By Jay Phelan

We are nearing the end of our Lenten journey. We have been traveling the road “up” to
Jerusalem with Jesus and his disciples. One always goes “up” to Jerusalem, since it is on a hill
and visible for miles.

At the time of Jesus, Herod’s Temple, one of the great wonders of the ancient world, would gleam in the sun and draw the traveler’s eyes. If you have ever visited Jerusalem, you know that there is almost nothing left from the time of Jesus. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans not once, but twice, and suffered many depredations over the centuries to come.

But in recent decades, excavations have uncovered the road that led from the base of the temple mount to the temple itself. This road was certainly there at the time of Jesus. To this day, there are piles of rubble left from the first destruction alongside the road.

This road, Jesus certainly traveled. And in the coming weeks, we will travel it with him; bearing
his cross as he said we would and moving not simply toward death—but new life.