your material ones."

Later in the afternoon, following lunch and then a 'swim' in the Dead Sea -- you can't really swim in it, partly because of the extraordinary buoyancy and also because you daren't splash the salts-saturated water into your eyes -- we drove up through the hills and then got our first glimpse of Jerusalem.

The modern city on several hills is quite dramatic enough, but as Abie explained, it would have been substantially much more so in the time of Jesus, when the Rock of the Dome and the inhapitants of the old city were surrounded by walls towering twice as high as they appear today. Looming out of the desert as one crossed over the Mount of Olives, it would have been at the same time intimidating, reassuring, and welcoming ... depending on your status and citizenship.

At a strategic lookout point, funded by the Hass family, the full panorama of old and new Jerusalem lies below the incoming traveller. After a detailed explanation of the various parts of the city, including the different churches, mosques and cemeteries in our view, Fr Murphy led a reading of the psalm relating to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem'.

Our hotel for the duration of our time in Jerusalem was part of the Kibbutz Ramat Rachel complex overlooking the city from its south-east. The kibbutz has sold some of its land for development but still maintains some farming as well as having diversified into hotel, sports club, and conference businesses.

Reported from Jerusalem by the Accidental Pilgrim.