A Call To Discovery

Those who have been to the Holy Land often come back to report a surprise: it is so very small. Especially Jerusalem. No matter how many Bible atlases one has studied, one is hardly prepared for the discovery that the “old city” of Jerusalem-the very center of the drama of human history-is little more than three thousand feet from wall to wall. Here is the Golden Gate of the Palm Sunday entrance; a few minutes walk and one stands at the place of judgment where Jesus was handed over to be crucified; then it is but a short stroll to the place of crucifixion. Over there to your right, just a short hop across the Kidron Valley, is the Mount of Olives. A few hundred yards away is the wall of the great temple, the “Wailing Wall” so dear to our Jewish brothers and sisters. If you wish to go to Bethlehem, it is but a five minute taxi ride. It does not seem to…