It was very
early in the morning when we set out on our journey. Behind us the sun
began to caress the circular blue lake of Galilee, showing signs of
its first light of dawn. Alongside was Capernaum, lazily shaking off
her drowsiness. We did not even turn our backs to bid our city goodbye.
But only set our eyes for Jerusalem. The joy of the Paschal feast filled
our hearts and there was really no time to look back...
Peter: Hey guys, be sure you have your sandals well tied and
your canes in order, ’cuz we have three days ahead of us on the road!
On our first night we camped out in Ginae. Then we took the road toward
the mountains up to Gilgal... We then passed through the arid and yellow
lands of Judea... Our eyes were fixed on any sign of the holy city as
we climbed from hill to hill.... Suddenly, everyone gave out a loud
cry...
John: Run everybody... we can see the city!!
On one of the roads, on top of Anathoth, the city seemed resplendent
to us. The walls of Jerusalem shone above Mount Zion. Their white palaces,
their strong gates and their massive towers sparkled... At the center
was the holy temple of the God of Israel, its most precious gem.
Peter: Long live Jerusalem and all her pilgrims!
Jerusalem, the city of peace, was the treasure of all Israelites: the
capital of our country, conquered by the astute arm of Joab a thousand
years ago, where King David entered dancing, as he carried the ark of
the covenant and where King Solomon constructed the temple made of
cedar, gold and marble, admired all over the world... For the last leg
of our journey, we joined the caravans of pilgrims from the north, from
Perea and Decapolis, to partake of the Paschal lamb in Jerusalem. We
entered through the Gate of the Fish. Beside this was the Antonia Fortress,
the building most hated by all of us: it was the headquarters of the
Roman garrison and the palace of Pontius Pilate whenever he stayed in
the city.
Peter: Spit
on it and let’s get away from here! The mere sight of the eagle of Rome
upsets my stomach!
John: Swine! If only I could kill you by squeezing your necks!
Jesus: Don’t kill anyone now, John. Right now we gotta look
for a place for ouselves. With so many people, I’m afraid we’ll all
end up sleeping in the open air!
Peter: Follow me guys! I’ve got a friend who lives near the
Gate of the Valley. He’s like a brother, you see. His name is Mark.
Peter: Dammit,
Mark, we meet at long last! Friend, my dear friend, gimme five, man!
Mark: Peter?!... Peter, the stone-thrower, the biggest rascal
in the whole of Galilee! But what are you doing here, bad man? Herod’s
men must be after your head, ha, ha, ha!
Peter: We’ve come to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem, like
faithful followers of the law of Moses, ha, ha, ha!
Mark: Tell that to the marines, Peter. You must have smuggled
something from Capernaum!
Peter: Well, yes, I have smuggled a dozen friends. Hey guys,
this is Mark. I love him more than Cleotilde, my boat! Mark, you can
trust all of them! We’ve formed a group. We’re planning to do something.
This Moreno here is Jesus, the noisiest of the group and this freckled
fellow is Simon...
Mark: Well, well, let’s have the introductions later. Now let’s
go inside. I’ve got a half barrel of wine, earmarked especially for
a dozen Galileans to drink!
Peter: Now? Are you out of your mind? We just came!
Matthew: So what? We’re all tired from the journey... We can...
we can have a little toast, since those thieves from Samaria made it
difficult for us!
John: To hell with you, Matthew. You only think of drinking!
Peter: You’d better tell us where we can spend the night.
Mark: Well, let’s go to Shiloh’s inn! You can stay there for
a couple of days! The place is big enough, and the smell will suit you
Galileans. C’mon, let’s go there! But always stick with your group!
With so many people around, it’s so easy to get lost in the crowd.
On the days of the Passover, Jerusalem seemed like a huge cauldron teeming
with 40,000 inhabitants from the city, 400,000 pilgrims from all over
the country, plus herds and herds of lambs filling up in the atrium
of the temple, waiting to be sacrificed on the altar stone....
Thomas: One moment, one moment! Before we look for an i..i..inn,
why don’t we all go the temple of God. First things f..f..first. He
who doesn’t visit the temple when he comes to Jerusalem, gets his r..r..right
hand paralyzed and becomes m..m..mu..mute.
John: Thomas is talking from experience...
Peter: That’s right, fellas, let’s all go to the temple and
say hello to the angels!
John: Let’s give thanks for having gotten here safe and sound!
Jesus: That’s it. That the Lord of Israel may bless all of us
who have come to celebrate the Passover!
Thousands of pilgrims shoved each other just to pass through the arches
of the famous Temple of Solomon. There was shouting in the air, prayers
and promises, merging with the pervading smell of burned fat from the
sacrificed animals. A number of money changers stood by the walls as
several junk dealers shouted out their merchandise... It was like the
tower of Babel all over again.
Mark: Damn these vendors! Their screamings could bust your
eardrums...! Let’s all go to the atrium of the Jews! They must be going
up the steps now.
John: Who’re they, Mark?
Mark: The penitents. They’re here to fulfill their vows during
the year... Look, there they are now!
A group of men in sackcloth, and pouring handfuls of ashes on their
heads, were climbing the steps of the atrium. Thick rosaries of amulets
were hanging around their arms and necks. Their knees had become rough
from having knelt on stones...
Peter: Why’re they doing this, Mark?
Mark: They fast for seven days before the feast and now, they
present themselves before the priests.
Jesus: And these priests haven’t told them that God prefers
love to sacrifices?
Mark: That’s exactly my point. So they want to fast? Well,
why don’t they hide it so that nobody gets to know what they’re doing,
isn’t that right, Jesus... C’mon, let’s go up...
We climbed the steps. There, in one corner, in front of the priests’
atrium, was a group of men, whose faces were covered with the blank
veil of prayers. They were praying ceaselessly, the psalms of the congregation
of the pious. They were the best Pharisees of Jerusalem...
Peter: Well, look at them.... They’re like parrots, repeating
the same thing all over. I wonder if their tongues don’t get twisted
by this...
Mark: They claim to be praying to God, but through the corners
of their eyes, they’re spying on everyone...
Jesus: That’s what they want: for people to look at them. If
they wanted to seek the Lord,
they would pray in private.
Mark: Hey, look who’s coming...!
When we were about to cross the Beautiful Gate, the sound of trumpets
was heard and the crowd moved to one side... All of a sudden there was
a long line of beggars by the Gate’s ark. Then four Levites carrying
a sedan chair appeared. They stopped beside the beggars and put the
chair down on the ground... They opened the curtains and Joseph Caiphas,
the high priest of that year, dressed in white tunic, descended slowly...
With the eyes of an owl he looked nervously on all sides. He wanted
to flaunt his almsgiving to the people, yet he did not want to take
any chances. During the feast last year, a fanatic had thrown a dagger
at him...
Matthew: What a first-class scoundrel we have run into!
Thomas: Don’t say that, Ma-Ma-Matthew. He’s God’s h..h..high
priest.
Matthew: What a priest! His kind is only interested in making
people adulate him...! Look what he’s doing...
Caiphas went toward the beggars and gave them denarii like he was distributing
candies to children... He gave the alms with one hand, while the other
hand displayed a golden cord, a symbol of his authority, which the beggars
were kissing as a gesture of gratitude....
Jesus: If I were God’s high priest, I wouldn’t allow my left
hand to know what my right hand is doing. He’s no more than a hypocrite.
Peter: Nathanael, Jesus, Andrew... Let’s go! It’s gettin’ late
and we haven’t a place to sleep yet!
Mark: Don’t worry too much about the inn. If there’s no place
in Shiloh, you may go to Bethany. The Galileans have an encampment there.
Meantime, you gotta finish the half barrel that I’m offering you, otherwise,
I’m gonna report you to the police!
Mark: I toast to the thirteen countrymen who came all the way
from Galilee to visit the house of this humble merchant of olives!
Peter: Wait a minute, Mark. We didn’t come here to visit you,
rascal. We came for Jerusalem... I toast the holy city of Jerusalem!...
Mark: Don’t believe that, Peter. This city’s no longer as holy
as you think it is. “The temple of Jerusalem, the temple of Jerusalem...!”
Do you know why? Because anyone who visits the temple loses his faith
and leaves it there! If it were only the temple....! Look, do you see
those lights?... They’re from the palaces of the rich barrio... Then
go and look at the huts from the Ophel and the shanties beside the Gate
of Trash... Then the swarm of farmers coming to the city to look for
a job... And what do they find... nothing but misery and black fever.
This city stinks, I tell you, I know this city through and through.
Jesus: You’re right, Mark. It’s built on sand, so
it’ll collapse.
Thomas: They say that Jerusalem’s foundations are
of p..p..pure rock.
Jesus: The only solid rock is justice, Thomas. And
this city is built on ambition and inequalities...
Mark: Well, guys, we’d better head for Bethany
now. Let’s go!
The streets were jammed with people and animals. The smell of baked
unleavened bread pervaded the air, competing with the perfumes of the
most popular prostitutes of Jerusalem. Early during the day they could
be seen displaying themselves and their well-painted faces... In every
corner of the squatters area, there were bets on dice and other games.
All pubs were full of drunk men as the children snuck away with the
left-overs from the tables... We passed through the walls of the Orient.
We crossed the stream of Kidron, which in spring was overflowing...
We ascended the Mount of Olives, until we reached Bethany, where the
Galileans always found shelter to spend the days of the Passover...
Behind us was Jerusalem, full of din and lights. Hunger, injustice and
hypocrisy sleepily, yet happily guarded the walled gates of King David’s
city.