A trek in the holy land: A pilgrim’s story

The year 1980 marked the official commissioning of the Uganda martyrs church in Rome. To commemorate the grand occasion, the Archbishop of Kampala(later cardinal), Emmanuel Nsubuga together with other members of the Ugandan episcopal conference organised a pilgrimage where over 500 Ugandans travelled to holy places in Italy, France and Israel.

Charles Lwanga Makumbi, 70, a veteran journalist and resident of Musigula village in Rubaga Kampala was among the lucky ones who made the memorable pilgrimage even though he had to find a place from Tororo diocese allocation at the intervention of Cardinal Nsubuga.

Then, Uganda was still recovering from the 1979 Liberation war that drove Idi Amin out of power and there was an economic crisis in the country.
It was not easy for one to make such an expensive trip. President Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa then at the helm, played his part by ensuring the Central Bank provides the required dollars to the Catholic church to make the trip a reality. (At the time one dollar went for Shs7 and those travelling had to part with about Shs 15,000) for all expenses to and fro the pilgrimage.

For Makumbi, raising the required amount was not easy. First of all he had to lie at his work place that he had a critically ill child and badly needed a loan of Shs5,000 for her treatment, a lie he considered good since it was to take him to Jesus’ land . He raised the rest of the money through well-wishers and friends. He travelled by the third Kenyan Airways flight out of Entebbe .

In Italy, the Ugandans visited St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, St Francis of Assisi shrine among other religious sites before heading to Lourdes, France. Israel, the land of Jesus was their next destination everyone was looking forward to.

On arrival at the airport in Tel Aviv, an immigration official smiled on learning they were from Uganda. “Idi Amin, we had just been at Entebbe. Amin had long forgotten we built his beautiful airport,” he reminded them of that daring raid. It was this holy land tour that Makumbi lives to share his experience.

Sea of Galilee
Here, we learned that the main economic activity taking place long even before Jesus was born was fishing. This was where Jesus assembled his disciples, turning the fishers of fish into fishers of men.

Not far away from here, at Cana, my mind immediately switched to the first miracle Jesus performed of turning water into wine. I thought this was one place many Ugandan drunkos and brewery managers would certainly love to visit.
Meanwhile to the western shores of the Sea of Galilee, lies lake Gennesaret. It was here that I came to learn of the famous motto,” Duc In Altum (Put out into the deep), a Latin phrase used to encourage people that with God’s help anything is possible. This comes from Luke 5: 2-6 where Jesus advised fishermen to go into the deep waters and lower their nets in order to get a big catch.

The Church of Nativity
I was very shocked to discover that Muslims controlled Jesus’ birth place of Bethlehem. The mosque of Omar shared the famous Manger Square with the Church of Nativity which holds a prominent religious significance to both Christians and Muslims. Here, Jesus and Mary were a big deal to Muslims as well.

For Muslims, Jesus is a major prophet and they also revere Mary. We were told, an entire chapter in the holy Koran is devoted to her. It was here that I came to learn that not all Arabs are Muslims.

We met an Arab Christian, we asked him when his family converted. He said about 2,000 years ago when Jesus’ disciples were doing missionary work around his village. At the church of Nativity, the grotto is the focal point of every visitor.
You take the steps by the church altar down into what is regarded as the sight of Christ’s birth. A silver star on the floor marks the very spot where the son of God was born. I felt great and lucky being here and didn’t mind dying from this very spot at that very moment.

I knew I would straight away go to heaven. And not far away from the Church of Nativity, I almost shed tears remembering when and where Mary was told, “there was no room at the inn”, meaning the woman about to deliver would not be welcome in the main quarters but sent to give birth to Jesus in the manger cave, where the animals hung out. In comparison to Uganda, I thought of the likes of International hospital Kampala and a third rate maternity clinic somewhere in Katanga.

The Calvary (Golgotha)

Visiting Calvary, the hill outside ancient Jerusalem walls where Jesus was crucified brings back those best Easter memories. Seeing the Calvary makes one get the courage of offering themselves to be crucified should an opportunity arise. Then there was this Mount of Olives, the spot from where Jesus is said to have ascended to heaven.

Here, Jesus’ footsteps can still be seen on a rock . We each parted with a dollar to get access to this place. Many Ugandans struggled to place their rosaries and other valuables at this place for special blessings. Later we were taken around the Temple Mount, considered by many to be the closest place on earth to God in heaven.
For this reason, the Jews believe Abraham came here to sacrifice his son Isaac. The golden dome of the rock shrine marks its summit. For Muslims, this rock marks the spot where the prophet Mohammad journeyed to heaven. It’s the third most holy place in Islam.

Mount of Temptation

The Mount of Temptation, with a gravity-defying monastery clinging to its sheer face, is traditionally regarded as the mountain on which Christ was tempted by the devil during his 40-day fast.

The summit of the mount, about 360 metres above sea level, offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab and Gilead. The Mount of Temptation is about 5km north-west of Jericho.

Access to the summit is by a 30-minute trek up a steep path — passing through the cliffhanging monastery on the way — or by a five-minute cable car ride from Jericho. Unlike some Greek Orthodox monasteries, the Monastery of the Temptation allows women visitors as well as men.
The mountain is also known as Mount Quarantania and Jebel Quarantul. Both names arise from a mispronunciation of the Latin word Quarentena, meaning 40, the number of days of Christ’s fast. This period of fasting became the model for the practice of Lent in Christian churches.

Dead Sea
Finally, I will never forget my visit to the Dead Sea believed to be the lowest point on earth and one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water. To our amusement, the Dead Sea waters made everyone float.

For me, this was another miracle experienced in the land of Jesus. Other holy places Ugandan pilgrimages visited in Israel included Nazareth, Jesus’ home town and surprisingly Israel’s largest Arab city.

Elsewhere, there was the Church of Multiplication of loaves and fish built upon the place where according to the Bible the 5,000 people who gathered, to hear Jesus preach were miraculously fed by two fish and five loaves of bread.

Benefits of the visit
In all, Makumbi remarks that even for those that are not religious, a visit to the holy land can prove such a spiritual experience of a lifetime.
He says since that historic visit, life has never been the same again and whenever he reads the bible he can clearly see the places being mentioned and where Jesus did this and that. He now feels more of a believer , having seen all for himself instead of depending on hearsay.
For instance, during this Easter time when the priest preaches and mentions the likes of the Calvary he will have the actual picture in mind unlike those that have never visited it.

He, is however, still puzzled as to why the people of Israel or Jews showed little interest in most Christian sites visited, to an extent of abandoning most to be managed by Palestinians and Muslims.

Unlike in places like Lourdes in France where both foreigners and natives could be seen praying, in Israel it was mainly the visitors while the Jews looked on unbothered.

Well, Charles could be right, for while Jesus lived and died in Israel, today Europe seems to be the focal point of Christianity. Little wonder that three of Jesus’ core apostles preached and died away from Israel. St Peter and John died in Rome while St James died in Spain where he is highly adored and popularly known as St Santiago.