Holy Ground

Ah.. the joys of travel!! It’s taken a while to get the internet situation sorted out since there is wireless access in a very limted area of the building in which we are staying that, inconveniently, has no electrical outlets. This means that I need to use battery power when I am online. Not ususally a problem since the computer can easily be recharged. Unfortunately, my computer battery kept losing power even though I was leaving it plugged in while away from my room. It turns out that, when I leave my room and take the key card (which also opens the door) with me, all the electricity in the room goes off until I return to my room with the key card. (who knew?) I finally figured out that I need to charge the computer at night while I am actually in the room. There is also an issue with the puny wireless connection, which doesn't seem to be able to upload pictures before timing out. We'll be in Jerusalem in a couple of days and I am hoping that the internet access there will allow for photos, of which I have many. So... here's how the past few days have been....

January 7 Friday
Despite the major jetlag for almost all of the 32 participants in this pilgrimage, we went directly from baggage claims and customs in Tel Aviv to a bus which drove us to Galilee in Northern Israel. We passed the archeological dig of Migda (Magdala) a small fishing village on the shores of the Sea (Lake) of Galilee. The dig is currently closed to the public, so we didn’t stop. The first place we did stop was the uninhabited ancient town of Kafer Nahum (Capernaum) another village on the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus lived in the house of Peter and where many miracles were performed, i.e. the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and the healing of the paralytic who was lowered by his friends through the roof of Peter’s house. There is a small church built over what is traditionally considered to be the ruins of Peter’s home. While it is far from certain that the place is the actual location of Peter’s house, archeological digs have uncovered evidence of churches being built on this spot as early as the 4th century. The ruins are clearly visible as the new church has been built in a way to allow access underneath. For those of us interested in symbolism, I find it quite interesting that the 4th and 5th century buildings were constructed in an octagonal shape, the same shape as early baptismal fonts, with the eight sides symbolizing the 8 days of creation. (The first seven recorded in Genesis and the 8th day of creation being when Jesus rose and made all things new.) The current church, constructed in the 1980’s, is circular with several ceiling to floor windows of clear glass. A few hundred feet from the church are the reconstructed ruins of the synagogue at Kafer Nahum. There was a bit of time to pray and meditate, but, since it was pouring, our activity was mostly indoors.

Very weary and soaking wet from the long walk back to the bus, we then rode to the Inn of the Beatitudes, the place where we will stay for our 4 days in Galilee. The Inn is at the top of the mountain (really more like a hill) traditionally considered as the place described in Matthew where Jesus gave the sermon on the mount. It overlooks the Sea of Galilee and one can see nearby the evidence of a naturally formed ampitheator which would have made it a likely place for the gathering of over 5,000 people that is mentioned in the scriptures. We settled in, had an orientation to our surroundings, ate an excellent meal, and retired early since breakfast is at 7 AM and our daily activities began at 8 AM.

January 8 - Saturday
We began outdoors in the rain, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, with a reflection on the Beatitudes. I always thought there were eight beatitudes and was surprised to learn that some consider there to be nine in Matthew’s account. There are also other places in Scripture where beatitudes are found, but more about that later.

We then piled in the Bus and took a short drive to Tabgah, which is the traditional place where Jesus had breakfast on the beach with the disciples after the resurrection. There are actually two places within a few yards of each other that claim to be THE spot. Churches are built in both places and both have a large rock similar to that described by Egeria, a 3rd century Christian pilgrim who travelled the Holy Land and wrote very detailed letters to her family and friends at home. At the first spot we were able to actually go down to the shore. Most of us took off our shoes and socks to see if we could walk on water.

Alas! As you may have guessed no one managed. I did manage to fill a small travel bottle of with water from the lake and found some freshwater shells on its shore, a few of which, will hopefully make it back to California intact. At the second site, the famous byzantine mosaic of the loaves and fishes is in a much larger church. After some time to meditate, take photos, and visit the very excellent gift shop we celebrated a blessing of loaves and “fish” – real bread--prayer card fish, in a quiet, covered (yes, it is still raining) spot overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Our next stop was the Genneset museum which has an ancient 1st- 2nd century C.E. fishing boat on display. We viewed a short film on the history of the boat and then got to see the preserved boat itself. The boat was found in the Lake (Sea of Galilee) in 1985. The story of its excavation and preservation is a testament to creativity and determination. There is lively debate about whether it could actually be one of the boats that Jesus rode in during his many trips back and forth across the lake, whether it was one of the boats sunk in the Roman massacre that took place about 70 C.E., or if it is simply the remains of the boat of a simple fisherman. We then visited the museum and a few of us were fortunate enough to stumble upon a demonstration of how a Jewish prayer shawl is used and to have the symbolism of the shawl explained. I now have a very concrete image of how the scene between the woman with hemorrhage and Jesus might have unfolded. We had a late lunch at the museum, followed by a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where the Jewish captain invited us to try to walk on water (we all declined) and then wearily rolled back to the Inn of the Beatitudes.

I downloaded my pictures, and, despite my intention to check email, etc., had a 2 hour nap. We gathered that evening for about an hour to recall the insights and surprises of the day, had dinner (most of the women at my table had never tasted tabouli or persimmons) and called it a night.

Sunday, we travel to Nazareth, where we will celebrate Eucharist with the Arab Christian Catholic community, then visit Mt. Tabor and Mt. Arbel.