Day 3
Well (as the great Bill Lawry would say), “It’s all happening” here at the Sea of Galilee.
Everything was go, go, go from the moment our “rise and shine” call came through cause boy it was going to be a real stinker today (42°C) and with Shabbat (the Sabbath) starting at sunset we had a full schedule ahead of us and no time to lose.
By the way, I found out that the gizmo Mourad gave us the other day is actually called “whisper”, but of course I didn’t have it turned on and was too far away to hear him when he first mentioned it.
Our first stop was Caesarea Philippi which was like being at the Lane Cove River Park; albeit without the yobs hogging all the barbies and having to duck every five seconds in case you copped a frisbee or a stray tennis ball (from one of the compulsory 50,000 cricket matches taking place in a 3 metre square radius) in the face! It was so lush and green and not at all like I expected, which was basically desert like conditions with the odd splattering of greenery here and there like Dubai or Uluṟu.
Instead, Caesarea Philippi is this fertile, lush, beautiful, tranquil area where they have uncovered the ruins of the place where Jesus came with his disciples 2000 years ago, sat them down and then sprang the following pop quiz on them. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
I can imagine them all sitting there like one of my old classes at school when you hoped you could get away with whiling away the time doodling in your textbook, staring out the window or, best of all, the teacher was just going to show you a video for 40 minutes. But instead they hit you with a mini test that none of you were expecting nor prepared for and is worth 40% of your final assessment! So you kind of keep your head down, avoid eye contact and pray that someone knows the answer cause you sure as eggs don’t. So one of the disciples or maybe a couple have a stab…”Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Bow bow! Wrong.
Next question, “But who do you say that I am?”
Silence. Then at the back of the room a solitary hand rises in the air, and everyone winces, it’s Simon and we all know his track record for saying the first thing that comes to mind hasn’t been great lately. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” A few of the disciples shake their heads thinking Simon, Simon, Simon…but Jesus walks over, plants a gold star on his forehead and says, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven…and I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it! I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.”
So Caesarea Philippi is significant in our pilgrimage because this is the place where good ole Peter is the first to recognise Jesus as being more than just the coolest guy he’s ever hung out with, but is divine, the Son of the living God.
So I spent about an hour wandering through the excavations, taking in the scenery and, for a few minutes, hanging out with a rather large Guinea Pig like animal (I’m not sure of their gender preference nor did I find out what their personal pronoun is) which joined me in a spot of lazing on one of the temple ruins before going our separate ways. Maria, my personal Googlemaster, informed me that it was a Hyrax which is also sometimes known as a Rock Badger.
Our next destination was the Mount of the Beatitudes. This is the site where Jesus delivered his famous sermon (sometimes referred to as the “Sermon on the Mount”) where the Peacemakers get a guernsey but the Cheesemakers unfortunately didn’t receive any recognition nor blessing.
It is really idyllic here and was a wonderful place to celebrate Mass, which again was intimate, beautiful and wonderfully led by Father Wim with support from Father Ed and Annette.
It was really warming up by the time we reached Bethsaida our next destination. Bethsaida was a small town in Galilee, best known in the Bible as the birthplace of three of Jesus’ disciples: Phillip, Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew.
While walking amongst the city ruins and listening to Mourad “whisper” his commentary regarding the antiquity of the site (approximately 2700 years old), it was getting quite hot and I found myself looking down towards the Sea of Galilee thinking “Boy! It’s a fair hike to the water. As fishermen, it must’ve been a real pain for Peter and Andrew to make that trek twice a day 6 days a week!” Then I noticed a curious little rock amongst the ruins that, like the famous Rosetta Stone, provided me with the answer. They rode these little vehicles which I can only describe as looking kinda like a bicycle! I sought out Mourad and Father Wim to find out more and they told me that back then the seashore was much closer than it is now so it wouldn’t have been so arduous a task for Peter and Andrew. They also told me that this site is part of a larger park and the stone I was looking at signified the beginning of the bike track!
Bethsaida is also the place where Jesus was asked to heal a blind man. According to the Gospel of St. Mark, Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town of Bethsaida, where he put some spittle on the man’s eyes and laid hands on him. When Jesus asked him what he could see? The man said, “I see men like trees, walking". So Jesus repeated the procedure, resulting in the man receiving clear and perfect vision. Imagine that! Cured by rubbing spit in his eyes. Given that I am as blind as a bat without my reading glasses, Jesus would’ve definitely bypassed me as I have an overactive gag reflex to spit which I’m sure wouldn’t have been appreciated.
We stopped for lunch at Migdal and then walked a very short distance to our final destination, the recently discovered and excavated ruins of Magdala. This is believed to be the birthplace of Mary of Magdalene, as her name indicates that she was from here.
So what was Magdala and what did we pilgrims get to see?
Well, Magdala is a 1st-century fishing village located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. What we walked around today were the recent archaeological excavations which uncovered 2nd century BC to 3rd century AD remains of this fishing village. The excavations uncovered the oldest synagogue found in Galilee. It is thought to have been constructed sometime between 50 BC and 100 AD and featured brightly colored frescoes and mosaics which was unusual for the time. The Magdala Stone carved with the image of a seven-branched menorah was also discovered here and is on display just in front of the synagogue. We know Jesus came here because he first met Mary and cured her right here where we were standing. The Gospels also state that Jesus went to every synagogue in the Galilee area so it is highly probable that he spoke at this very synagogue. There is also a newly erected church just near the shore and it has been built on top of a 1st-century footpath which runs from the shore to the village, which means it is also highly probable that Maria and I were standing in Jesus’ footsteps. Wow!
By now we were all beginning to wilt, so we hopped on the bus and headed back to the hotel for a shower, relaxing catchup over a drink in the bar, and then dinner. By now Shabbat had commenced, so I caught the Shabbat elevator to our room this evening out of respect. During Shabbat you are supposed to rest so any type of labour is to be avoided. As such, the hotel has an elevator in use during Shabbat that automatically stops on every floor so you don’t overexert yourself with too much button pushing.
Tomorrow is going to be a special day for Maria and I. We are going to Cana which is where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine at a wedding he and some of his disciples were attending. We are going to a special intimate Mass there in the morning where Maria and I will be renewing our wedding vows. Can’t wait.
On a separate but related note, I was telling one of our elderly pilgrims about renewing our vows over dinner when she asked, “Are you going to write your vowels or will you memorise them?” I told her I had memorised them and asked if she’d like to hear them? “Absolutely!” She said beaming. So I said, “Maria, I don’t think I need to talk about A, E, I or O…I’ll focus instead on U.”
Dead silence. She blinked. More silence. I think I saw a Tumbleweed roll past.
Then…”that’s nice. Well…goodnight.”
No comments:
Post a Comment