Eucharist by the lake

We had Eucharist by the sea of Galilee this morning. Off shore a fisherman was casting his nets within yards of where Jesus called his disciples.


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Day 8: March 20. Galilee

We saw so much today, it is hard to keep it all straight. We began with at stop at Cana where our guide helped to put the wedding at Cana in social perspective. Afterwards, I did a short renewal of marriage vows service for anyone who wanted. The it was onto Galilee where we visited a number of sites: The site of the sermon the mount. After visited the church we took ashore hike down the mountain through much new green spring growth and learned to identify "the lilies of the field", and "the wheat and the tares". It was great to get away from the tourist crowds and walk in the same landscape that Jesus did. That is the picture of the day. Later we visited the site of the feeding of the five thousand, and Peter's confession, "feed my sheep", after the resurrection. The day ended with a visit to Capherum, to see the Synagogue where Jesus shocked his listeners, and Peter's house.

The biggest surprise for me was to see how close all these sites were to Jesus's home base, all within a few mile radius. Unlike the settled sites where churches are, this is the same ground Jesus trod without the layers of rubble and buildings on the urban sites.

We are now settled in for two nights at the Pilgerhaus, A very modern hostel right on the Sea of Galilee. Our lodging in Nazareth last night was historic, but we are looking forward to a warm room and a hot shower!




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Galilee video

Our guide gives us a sermon on the mount

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On quick picture before signing off

It is late here, but wanted to share with you a picture of my most moving experience so far. Thanks to the connections of our guide, we were able to visit the excavated ruined under a covent in Nazareth which is closed to the public. Here there is the remains of one of 40 or so houses that comprised the village in Jesus time. The sister who guided us, who is an archeologist, reminded us that with such a small village Jesus must have been in this house at sometime as he grew up and spent time with his neighbors. The other great find in this dig was the discovery of a first century tomb, complete with a rolled stone blocking the door. This must have been what Jesus tomb in Jerusalem must have looked like. it was very moving to be deep underground in this spot with no other tourists, just our little group.


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Location:Nazareth

Day 7, March 18

I am sitting in the lobby of the pilgrim hostel in Nazareth using my iPhone, the only place I can get wifi. Will put up a picture tomorrow. Great day with visit to Cesarea Maritina, Mt Carmel, and Nazareth. Very appropriate since today is St Joseph's day. Especially mindful of all fathers and my own dad.


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Day 6: March 18, Holy Sepulcher

The day tarted out very early and very cold. We left the college about 6 AM for the 15 minute walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in order to beat the crowds. There were already three or four services underway when we


arrived--all at the same time. There was the noise of chanting in different languages, bells ringing, and lots of incense--all in a huge ancient stone structure--chaotic and mysterious all at once. We got a good view of Greek Patriarch who was visiting with a big procession and lots of cameramen.
His vestments were spectacular, especially his jeweled crown.

At the Dean of the College's suggestion, I had with me a stole which I had bought from Palestinian Christians to place on the "Stone of Anointing" where Jesus lay after the cruxificion. This is traditional for priests to do in the Eastern Church.

At 11 AM, I celebrated at St George's Cathedral, and the Dean preached.
There were about 50 people there, and I have not been so cold in church since I was in England. Many in our group, including me, seem to have the sniffles from all our time in the cold.

In the afternoon, we went to Museum of Israel to see their huge model of Jerusalem at the time of HerIt really helped to orient us better.

Tomorrow we leave for 3 days in Galilee, and there many not be any internet connection there, so if you don't have a posting for a few days you will understand why.



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Morning worship at Holy Sepulcher

7 am, freezing cold, and unforgettable.

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