Our Last Day -- Friday, December 22nd

Bittersweet.

On the one hand, I don't want to leave.  I want to go back to many of the places we visited and just. soak. in. that. place.  I'd especially like to go back to the Sea of Galilee and just sit on the shore for about a week, reading, praying, talking with people, just being there.

With Moti as a guide, we had an incredibly well-informed, highly educated, proud Jewish citizen of Israel.  He has a Master's in Archeology, and knows quite a bit about the Torah, the Mishnah, the New Testament, and Islam.  So each day we were given intense courses in ... well, everything.  Each day has been like taking a sip of water from a fire hose.  And I know we've just scratched the surface.

On the other hand, we're tired.  And we miss the kids.  And we miss the Christmas season and Christmas activities.  We want to go home.

Today was a "light" day.  We only had three things on the agenda: the Qumran community, Masada, and the Dead Sea.

On the way, we stopped for a camel visit.  That was a kick.

I want a camel.

Qumran was a small community.  To have been such a tiny village and to have created such a wealth in terms of the Dead Sea scrolls?  That  just blows me away.

Then we wound our way around the Dead Sea towards Masada.  Moti explained how how Herod the Great built the complex and his home.  He described the community of Jewish zealots and their families, determined to hold out against the Romans.  Then he shared the details of the Roman 6 month siege, the building of the giant causeway, the last day of battle, the drawing of lots, and the murder/suicide of the defenders.  The murder/suicide of everyone was such an awful choice.  I'm reminded of the inspirational force of the fall of the Alamo.  But multiply that American experience 10 fold;  Masada has been a huge motivational story for Israelis for the last 70 years ...

And finally, we had a wonderful couple of hours at a fun beach at the edge of the Dead Sea.

Rols was thrilled to see all kinds of wildlife today -- a fox, a herd of ibex, and a native rodent.

Tomorrow we fly home.  And begin to process all we've experienced.  

I know a few things already.  This place is old.  The layers of civilization go back thousands of years.  And yet it is very new and vibrant; there is a lot of new construction, technology, and innovation here.  This place is complicated.  Just the problems between the Palestinians and the Jews in Israel is beyond complex.  This place is full of contrasts; it is steeped in divine intervention and unbelievable cruelty, death, and destruction.  This is the place of Jesus.

Oh Lord, bless Moti and his family.  Bless this land and the people here.  Thank you for our time here!  Please inscribe in our hearts whatever lessons You want to teach us from our visit here; help us to really absorb this experience in such a way that it brings us closer to You and to each other.  Be with everybody at home, and bring us all back safely together.  In Jesus name.

Bless you, if you're reading this.  Love, joy, and peace to you.  -- Mary

King David's City, Israel Museum, Yad Vashem 12.21.17

Who would have guessed that King David's tower was actually built by Herod the Great?  Or that the "Room of the Last Supper" was a room actually built by the Crusaders in the 12th Century?  Or that even a gentile like me would be allowed to pray at the Wailing Wall?

Today started early, with another walk through the Old City, especially the Jewish quarter.  Rebuilt after the 1967 War, the ancient Jewish quarter was almost completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.  Our walk ended up near the "Church of the Dormition."  We didn't go into it.  Instead, we turned left into a tower.  An interior room was determined by the Crusaders to be the site of the Last Supper.  (So the Crusaders turned it into a simple church.  Unfortunately, they were wrong. Since the Old City was almost completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 and 134 AD, the Last Supper room had long since disappeared).  When the Muslims retook Jerusalem in the 13th Century, the Muslims found the room and turned it into a mosque.  Now, it's a shared space.

After hiking around the Jewish quarter some more, we headed to the Western Wall.  Rols and I separated to the men's and women's sections and had some prayer time.  Apparently, the Jews believe that when Herod's Temple was destroyed in 134 AD, the "sheikh" moved to the western wall.  I didn't sense any shekinah, but it was cool to pray there.  I left a note with my prayers for Rols' healing.

We did a walking tour of "David's City," which included the water system.  How did tunnelers 2000 years ago manage to chisel a tunnel 500 meters long through solid rock? Moti explained it, but I'm  still a bit flummoxed.  Then we walked down to see the ruins of the Pool of Siloam.

After the morning's work, we were eager for lunch.  We went to the Israel Museum to eat and to see the model of the Old City as it appeared during the 2nd Temple period.  We were enthralled.  Moti spent a long time pointing out aspects about the temple, the gates, the stairs, and the area outside the temple.  Over and over again, he pointed out inaccurate aspects of the model.  Still, it gave me such a feeling of the Jerusalem Jesus knew. 

We ended the day caught up in a protest movement.

Really -- I swear!  It consisted of people in wheelchairs locking down an intersections in order to bring attention to a disability law making it through the Kinneset.

After that excitement, we spent time in the Yad Vashem.   Very, very sobering time, reviewing the Holocaust. 

I'm beat.  In all ways one can be tired, I'm tired tonight.

Bless you.  Mary

Behind Jesus in Jerusalem

Can't write much tonight.  I don't know whether I'm so tired because of the physical demands of the day (8am to 8pm) or the emotional onslaught.

We started by driving to an overlook near the Garden of Gethsemane to see the Old City from the East, as Jesus would have seen it when He came to it for the last time.  Moti pointed out the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, the Kidron Valley, Gehenna, Caiphas' house and the "Hill of the Bad Decision" (Jewish term for the decision to have Jesus put to death).  He gave us the history of the Dome of the Rock complex, and the Islamic walling up of the Eastern gate (because Jews believe that the Messiah would pass through those gates, and the blocking of the gates would prevent that).  He identified a thousand different churches and holy sites.  Whew.

Meanwhile, we were treated to a visit from a man leading a "Bethlehem donkey."

After the panoramic view, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane, which was powerful, and the Church of the Agony.

  

Then we drove to the "alternate" tomb site -- The Garden Tomb site.  I understand that the archaeological evidence supports the location of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus as under/inside the Church of the Sepulchre.  But the Garden Tomb site sure seemed like what I imagined as Jesus' tomb site.  An elderly Scottish woman served as volunteer docent.  She was obviously devoted to her Lord Jesus, and she got choked up retelling the story.  Her sweet demeanor and devotion moved us to really appreciate the time.  Rols and I were also interested to hear her talk about the "window" cut in the stone above and to the right of the small doorway leading into the tomb.  Apparently, the Jews of the time believed that the soul of a person left 4 days after death; the window allowed the soul to escape.  So when Jesus delayed in going to heal/resurrect Lazarus for 4 days, Lazarus was not just dead.  He was really, really dead.

After our time in the Garden Tomb site, we drove to the Damascus Gate, and entered the Old City.  We climbed to the top of the Austrian hostel for a panoramic view of the Old City, and then walked the Via Delarosa.

ending up at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  (What an operation that place is -- an incense filled complex of three Christian sects, processing pilgrims continuously and guarding prerogatives.  Rols and I were moved, in spite of ourselves, by the altar area above the place of the crucifixion, the stone slab where Jesus' body was laid, and the tomb.  Rols' favorite part of the visit was noting a pilgrim's graffiti and the date: 1327.

We had a quick lunch in the Arab quarter (kebabs), followed by a convoluted trip to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity.  The Church of the Nativity was a complex operation similar to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre..

We grabbed a chance for a 2 hour-long tour of the underground tunnel system along the western wall.

And then ... back to the hotel.

Tuesday, December 19th -- Galilee and points south

It was crazy to come into the dining room of the kibbutz hotel this morning!  Yesterday it was almost empty.  This morning there must have been 100 young people all around the room.  Moti explained that Israel has an ongoing marketing campaign aimed at young Jews around the world to "come see the Jewish homeland."  The discounted price brings thousands.  And often, one of those young people finds someone here -- and never goes back.  This morning and throughout the rest of the day, we saw bus loads of young people from the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia.  Mmmm.

Our first stop this morning was two minutes from the hotel lobby  -- an amazing museum showcasing "The Ancient Boat," or "The Jesus Boat."  Thirty years ago, due to the lower level of the Sea of Galilee, the ruins of a 40 foot fishing boat was found.  10 years later, the study and conservation were completed to the point of setting the boat up in this museum.  It's a 1st Century AD fishing boat, made primarily of oak, but repaired many times over many years, with different kinds of wood and nails.  A shallow, broad-based boat, it probably was propelled by one large sail and one small sail.  It's primary catch would have been the "St. Peter Fish"  -- just like today.  (It's been served at all our breakfasts and dinners so far; it's strong and tasty!)

Then we hit the road to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.  Moti stopped briefly to show us the spot where it's possible Jesus cast the demonic spirits out of the posessed man and into the pigs, who threw themselves off the cliff into the sea.

We hopped back in the car to catch our boat ride on a modern day "Jesus boat."  The Arabian Christians who run the operation played contemporary Christian music as we dozen or so passengers motored around for 45 minutes.  I sat next to a Brazilian woman who was caught up in the experience.  She cried or silently whispered prayers most of the time.  "Are you okay?" I asked.  "Yes," she said.  "My mother and I come every year at Christmas time to Israel, and we find Jesus everywhere.  In every square inch of this land.  He is so real here that I can almost touch Him every moment.  And to be on His Sea of Galilee?  Very, very moving.  Very special."

Man, I really need to amplify my spiritual radar.  I am way too earth-bound and attuned to the physical, material, sensory world around me. I checked myself and realized what I was caught up in - immediate, sensory experiences.  I was feeling Rols' hand in mine; I was smelling the cigarette smoke and diesel fumes; I was observing the wonderful faces of the people around me; I was hearing the different languages, and I was contrasting the green belt around the water compared to the brown hills in the distance.  I did not feel the presence of Jesus so much that I could almost touch Him.  Sigh.

However, I could feel the reality of Jesus' life here. I visualized Jesus and His disciples, fishing and teaching and rowing from one side of the lake to the other.  I visualized Him walking on the water (it looked like deep, cold gun metal this morning) and calming a storm.  I prayed and thanked God for putting skin on and coming down in scale to the human level.  To live with weird, limited, selfish, mean, unimaginative creatures (like me). To laugh and cry with them, to serve and lead them, to love and redeem them.  As clouds darkened over the huge sea, I thanked Him for His power, that overcomes even the worst assaults of Nature.

The trip ended, and we headed towards a spot on the Jordan River where thousands come to be baptized. Rols and I decided to reconfirm our baptisms.  It was still early; we were the only ones there.  After our (very cold) submersions (and cold showers afterwords), the buses of Israeli tourists started arriving.  I'm so glad we were able to have our moments with Jesus in the Jordan before they all arrived!

While Moti has been very supportive and patient at all the Christian sites, he really comes alive at archaeological sites.  Our next adventure was at the ruins of a Canaanite/Roman/Byzantine/Ottoman city. Called Bet She'an, only about 2% of the city has been excavated.  The theater, baths, main avenues, shopping areas, temples and lavatories were all amazing.  I was most blown away by something very simple.  Throughout the complex were layers of both outdoor and indoor ground surfaces.  A mosaic pattern.  On top of that, plaster.  On top of that, a different kind of mosaic pattern.  On top of that, a layer of marble.  On top of that in places, cobblestone.  On top of that, sand and rock.  Whoa.

After a lunch of filled pita bread concoctions, we headed south to the traditional site where Jesus was baptized by John.  There, the Jordan River is about 10 feet wide.  On the other side is ... Jordan.  We saw Jordanian soldiers and Jordanian tourists.  Moti told us that while this is traditionally the place in the Jordan to be baptized, the water is very polluted.  Plus, there have been many times where the it was either impossible or "complicated" for Jews and Christians to come.  (When Moti says a place is "complicated," I'm guessing he often means "highly dangerous.")  The place was crawling with flies. Moti made fun of me for being "so American", but I have a short attention span when I'm being assaulted by millions of flies, including flies in my eyes and nose.  I know.  I'm a wuss.

We headed back through the hills around Jericho (the oldest, continually inhabited city in the world, going back 7000 years), up to Jerusalem.  We passed camels and Bedouins herding sheep on the rocky hills, through "occupied territory", through a checkpoint, and into the city from the east.  Probably the same, basic route Jesus took so long ago.

We're in Jerusalem.

Monday, December 18 -- The Sixth Day of Hanukkah

You would have been really impressed with Rols this morning.  He got up before dawn to walk from our Kubbutz-run hotel to the shore of the Lake of Galilee.  He apparently enjoyed an awesome quiet time while watching the sun rise.

I felt jealousy when he came back to the room to tell me.  So after breakfast I headed down the path towards the lake.  I jigged when I should have jogged, and managed to have a lovely serpentine hike that did not lead to the lake.  (I did however find some grasses from which to make a basket or something for my Mom.)

Moti shared something about the Kibbutz system in general and this Kibbutz in particular.  I don't think I could have made it in one of the original Kibbutz colonies.  The collective decided and ran every detail of one's life and family.  I guess the modern form is much more relaxed, and there are some ways in which you can enjoy certain perks of a Kibbutz without joining.  For example, you can often send your child to a local Kibbutz school if you think it better than the local state school.

After breakfast we headed out.  Our first wonder was a picnic spot overlooking the Jordan River, above the place where it empties into the Sea of Galilee.

Afterwards, we headed up the road to the Mount of Beatitudes, the site for the feeding of the loaves and fishes, and the church commemorating the place where the risen Jesus met Peter and the disciples with a fish barbecue, ate with them, consoled Peter, and commissioned him.  Each site "upped the ante" in terms of our sense of wonder.  By the time we got to the place where Jesus met Peter, we had chills going up and down our spines.

This beautiful, octagonal church sat surrounded by flowers and birdsong.  From this spot, Jesus preached the sermon of the Beatitudes.  Our guide Moti opined that Jesus seriously messed with the Torah when He did this.

After walking around and inside this church, praying and wondering, I paid a dour nun the fee for an intention at a mass.  Then we headed five minutes down the road to the place where a Jewish believer, perhaps 40 years after Jesus' death/resurrection, built a villa to surround the rock on which Jesus sat when He blessed the loaves and fishes and fed the multitude.  The local families in the area continued to honor that spot.  Then, 300-400 years later, the Byzantines built a church over that rock.  The Persians destroyed that church in the 600's..  In the 1900's, the ruins were excavated.  The rock and the 1500 year old Byzantine mosaic floor were uncovered.  A new church was built.  We walked on that floor! We saw that rock!  We lit a candle and worshiped. The rock lies underneath a simple altar, in that beautiful church.

And then ... we walked down to the beach beside the Sea of Galilee.  There sat an church built over the rock where the risen Jesus fixed fish for His disciples, reconciled with Peter, and commissioned him to feed His lambs.  The rock is huge, and available to touch.  People leave prayers on little notes in the crevices of the rock (I just lit a candle).  By this time, Rols and I were completely overwhelmed.  Rols felt awed by the power of the resurrected Jesus, real and alive and compassionate towards the wayward disciples, even Peter.  I felt wonder and could do nothing but say "Thanks, Lord.  This is amazing...!"

Being in these places made me realize something very simple, and probably really obvious.  The stories we've heard over and over again aren't just nice stories.  They happened.  In specific places.  Local peoples remembered and honored all these spots, commemorating and celebrating the things that Jesus did through oral traditions that permeated that time and culture.  And while some spots revered as miraculous places might involve a lot of guesswork or even fraud, there are others where both secular and religious "experts" feel that the evidence strongly supports authenticity.  That just knocks my socks off.

After these mind-blowing visits, we got back in Muti's car and drove 5 minutes to Capernaum, the "town of Jesus." We spent much of our time in and around the remains of a huge, marble synagogue.  It was touted for centuries as "Jesus' synagogue."  But it was apparently a marble prop moved to the village in the 5th-6th century by the Byzantines, who wanted to boost the faith-building benefits of Capernaum by recreating the synagogue where Jesus preached. The signs which explain a bit of this story were installed only about 30 years ago.  Mmmm.

It was cool to visit the church that stands over the remains of Peter's house.  Apparently, graffiti was found from the 1st to 3rd Centuries on plaster from Messianic Jewish pilgrims honoring Peter and submitting prayers to Jesus. The archaeologists are pretty sure that this place really was Peter's house.

Leaving the parking lot, we began a longer drive to satisfy Rols' desire to visit sites on the Golan Heights.  He thought that part of the day was really, really cool.  For me, those hours were scary, although Muti kept assuring me that it would be okay.  Those hours were also very sobering.  I'm handing the laptop over to him to explain that portion of the day.

As we left Capernum,  we traveled north and east to the top of the Sea of Galilee.   We crossed the Jordan river.  Entering from the north,  we were still 600+ feet below sea level. and entered the Golan. We started our ascent into the heights,  eventually reaching an elevation of 3000 ft ABOVE sea level. This creates a very steep sidewall to the Israeli valley below. From this height Syrian  troops shelled the Israeli villages below prior to 1967. Israel has controlled this disputed land since then, providing a security buffer for the northern towns and villages of the country.  Our guide Moti had served on active duty in the Israeli army for 6 years, and knew the area well.

We drove an additional 4 km east in the Golan Heights toward the actual Syrian border, passing through hard-scrabble rocky land created by flow from ancient lava flow coming out of extinct volcanoes over 150,000 years ago. (Volcanoes in the Middle East:  who knew??)   We passed apple orchards, vineyards (wine-making slowly replacing apples as the newer, trendy agricultural activity), and fields with grazing cattle.  These bucolic scenes were interrupted at intervals with abandoned tanks, burnt out Syrian pill boxes and uncleared mine fields from the 1967 and 1973 wars. We met Israeli troops on patrol, UN Peacekeepers, and guards at Israeli outposts along the way. How starkly the Israel of today contrasts to the peaceful scenes at the biblical sites we visited earlier in the day.... and essentially only a few miles away. We reached a high point near Mt Hermon, the snow-capped mountain that forms a triparte border in the region: Syria to the east, Lebanon to the north, and Israel to the south and west.We could look into Syria and see part of the ancient road to Damascus, now cut off, where Paul had his conversion experience.  

We could also see and hear signs of the current tragedy in  the middle east: from the heights we observed the shelling of a Syrian town right in front of us as Assad's Syrian troops fought with unknown Syrian rebel forces for control of that town. Hearts were heavy as we thought of Jesus' message of love preached from the Mount of the Beatitudes visited just hours before.  Later in the afternoon we had lunch at a Druze village(a monority Islamic sect) near the border. We ate at a cafe well known to our guide Moti, and had Pizza sized pita breads, toasted to a light crisp and topped with an assortment of lamb, olive oil,chicken onions and pickles. All very good .. As we left the village we passed a shepherd herding his flock of sheep down the street. Life must go on. Even in borderlands; even in times of war.

One of the weirder sights for Mary was a group of army jeeps lined up to taken tourists on careening tours on all the roads near the boarder between Syria and Israel.  Oh, and seeing fully decked out trekkers hiking the "Golan Heights trail" (that winds up and down the hills, valleys, dirt roads adjoining mine fields and the border wall.  But it was also a cool surprise to see a cluster of  buildings that bump up to the Israeli/Syrian wall.  Israeli doctors and trauma specialists apparently hold themselves available to treat Syrian civilians from the neighboring areas just over the Syrian border who've been hurt by the fighting and manage to make it to this way station.  

The Border

The Road to Damascas

The villages in Syria, maybe 3 miles away, embroiled in civil war.

Signs noting mine fields are everywhere on the Golan Heights

Syria, 3 miles away:  light bombing in that town today between Assad's and rebel forces

Mt. Hermon in the background.  Old Syrian bunkers, armed and aimed and shelling towards Israel until after the Yom Kippur war in 1973

***

We made it back to our Kubbitz  hotel by the sea of Galilee, in time to see the sunset. Our brains were again overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of another amazing day, completely beat.

Blessings to all you.  Joy to all. -- Mary and Rols

The "Hill of the Precipice" outside Nazareth

12.17.17

St Joseph.and his foster son Jesus

12.17.17