Gethsemane

James dropped Susanne, Bruce, Janet, Russ, and me off up on the Mount of Olives to walk down into the Kidron Valley. The hillside in this area is a large cemetery filled with the graves of Jews who are willing to pay what it costs to be buried here with the faithful who hope to be the first resurrected when Christ appears.

When we got to the bottom, we entered a small walled garden, surrounded by a church complex on two sides and traffic filled narrow streets on the other two sides. (No good places to park so James was willing to maneuver through traffic to pick us up at an appointed time and place.)

Once again, the place was not as we might picture it from the scriptures. But it was sheltered and fairly quiet so conducive to a moment of reflection in the shade. No matter where the Garden of Gethsemane actually was or how it looked at the time, the suffering our Savior went through for the benefit of millions of people, some who never consider much less appreciate it, it is a reason to ponder.

 This picture is about half of the garden as it is now. It was purchased by some faithful Christians from Eastern Europe several decades ago as Jerusalem was slowly being built up encroaching on what most Christians would consider holy spots. A large church was built and walls erected to protect the spot.

 It's olive harvesting time, even in the Garden of Gethsemane. There was a monk and 2 gardeners spreading drop-cloths and climbing ladders to pick the olives. Rumor has it that they are pressed, the oil sent to Rome to be used (sold???) as especially holy oil.