Do You Want Eyes With That?

What a busy day we have had! We began with a pretty typical middle eastern buffet breakfast—lots of fruit, bread, yogurt, some eggs and muffins, juice and milk. A hearty way to start the day. Then we left and walked a brief distance to the shore of the Sea of Galilee where we took a boat ride across the sea. None of us tried to walk on it, but we did remember the many, many stories in the Gospels that take place on or around this lake. We took some time in silence as we sat upon the unusually glassy surface to remember and to consider where we are with Jesus at this point in our lives.

Our boat then docked at Nor Ginosaur, a place which houses a rather famous boat, rescued from the Sea of Galilee many years ago during a drought and preserved used a long process of “pickling.” This boat dates to the first century, and while it is unlikely Jesus rode on this particular boat (but who knows?), it certainly gives us an idea of what the boats of his time looked like—their size, shape, and why a storm could threaten to overwhelm all those on board.

From there, we got on our bus and drove to the base of Mt. Arbel. We walked an ancient road that leads to Nazareth and has a stream running alongside it. We can almost be certain Jesus and his disciples would have walked this road, as it dates back to ancient times and was a popular route of travel. Later in our time here, we’ll go to the top of Mt. Arbel.

We stopped at Chorazim, one of the three cities of the “evangelical triangle” where much of Jesus’ ministry took place. We were the only ones there, which was nice because we could walk around and explore much more freely than I’ve been able to do before. Some of the reconstructions give us a glimpse of the way life was lived. The houses have very small windows and were made of black basalt rock—no doubt they were very warm in this climate! That’s probably the reason for the big courtyard in the middle of the town—a place to get out of the inside heat.

We then visited and had time for quiet meditation and worship at the Church of the Beatitudes, a beautiful chapel at the top of a natural amphitheater which recalls Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). It is quite a lovely place, a gentle place where we can once again hear the call to follow Him.

After crossing “to the other side” of the Jordan River, into what was once Gentile territory (where Jesus met a man named Legion and drove his demons into some pigs) and is now called the Golan Heights, we stopped for lunch at a kitbutz called Ein Gev. The specialty (which not everyone took advantage of) was fish, St. Peter’s Fish to be exact (a form of tilapia), deep fried with the head, fins and tail still attached (to attest to its freshness!). It was tasty, but I’m still not fond of my food looking at me.

From lunch, we drove to Tabgha and the Church of the Primary of St. Peter. Tabgha is the traditional place where Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes, as well as the place where Jesus restored Peter after his denial (John 21). We were able to stick our feet in the Sea of Galilee here. Our last stop of the official tour of the day was at Capernaum, “Jesus’ Own Town,” the place where he lived in Peter’s house during most of his ministry. A fourth century synagogue stands on top of the first century foundations, and the archaeologists have unearthed Peter’s house (a church stands over top of those ruins, but we weren’t allowed in) and the home of Jairus, the rich Roman who paid for the synagogue and who had a daughter Jesus healed.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a diamond factory in Tiberias. Israel’s largest export is diamonds, which are brought here from all over the world to be cut and refined. 61% of what they design here are then exported to the United States. We learned how diamonds are cut, and then of course we were taken to a showroom. Rachel found a necklace she liked—it was a mere $4,000! It was beautiful, so I will say she has good taste! But she does not have a necklace this evening.

The evening is open. Dinner, perhaps some more gelato, and rest. Tomorrow we will do some hiking in the northern part of Galilee. We are learning much, and I am seeing new things as well as more of things I’ve seen before. It is good to be in this land. At every stop, I hear people saying, “Wow.” Tony commented to me, “I never thought I’d ever be here, in this land.” We are here, and all is well.