After breakfast- and I’ll pause here to mention that Breakfast always included a table of vegetables/salads. I never quite got the hang of eating veggies for breakfast while I was there- but I definitely think my American diet is far less healthy than the kosher/Mediterranean style diet we had there.
So, after breakfast we loaded up the bus (watching peacocks while everyone was getting there) and went again to a site on the Sea of Galilee. This was supposedly the place where Jesus appeared on the shore after his resurrection, He called out to the disciples from the shore and asked if they had caught any fish. When they responded in the negative he told them to cast their nets on the right side. John realized it was Jesus and told Peter. Peter then jumped into the water to swim the 100 yards to the shore. He simply could not wait to see Jesus! Once there he saw Jesus already preparing breakfast. So a cool note to this story that I never knew. The disciples caught 153 fish (John 21:11). In the Hebrew alphabet numbers can be representative of letters. Our guide pointed out that “153” could be interpreted to say “I am God”.
Just as Peter had denied Jesus 3 times, he now has the opportunity to recommit. Jesus asks him “Do you love me?” 3 times. We spent some time reflecting on that very question. Jesus asking each of us- “Do you love me?” As I reflected on that question I wrote the following in my journal-
I love you Lord, help me to love you more. I look at what seems like a great sea and know your love in deeper. I look at the vastness of the blue sky and know your love is greater. How can I not love You who made all things, who sustains all things, whose love encompasses everything? How minute is my love compared to yours Lord- but I do love you. “I love you Lord and I lift my voice, to worship you O my soul rejoice. Take joy my King in what you hear, may it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.”
While sitting there I noticed some cute furry critters on the rocks to my left. I haven’t mentioned anything about our guide yet, but she was phenomenal. Sara was like sunshine. She was so excited and happy, so knowledgeable and constantly sharing relevant scriptures, so I was not surprised when she mentioned- ‘Oh yes, you will find Rock Badgers in Psalms 104”, Sure enough verse 18 mentions the rock badgers ☺. Also during this time there was a gathering of a few folks with pastor Frank. It turns out that one of the couples with us had felt led to renew their wedding vows. So on the beach in their 25th year of marriage, Frank led them in the holy vows of matrimony. Sara led us in a short Jewish dance to celebrate (girls in one circle, boys in the other). What a sweet expression of love and so appropriate as it led the way to a later stop in our day.
Korazim was the next place we stopped. Korazim is a derivative of the word announcement. This was a cursed city. In most of the cities you will find evidence of destruction and rebuilds, but here the rebuild had not come. In the synagogue you found symbols from pagan religions. It made me wonder what compromises they had made. Were they just trying to fit in or be ‘seeker friendly’? Maybe they just thought it would enhance the designs. Regardless it was strange to see a carving of a head of medusa in a synagogue. It was built with the traditional steps. Two short steps followed by two long steps forced the climber to slow down and be intentional. These were not steps to be rushed up lightly or without thought, a good reminder for our own time. Church is something to be taken seriously, something to be considered and approached with thought and awareness, not something to run in and run out of. Also in this synagogue was found the ‘Moses seat’. This was a special seat where the scriptures would be read, a special chair for elders, even used for some ceremonies, similar to what we might call a pulpit. In Matthew 23:1-3 the Moses seat is referred to with a warning to listen to the words of the scriptures but to not ‘do’ what the Pharisees ‘do’.
We were also able to see from the ruins a fairly traditional set up for a village. Houses were built around an ‘insula’ which was like a courtyard. When a son was ready to be married he would go and ask for permission to marry a young lady and then return to his home to add on a room building the circle outward. While he built on, the young woman would have to get ready for his return and stay vigilant that all was prepared, because she would not know the exact time of his return. Frank again led us to look at scriptures. In Matt 25:1-13 the scriptures talk about the young virgins and their oil lamps. Only half were able to go to the wedding feast. Matt 24:36 talks about no one knowing the hour when the bridegroom will return. In John 3:29 John the Baptist describes himself as a friend that attends the bridegroom (kind of a best man). Over and over in scripture God refers to us as his bride. He has gone to prepare a place. We have to be vigilant and ready for his return.
Tel Dan
Tel Dan was a beautiful lush, green forest with the roar of water flowing through. This was the source of the Jordan River. We walked through the park crossing over streams and always smelling the freshness of the nearby water and the coolness of being in the woods. As we reached another ruin, Aaron referred us to the story of Jeroboam. After King Solomon, the kingdom was divided. (1Kings 11-12) Jeroboam is given the northern part of the kingdom. He is also given a promise from God that he will prosper if he obeys God. Jeroboam begins to worry that if his people have to go into the southern part of the kingdom to worship he will lose their loyalty, so he builds a temple in the northern kingdom. He tells the people that Jerusalem is too far away, too inconvenient, they should just stay and worship at this new temple. Jeroboam then sets about creating his own religious system. He imitates that which was in place but also distorts it (1 Kings 12:31-32). As Aaron stated “Jeroboam faced a conflict between belief and behavior”. I would say part of that was a conflict between belief in God or belief in self. As we serve a God that changes not, we are called not to change our belief but instead to change our behavior. Since we cannot change God we must instead let God change us. I cannot create God; I must instead let God create me. Jeroboam tried to figure out his security for himself instead of trusting in God’s promises. God told him what to do but he made his decision based on fear instead of faith.
There’s still more for Day 3…
No comments:
Post a Comment