Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Update 69
Here in Israel are so many names I've read or heard about in the Bible since I was a child...surreal:
Bethlehem, Jerusalem , Capernaum, Damascus, Zion, Jericho, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, David, Solomon...
For 5 days those names were swirling around me.
Bethlehem - how many times have I imagined that scene. Today it's a sprawling city of 22,000 & on the "birth site" sits an elaborate church...far from the stable. Yet the holiness remained.
The Sea of Galilee - peacefully surrounded by rounded mountains. A replica of boats of the time period make it easy to envision Jesus sitting in one with his disciplines...walking on the water...and calming the storm.
Capernaum- where Jesus chose 5 of his discipline and lived during most of his ministry. Here Jesus told Peter "upon this rock I will build my church." A simple but very inspiring church surrounds the rock. A contemporary church with a glass floor sits above and in the middle of the excavated remains of Capernaum. Here He fed the multitude by multiplying 2 fish & 5 loaves of bread. Here He taught us the beatitudes...and the church built there is octagonal & 8 stain glass windows featuring them. Here so many were cured. the man lowered through the roof, the leper and the centurion who had such faith that whatever Jesus said would be fulfilled.
Our bus ride between Jerusalem & Capernaum gave me a true sense of just how far Jesus & his disciplines had to walk. We passed the Dead Sea (lowest spot in world) and followed the Jordan River (now the border of the West Bank & Jordan). The mountains that surround Jerusalem made the picture of Jesus entry on a donkey so real.
Many of the great gates of Jerusalem still proudly stand. Inside the old city wall we stood in the Upper Room, then lingered in the Garden of Gethsemane where flowers were blooming around a massive old gnarly tree trunk.
Then we walked the Via Dolorosa...the path Jesus was forced to walk carrying the cross. On that spot of the crucifixion , a stunning & lavish church sits.
We stood on a platform looking toward a hillside where there's a large cave...perhaps Skull Hill. It's empty of course.
When we planned our trip to Israel ...it had not occurred to us how appropriate the timing is...a couple weeks before Easter. A tiny miracle.
How I wish I could go back & see it as it was 2019 years ago...instead of today: sprawling with markets, hawkers, tourist & humongous churches.
I had to close my eyes and focus my thoughts to recall the Bible stories to bring them to life...that feeling was so very surreal and I feel so humbled and honored to have been this close to Jesus.
Sent from my iPhone
Bethlehem, Jerusalem , Capernaum, Damascus, Zion, Jericho, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, David, Solomon...
For 5 days those names were swirling around me.
Bethlehem - how many times have I imagined that scene. Today it's a sprawling city of 22,000 & on the "birth site" sits an elaborate church...far from the stable. Yet the holiness remained.
The Sea of Galilee - peacefully surrounded by rounded mountains. A replica of boats of the time period make it easy to envision Jesus sitting in one with his disciplines...walking on the water...and calming the storm.
Capernaum- where Jesus chose 5 of his discipline and lived during most of his ministry. Here Jesus told Peter "upon this rock I will build my church." A simple but very inspiring church surrounds the rock. A contemporary church with a glass floor sits above and in the middle of the excavated remains of Capernaum. Here He fed the multitude by multiplying 2 fish & 5 loaves of bread. Here He taught us the beatitudes...and the church built there is octagonal & 8 stain glass windows featuring them. Here so many were cured. the man lowered through the roof, the leper and the centurion who had such faith that whatever Jesus said would be fulfilled.
Our bus ride between Jerusalem & Capernaum gave me a true sense of just how far Jesus & his disciplines had to walk. We passed the Dead Sea (lowest spot in world) and followed the Jordan River (now the border of the West Bank & Jordan). The mountains that surround Jerusalem made the picture of Jesus entry on a donkey so real.
Many of the great gates of Jerusalem still proudly stand. Inside the old city wall we stood in the Upper Room, then lingered in the Garden of Gethsemane where flowers were blooming around a massive old gnarly tree trunk.
Then we walked the Via Dolorosa...the path Jesus was forced to walk carrying the cross. On that spot of the crucifixion , a stunning & lavish church sits.
We stood on a platform looking toward a hillside where there's a large cave...perhaps Skull Hill. It's empty of course.
When we planned our trip to Israel ...it had not occurred to us how appropriate the timing is...a couple weeks before Easter. A tiny miracle.
How I wish I could go back & see it as it was 2019 years ago...instead of today: sprawling with markets, hawkers, tourist & humongous churches.
I had to close my eyes and focus my thoughts to recall the Bible stories to bring them to life...that feeling was so very surreal and I feel so humbled and honored to have been this close to Jesus.
Sent from my iPhone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)