Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fish – This was the first stop of the day. Most of these stops have churches built or being rebuilt over the site. We talked about the “olive presses” and what kinds of stones were used. It was volcano rock which is a very hard rock. The olives go through about three different presses which the first press is the premium oil. They are many uses of oil, cooking, lamps, and other items. The site itself was a church and so I could only image what it might have looked like with the feeding of the multitudes, but our time there was short and we quickly moved on.

Mount of Beatitudes –The views of the Sea of Galilee were spectacular from the top of the “hill”. I tried to image what it was like to have a couple of thousand people gathering to listen to what Jesus had to share on that hillside. I was told (and it was tested) that the people at the bottom of the hill could hear just as clearly as those at the top. The place was really busy with other tour groups coming and going. The building itself is modern (it was built around 1930’s) and well maintained.

Koranzim – This was one of the villages that Jesus condemned. The place is in different stages of repair. The enlightening activity was the seating arrangement for the Passover meal. It is not like the arrangement that we are most familiar with people sitting in a chair. Also the room itself was more less open toward the front and therefore people would leave that part of the table open as well. I cannot go into much detail here, but it does challenge the “De Vinci” code image. We also saw the place were people would bath themselves to become ritually clean. The water had to be “living water” which had to be moving. That was cool.

Capernaum – This was the location Jesus spent most of his time ministering and the location of Peter’s house. It was a richer location “on the way to Jerusalem” because of several reasons. One, it was a stopping point for those who traveled by foot. People would stop at this location for the night. Also the area around the place had more resources like places to grow food. Capernaum was destroyed by an earthquake in 740 AD.

From Capernaum we rode on the Sea of Galilee which provides about 30% of the drinking water for Israel. It is a fresh water Sea and currently it is at one of it’s lowest points due to an extended drought. The boat stopped out on the water and we listened to the stories about how Jesus silenced the storms. As I looked around I could see the shore line in all directions. What has been an insight for me is how close everything is to each other.

Most of the group decided to eat the fish. They serve the fish with both the heads and tails attached. I personally don’t eat fish very often. The reason for this is that I really don’t like the bones and have found fish to rather bland. The fish was good and I was quite satisfied when I was finished. As I walked around after the meal the signs coming off the beaches has this to says. “Go in Peace.” That was nice.

We finished the day at the Jordon. The place has been really built up with commercial businesses. Some members of the group got baptized (for a fee a business would provide rental clothing to go into the water). The water was cold from what I have been told. I didn’t go in but took pictures and noticed some really big cat fish swimming around the shore line. Again was taken a bit back by how close everything was and how green the surrounding area was.

We ended the day looking at a boat that was discovered that was dated back to Jesus time. I was struck by the size of the boat. It is not really that big. One would really have to pray in the midst of a storm not to be capsized! The boat itself was built out of twelve different kinds of wood which meant that people would use everything they could fine to make boats in this area. It is considered a national treasure.

Talk to you soon.