Bringing Faith to Life: The Pool at Bethzatha and St. Anne's Church

Oh what a day! It’s sunny outside. While there is a chance of rain later on in the day, it does hold off as we journey throughout the Old City. Rain is always a gift from God. The area is naturally dry. January and February are considered to be the rainy season here, averaging between 4-5 inches per month. The rainy season means approx 11 days with some precipitation. In late January/early February it has been known to snow in Jerusalem. Nothing like we are experiencing here in Alexandria. A person from my church has now recorded 42 inches of the white stuff. The day we left, February 2, there was some mention of the “S” word for the next day. The week before we arrived the temperature had dropped to 17 degrees. This week we are so very blessed with average temperatures, in the range of the upper 60s for the days’ highs. Ahhh, my kind of weather!

I can’t imagine walking all the places where we have walked in the rain or the hot sun. For me, the weather could’t be more perfect. Some people thinks it’s really chilly, but no one really complains. I understand why the recommendation is to dress in layers. One place can be chilly and a few meters away the next place is warm.

Our day begins early so as to beat the crowds. The lines will be long, especially when we reach The church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the 11th – 14th stations of the cross are located. Here we will see a possible sight for Calvary and the tomb. As Dennis said, “We stand in line to see what? Nothing.” After all, “He is not here.” But in line we stood for at least an hour. Good thing we were early. Louie told us the lines can get really long. Since the sites of visitation for Calvary and the tomb are small, only a few people can enter at any one time.

But back to the order of our day.

We begin our day at the Pool of Bethzatha (Bethesda), the site where it is believed Jesus healed the invalid at the Pool of Bethzatha. GASP – the healing occurred on the Sabbath. Remember the story? (John 5:1-9, 9b-18). We then heard the story of a man who was born blind and received his sight (John 9:1-41).

There was once a gate there called the Sheep Gate, near where a sheep market was held, and animals to be used in the city's sacrifices were washed in the pool.
This site is located next to the Church of St. Anne. It is numbered among the longest preserved sacred places in the city, since according to tradition it arose over the place where once stood the house of Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Virgin, who is supposed to have been born here.

This church is a beautiful 12th-century Crusader church, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of Anne (Hannah), the mother of Mary. Saint Anne's acoustics, designed for Gregorian chant, are so perfect that the church is virtually a musical instrument to be played by the human voice. We sang “Amazing Grace “ and “How Great thou Art.” We sounded really, really good. Mary Ann then sang “Ave Maria.” This was one of my mother’s favorite songs and sent chills up and down my spine.

The Church of St. Anne’s is situated at the Lion's Gate, Old City, Jerusalem. At the entrance to the church was a priest from France whose order has been responsible for the church for centuries. His job, while we were there, was to hold back net doors. These doors keep the pigeons out. Guess what kind of shoes he was wearing. Not sandals. He was wearing blue clogs.