MY EMMAUS

On Sunday morning we set out from Jerusalem to travel to the Benedictine Monastery located at Abu Ghosh, a forty minute drive in a north west direction from south Jerusalem where I am located. That places Abu Ghosh between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, roughly. Sunday is the first day of the week in the Holy Land. In other words, Sunday in Jerusalem is like Monday in London, Ontario. The streets are full of workers headed to their jobs in offices, factories, retail shops, banks and every type of service industry that comes to mind. We arrived in tranquil Abu Ghosh twenty minutes prior to the start of worship.
The church is a crusader church. That is to say the crusaders re-built the church in the 10th and 11th centuries. When they arrived the foundations were largely intact and were protecting the highly valuable water supply that flows from springs as they leave the hillside. Cisterns are found below the lower most floor and foundations of the present building. The flow of water exists below the eastern foundations and mosque which is attached to the church. Water is precious in a land where water has always been scarce. Palm trees line the perimeter of the inner courtyard.
Luke 24:13-35 describes an appearance of the resurrected Jesus to two followers, Cleopas and another who remains unnamed, as they walk along a road headed for Emmaus from Jerusalem. While the specific location of this event is uncertain, religious imagination places it at Abu Ghosh. This church and those that stood in this location before it commemorate that Emmaus Road experience. Here, the Benedictine community continue a vital Christian presence.
A bell rings to signal that worship will begin in about five minutes. Timothy, one of our group is a Benedictine monk and has made himself known to the abbott (the leader of the Monastery) and he will join the abbott as mass is celebrated. This is a special moment in Timothy’s life and our group is very pleased for him. The mass is in French and Latin. We have been prepared with English translations of the scripture readings.
What most Protestants find curious about the Benediction tradition is that music is generously used. Beautiful Gregorian chant is the main medium. With exception of the homily or sermon the entire worship will be sung. This church is one of three in the Holy Land with near perfect acoustics and I am not disappointed. With great solemn dignity the Benediction sisters and monks process from their chambers and enter the sanctuary. The pungent aroma of incense punctuates the silence as they make their entrance. The mass begins.
It is said that the earth has "thin places." Locations where the distance between this world and the spiritual world of God and all the saints is small, negligible. This is one of those places. This is one of those moments in time for me. In preparation for the reading of the Gospel lesson (John 1:35-42) the holy scripture is offered up to God as a holy gift in incense. The book is then elevated and walked to the place of reading. A Benedictine sister begins to play an ancient stringed instrument most accurately described as an angels harp that looks like an over-grown mandolin on a wooden stand. The notes float heavenward and the selected reader begins to offer up the Gospel reading.
I become aware of a trembling deep within and tears begin to flow freely down my cheeks as a salty offering to God in this moment of tender beauty. In this cold, unheated stone structure I feel greatly warmed as God’s reaches to me and cradles my heart with His divine and healing hand. God is here in this place. If the intention of the worship is to transport the worshipper heavenward so that God can indeed be known, then praise be to God, for it has been successful. I am there. This is a holy moment. I have found myself quite unexpectedly in a "thin place." The reading from the Gospel of John poses a question worth pondering as Jesus asks, "What are you looking for?" Some of his followers respond with their own question, "Where are you going?" and Jesus extends the invitation, "Come and see."
The beauty of the Benedictine worship of God in this sacred place has been a vehicle that has transported me to that place where I am able to acknowledge to myself, if to no other, that these are questions that live in my heart and soul. I will "come and see" .... and I will not let these questions be easily satisfied.