As we walked down the hill towards the Garden of Gethsemane, we passed an ancient Jewish cemetery that is still in use. Then we entered this chapel. It was built to recall the lament of Jesus over Jerusalem, the city of peace. Jesus loved this city and its temple as his own, but he knew that it was bringing destruction upon itself because of its refusal to listen and obey its God.
The chapel which was built in 1955 is shaped in the form of a tear, and from its interior window can be seen a wondrous view of the walled city and its temple mount. The first shrine with beautiful Christian symbols was shrine was built in the 5th century but it was destroyed in 614 A.D. Each of the gospels express Jesus' lament over the city differently.
In Matthew's gospel Jesus expresses the deep desire to enfold the city in his arms, "as a hen gathers her brood under her wings" (Matt 23:37). But "the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it" would not let him. In Mark's gospel, Jesus pauses to curse a fig tree, an Old Testament symbol of Israel, for its lack of fruit (Mark 11:13-14). Like the unproductive tree, Jerusalem would meet its fate because of its failure to bear fruit.
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