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Caesarea Philippi

A day of change...of beginnings and endings...

We left Galilee this morning and headed to the Mediterranean Coast, to Caesarea Maritime, a place where rulers tended to live and administrate in ancient Israel under Roman occupation (they tended not to like Jerusalem). The remains of huge aqueduct project are still there (water was brought from five miles away), surrounded by a beautiful beach that, on this Sabbath day, many people were taking full advantage of. We ventured into the ancient city through the Roman Theater, a large structure that has been restored and is still in use. We viewed a replica of the "Pontius Pilate" stone, the only remnant found of Pilate's rule in Israel, and we walked through the ruins of Herod's palace. This is the place Paul was taken when he was arrested (Acts 24). He would have been kept under prison and put on trial in Herod's palace; in fact, the exact spot where the trial took place has been uncovered. We also saw the Hippodrome, where games and races would have been held for the entertainment of the population.

After leaving Caesarea, as the temperature was heating up, we headed south to Bethlehem, where we enjoyed a fantastic buffet lunch and did what many of our group had been waiting for: we shopped till we dropped! The Nissan brothers have run this store (the Bethlehem New Store) for a couple of generations and this time we were treated to a tour of the workshop where they take ordinary olive wood and make it into beautiful artwork. It's an amazing process that is firmly rooted in the past, yet taking advantage of some technology (though it's 1970's technology). We all did what we could to support the Palestinian economy, an economy that has been thoroughly depressed by the presence of the wall and the difficulties between Palestinians and the Israelis. (We also got to hear the owner of the shop pray the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. He is one of only a few in the world who still speak the language.)

After shopping, we visited the Church of the Nativity, and we were blessed to find an almost-completely empty church. We had no wait to go down into the Grotto to view the place of Jesus' birth, which has never happened to me before. (One year, we waited in line over two hours.) We read of Jesus' birth while in the Grotto and then sang "Silent Night." In that place where, for two thousand years people have remembered the birth of Jesus, we worshipped the newborn king.

From Bethlehem, we went up to Jerusalem. You always go up to Jerusalem, partly because its origins are on top of a mountain, and partly because it's the holiest city in the world to Jews and Christians. You're always moving "up." Today's stop in Jerusalem, however, was nearly the opposite of our stop in Bethlehem, as we visited the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu ("cock crow"). This church sits atop the location of Caiaphas' house, where Jesus would have been held and put through a mock trial. We stood in the pit where he was probably imprisoned briefly during that long night and we read Psalm 88. Then we sang "Were You There" and stood in silence for a few moments. These are the times when place and location become worship. We also observed the first-century steps outside the "house" (they used to be open to walk on, but too many people were taking pieces of them, so now they are closed off) and we read the story of Jesus' arrest while in the Chapel.

Now, we are getting settled into our hotel, the beautiful Olive Tree Hotel in Jerusalem, not far from the Old City. I look forward to exploring this city with this wonderful group, most of whom have not been here before. For now, we rest in the hotel and prepare for the days to come.