“I rejoiced when they said to me ‘We are going to the house of the Lord’ ”j…???
Our feet stood inside your gates O Jerusalem …. (Psalms 122)
“From top of mountScopus” …. A popular Israeli song describes the longing of hundreds of generations to view the beauty of this city.
When I stand atop Mt.Scopus and look down at the beauty of Jerusalem, I cannot ignore the thoughts and emotions that this view evokes in me.This city, its wonderful buildings, numerous shrines, and ancient walls embody almost every human emotion that exists in our hearts. This might sound strange but that is what makes this place so explosive with passion.I can observe Love in the carved arches; I can feel Arrogance in the tall towers, Jealousy in the hidden competition between church, mosque and synagogue.
I think of those who walked all their life towards this city and when I am at the gates, I think of those that marched and died at this entranceway to the city. When I step on the large Roman street floors, I look at my shoes and imagine footprints of those who walked here before me: prints of Roman sandals, Israeli Paratrooper’s Red Boots, and the prints of the children from as far back as biblical times.To look at this city today would reveal a city full of contrasts: Holy vs. Secular, Ancient vs. Modern, Sad vs. Happy, and Quiet vs. Celebration.These contrasts are what draw all sorts of people to this vibrant place.
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age
And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the broad places thereof”.
