Joy of Service

It’s always a blessing when your passion, skills, and purpose align when serving others. You may be physically tired or emotionally drained, but still you know it’s what you’re called to do. You realize you’ve provided value and you have a sense of your true self. It doesn’t have to be a spectacular accomplishment. In fact, most of us realize these blessings in simple everyday encounters rather than milestone events or large initiatives.

Ecce Homo guests can be quite appreciative when you serve them meals and help them at the reception desk, but many of our task assignments are quite basic functions which go largely unnoticed. The Ecce Homo staff community are supportive and encouraging. Every day they point out things for us to learn or coach us on how to improve. As Maha, the dining room director, instructed us about cleaning and setting up breakfast tables, she stressed, “We are a team,” and thanked us for being there.

I enjoy most of the assigned tasks, but my favorites are actually polar opposites – reception, and solitary tasks like sweeping and mopping. Sweeping the outside steps at 6:45 a.m. is a holy moment for me, as I reflect on all the pilgrims who will be entering Ecce Homo that day. What countries will they be from? What prayers will they lift up while meditating on Jesus’ suffering and death on their behalf? What parts of the Old City will be their forever memories? Believe me, these reflections are quite helpful when removing cigarette butts, candy wrappers, and other assorted trash from the outsides planters.

There is a public viewing area behind the Ecce Homo Basilica. The doors are open every day to anyone passing by on the Via Dolorosa. One of my ongoing assignments is to keep the area clean, including sweeping and mopping. Many approaching pilgrims pause, deciding whether it’s worth their time to step in and look through the Plexiglass. I enjoy encouraging them to do so. When they do, I describe how the three arches built by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 180 AD were originally a marketplace entrance on the outskirts of ancient Jerusalem, and how one of the smaller arches is now incorporated as part of the altar in the Ecce Homo Basilica. Click on Hadrian Arch to see a schematic of the original Hadrian Arch with a depiction of the portion within Ecce Homo.

The Ecce Homo community is special. Sure, there are discussions like, “What do you think about Harry and Meghan?” But we all are very interested in immersing ourselves in the people, culture, and biblical sites of the Holy Land. We also have a lot of fun. One of the volunteers, Clarisse, is a French college student. She’s taking a break before deciding on a major, by serving at Ecce Homo. In an effort to learn Arabic, she spends time with Palestinian staff. Nahla, a longtime Ecce Homo reception desk staff person, is fluent in four languages. Nahla has found that it’s easier to learn languages through song; she is teaching Clarisse Arabic love songs.

While working in the dining prep room, Clarisse sang one of these songs. I asked what it’s about. Clarisse said it’s a romantic song from a woman’s perspective, who says, “I write your name on every leaf of the tree but you only write my name in the sand.” There was another where the woman says she’s waited for the man all her life, but he can’t even wait a minute for her. Later, I asked Nahla, “Are all Arabic romantic songs about the woman loving the man more that he loves her?” Nahla said, “Yes, the woman is all about love.” I continued, “Aren’t there any songs about ‘I love you, you love me, we are happy’?” Nahla smiled and said, “Yes, those songs are sung by Barney the pretend dinosaur.”

A recent guest shared that this was his second time visiting Jerusalem and staying at Ecce Homo. He said coming to the Old City was quite special, and that Ecce Homo was part of that experience. A group of Polish pilgrims also stayed at Ecce Homo for several days. In addition to the typical tour day excursions, they reserved the Basilica for morning and evening prayers, as well as for Mass. Upon departure, they had a unique way of signing the Ecce Homo guestbook, expressing their appreciation. In addition to having a talented artist who depicted everyone in their group, they wrote out the Beatitudes in Polish.