Shalom chaverim, hello friends,
Today was a long eventful day with many many things that happened, so I will try to remember everything to tell you.
Because of the lack of luggage, today I wore clothes borrowed from the kibbutz, clothes of the staff of the hotel. So, I did everything you about to read in a long black skirt and a white polo shirt, yes, I have pictures.
This morning our first stop was Capernaum, along the Sea of Galilee where Jesus called his first disciples then went to heal Simon Peter's mother-in-law. Jesus also read and taught in the synagogue there. As we walked into the area of Capernaum, the first thing we did was walk over and stand by the Sea of Galilee, and we looked over the water and down the rocky coast. As we looked over the area, I did as I had been previously asked by the tour guide and read out loud the passage from Mark 1 where Jesus calls the first disciples from their boats, walking on that coast. Next, we went and looked at Peter's mother-in-law's house, and I read that story from Mark. The house has had multiple churches built on it, and the latest is modern, but it is built on stilts and with a big hole in the floor so you can look into the ruins of the house and the older churches. The church itself was beautiful. It is Catholic and in Byzantine style and shaped like an octagon. Inside, it looks like it might hold 100 people, and the front of the altar had a mosaic on it. By far, one of the coolest things we did was visit the synagogue. It is actually the 4th century synagogue built on top of the synagogue that Jesus taught in. At this site, I read the passage in Mark where Jesus teaches in the synagogue. The tour guide asked me last night to read for two reasons. 1) I am a religious studies major who has studied the Bible a lot, and 2) I am going to seminary next year and going to be a pastor. He has taken to calling me reverend or pastor Melissa, though I am not sure why he decided that :). Anyway, being asked to read from Mark on site at Capernaum was very exciting for me. He said he could do it, but he wanted to give me the opportunity. There was just something special about reading from the Bible on a site like that, where Jesus was. I did not actually get to walk on the level of ground that Jesus walked on, because of the fence, but I was there. I stood above where Jesus walked. I looked over the sea where Jesus looked. I read the Bible to people where Jesus taught people the Torah. I can't explain what that felt like, but it felt pretty cool, a powerful and awesome experience.
Then, as we went to the bus we looked up in the hills to see a church built on a site supposed to be the place of the Sermon on the Mount. We then headed down the coast to see a 2000 year old fishing boat that was found in the 80s. We stood and looked at a wooden boat that has managed to survive this long from the time of Jesus or shortly after. Boats like this may have been used by jesus or used to fight the Romans. In either case, it is something almost completely in tact made of wood that has survived this long. It truly puts a picture in your head of one more aspect of 1st century life on the Sea of Galilee.
After viewing a boat, we climbed into a newer boat. This boat was wooden and looks old and raggedy, though it is truly just made to look that way. On this boat, we went across the Sea to Tiberius. The surface of the boat had benches all the way around the sides, but the center was completely empty. It flew the Israeli flag. They asked where we were from and then put up the US flag and played our national anthem for us. After exchanging glances, we all stood and removed our hats and gradually started to sing along to this instrumental version of the Star Spangled Banner. Next came the Israeli national anthem, which some people sang along with. The rest of the ride was full of fun. We took pictures of all the coast of the Sea of Galilee and group pictures together. They played music the entire time, and at some point Hava Nagila came on. So, we gathered in a circle, linked arms and danced in a frenzy, following the lead of our guide and Professor Arnold. I ended up in a bit of pain in my knee, but it was worth it because it was a lot of fun. The entire boat ride was just laughing together and spending time together, enjoying the sea and the sun. Probably I will remember that ride as much as or more than many other parts on this trip.
We had lunch in Tiberius. I had swarma and a free orange. Chris, on of my friends, and I were walking around and saw a juice stand. They had many oranges, and I didn't want juice, just a Mediterranean orange. I went up and asked if I could buy one orange. When he figured out what I wanted, he reached down into his fridge and put two oranges in a bag for me and handed it to me saying "Don't worry about it." I thanked him with a big smile and both Chris and I had the best oranges that I have had since Greece. Maybe he was being hospitable, maybe it didn't cost him anything, maybe he liked that I was a girl and blond. I don't know, but I do know that I appreciated it and have been quite impressed by Israeli hospitality so far.
Next we visited an ancient synagogue to see a mosaic on the floor that has pagan symbolism in it. There are a few synagogues of the kind in the world, and there is lots of speculation as to why they would have a large picture of a zodiac with the words written in Hebrew. I am not surprised by it, because I have learned about it n class, but it was neat to see something that I have only seen pictures of. It was exciting because there are few of these in the world.
Nazareth was or next stop to see the Church of the Annunciation, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. That is all we saw in Nazareth, because we didn't have huge amounts of time. Images of Mary were all over the place, though one in particular caught my eye. It was a statue of Mary standing with her arms up in the air. Behind her, on the wall, is a chi-rho symbol in red (looks like a P with an X through it), with an alpha and omega on either side of the chi (the X). Around the statue is a labyrinth with Mary at the center. Usually when I think of a labyrinth, I think of a place that you walk to pray, it may symbolize a spiritual journey. I am not sure that I have ever considered Mary worthy of being at the center, at the goal of the journey. Of course, I am not Catholic, so perhaps I wouldn't. It was a beautiful setup, but I am not sure what I think about it. From an academic perspective, it interests me that the Catholic people hold Mary at such high esteem. I knew that they did, but this was a visual representation that I had not before considered, opening my eyes more fully to exactly how important Mary is to them. Knowing it is one thing, seeing it is another.
After Naareth, we returned to the bus for a few hours of driving, culminating in a stop in Jerusalem. We stopped to get out and look at the Old City all lit up, and then continued to the hotel, where my suitcase awaited me. People actually clapped and congratulated me on getting my suitcase. It was sure nice to put on clean clothes and my own clothes.
All in all, this has been a good day, and a long day. I have had some good conversations with people (with Prof. Schindler about pilgrimage in Protestant traditions, with Prof. Arnold speculating on Joseph and if he was dead when Jesus died, with Schindler's 7 year old son about everything that he could think of to talk about mainly because I would sit and listen to him, and many many more). I have learned a lot and had some new and powerful experiences. I am ready to collapse into bed, but I know that I need to do more school work. Tomorrow, we truly experience Jerusalem for the first time, and I can't wait. Today, I truly feel as if I am in Israel.
shalom
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