Jesus in Galilee, part II (Wednesday)

Wednesday was a full & busy day, beginning in Capernaum. Our scheduled time for Mass wasn't until 10, so we visited the Church of the Primacy of Peter first. This church commemorates the appearance of Our Lord after the Resurrection, Him preparing them breakfast and Peter's triple confession of faith (John 21:1-19). The church encloses a rock on which Jesus' had their bread and fish breakfast laid out. To me, the church is surprisingly small. The setting, right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee is very beautiful. The picture of the statue of Peter and Jesus didn't turn out the way I intended; in fact, it turned out better! I think the silhouette against the hillside and water is beautiful. We sat and prayerfully read this passage; we were quite moved by the place. Outside the church there are two outdoor chapels. One has a mosaic of Pope Paul VI prostrate before St. Peter making his confession to Jesus. The other has a striking mosaic of Pope John Paul II. The colors and execution of both are breathtakingly brilliant.

After that, we made our way to St. Peter's house. The church is literally built on what is considered to be the ruins of St. Peter's house, which you can see through the glass floor in front of the altar. We arrived to a Franciscan friar in a snit: for some reason, they had us down for Mass at 9:00 & 10:00 that morning. As you can see, the church is large, so he was (rightfully) miffed that the AC had been on for an hour and no one had shown up. After some soothing words on our part and Fr. Gregory showing him the confirmation that had us only down for 10:00, Fr. Bartholomew offered Mass.

A word on the city. It is an English contraction of its proper Hebrew name, Kafar Nahum (the city of Nahum). There are traces of human habitation from the 13th century BC, but it only appears in history under the reign of Herod in the 2nd century BC. Nahum is the name of one of the so-called minor prophets and is (was?!) a fairly common name. There is nothing special about the place that would make it place for Jesus to settle after leaving Nazareth, other than it is where his first disciples lived.

After Mass, we visited the ruins of a synagogue in Capernaum. It is quite literally right next to St. Peter's house! While is the exact dating of the building is debated (evidence points to the late 3rd to mid 4th century), it almost certainly does not date to time of Jesus. Nonetheless, it is a powerful experience to sit in the ruins of a synagogue in Capernaum reading what Our Lord did there! In the picture of its ruins, you can see our professor and guide, Fr. Gregory. It was ungodly hot and humid, so we were happy that the walls cast significant shade for us to sit and reflect in.

Our next stop was the chapel of the German Benedictine monastery at Tagbah, the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. It contains the famous mosaic of a basket of loaves between two fish. Unfortunately (for tourists like us), it is near the altar and is roped off. I figured ducks were close enough! It is a very simple, beautiful chapel: in a word very Benedictine! It is a replica of a 5th century building with the ruins of a 4th church underneath it, which was slightly smaller.

We arrived at our next scheduled stop, the Church of the Sermon on the Mount, on the Mount of the Beatitudes, 15 minutes after it closed. Undaunted, we backtracked a bit, had lunch and visited the basalt ruins of Chorazin (Korazim). Jesus condemns it along with Capernaum and Bethsaida for its inhabitants' lack of faith. (Mt. 11:20-24) The ruins have a dark feel, being almost exclusively basalt, but also for the city's negative association in Scripture. That didn't stop us from playing around around a bit: we were alone on the site with no "adult" supervision. To give one example: there are pictures of yours truly doing a (bad) imitation of the famous Karate Kid pose on top of a pillar.

Our last stop for the day was the Mount of the Beatitudes and the Church of the Sermon on the Mount. It was a powerful "bookend" to the beginning of the day on sea shore below. From this mountain, you can see almost of the places Jesus lived and worked! We sat facing the church and the amazing view of the Sea of Galilee behind it and read the Sermon on the Mount. Talk about a powerful experience. Although the chapel itself is rather plain (given what we've seen on this trip!), it does have some interesting features: the altar is in middle (directly under the dome) and mosaic "water" flows down the steps on all four sides, it is eight-sided to reflect the beatitudes; on floor in each of the "sections," there is one of the Theological and Cardinal virtues (the 8th being Jesus himself who is the model and exemplar of the beatitudes and any/all virtue).

Jesus in Galilee, part I (Monday & Tuesday)

I was unwilling to pay for internet access this week at our Holiday Inn in Tiberias, nor did I have much time to write, even if I were, so I am going cover this past week in a couple of installments.

We began Monday as usual: Mass with Lauds followed by breakfast. Our first stop was Bet Alpha, which is known for a mosaic floor of 6th century AD synagogue. Compared to the other mosaics we have seen, I have to admit these were underwhelming. The main part of the floor is almost completely intact and shows an Ark of the Law, a complete depiction of the signs of the zodiac and the four seasons and the sacrifice of Isaac. That it is that complete and as well preserved as it is, is impressive to be sure sure. The style in which it was rendered is almost comical: it looks like a mosaic version of children's drawings. While I am no artist myself, if I had been paying for this floor, I would have demanded a refund! I tried to take some pictures of the floor, but they did not turn out particularly well.

Our next stop was Nazareth. We began our time with the Sisters of Nazareth. A sister showed us their church (which was being worked on, so it was very dusty) and the ruins beneath it, which range from the 1st to 12th centuries AD. The highlight of that visit was seeing a 1st century tomb that actually had a round stone which covered its entrance. (Bart and I kept singing or humming "Roll Away the Stone.") You can see me in the entrance of that tomb (as usual, blinking.)

On our way to the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Church of St. Joseph, we stopped a synagogue, where pilgrims recall Jesus teaching in the synagogue in his "hometown" (Mt 13:54 & Lk 4:16). The basilica is an unfortunate 1960's "cutting edge" design built on the Crusader (12th century) footprint with some striking and beautiful elements, but which is not especially beautiful on the whole. The church is surrounded by a courtyard on two sides with depictions of Our Lady from all over the world, much like the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. It is a split level church. The focus of the lower church is the grotto of the Annunciation. It invites one to reflect on the humble circumstances of our Lord's birth by its simple elegance. There is an inscription on the altar from the Creed in Latin with one small addition that startled me: Verbum Carno Hic Factum Est. The Word become flesh here! The grotto does not pretend to be the spot where Gabriel spoke with Mary, yet it still speaks to the particularity and locality of the Incarnation, that it occurred in space and time and therefore in history. That alone made the visit worthwhile to me. The upper church has more images of Our Lady like those in the courtyard. The sanctuary is separated from the nave by a large whole, looking to the grotto below. The fresco in the apse is of Jesus introducing his stepfather Joseph (I think) to heaven. The church of St. Joseph is a simple church that could easily be missed in the grandiosity of the basilica. I found a little hidden treasure in the grotto beneath the main part of the church: a stained glass window depicting Mary & Joseph's wedding. I can't remember ever seeing that artistically represented before. We were so engaged in conversation (or whatever) that we drove through the little town of Cana without even realizing it. When we realized our error (when we came to road to Tiberias, where we stayed) we decided to get it tomorrow and call it a day. After a very nice dinner, we started a Tiberias tradition: nightly Scrabble contests. In case you're wondering, the final tally was: Fr. Gregory 2, Fr. Bart 2 and Fr. Steven 1, even though I went out three games in a row!

Tuesday began with Mass at the Church of the Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor. Although we left Tiberias in plenty of time, we got caught in a traffic jam and were almost late for the time Fr. Gregory had reserved for us. It is one of the prettiest churches served by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. There are two sanctuaries: a large, main one above, and a small, more intimate "grotto" below. The smaller one, where we celebrated Mass, is particularly lovely. It was my turn to be the principle celebrant, but I didn't get the time I had hoped for to recollect myself before Mass. Nevertheless, there were several times during the Mass that I was moved to tears. There is nothing I can point to (a part of the reading, a word or phrase in a prayer, etc.) that was a trigger: the place just overwhelmed me. I am very grateful to have had that experience in that there. Maybe at some point in the future, I will come to understand what moved me, or maybe not.

Next up were the ruins of Sepphoris, an important city in the history of Galilee. When we arrived we saw what looked to be several groups of Hebrew-speaking teenagers excavating the site, as well as a group of British tourists. To date, it is the only active excavation we've encountered; we have seen indications that work was being done in other places, this was the first place we saw people doing it. In the remains of the main street, one can still see the grooves of wagon wheels in the smoothed stones. Like many places (a surprising number to me!), there was remains of mosaics, especially in the synagogue and the Citadel on top of the hill. An interesting feature of the Citadel is that when the Crusader rebuilt it, they "reused" Roman sarcophagi as cornerstones.

Our next visit was Cana. It took us a while to actually find the church that commemorates the miracle at Cana (Jn. 2:1-11). In a bit of pastoral flashback (or foreshadowing), there was a wedding rehearsal going on when we arrived. It is a small, modest church. We shared a number of wedding stories. There are a couple of gift shops that sell (wait for it, wait for it)... wine. There are no vineyards in the area, as one shopkeeper explained to us, so it has to be brought in from other areas. Again, not surprisingly, the special bottles are labeled for weddings, wedding anniversaries, etc. We even saw special certificates for couples who had renewed their wedding vows in the little church. Beneath the church there is a large stone vessel, a suggestion of what may have contained the water that Our Lord Jesus turned into wine that day. Let's just say that given that quantity, the party could have easily continued on for that week.

Our last visit on Tuesday was inspired by Fr. Steven's love of military history: the Horns of Hattin. It is not a common site on the tourist circuit, evidenced by the fact that is quite tricky to even gets to the dirt road, which quickly becomes impassible for a car or bus, that leads to the southern end of the summit! It was here that Saladin decisively defeated the Crusaders on July 4, 1187. As you can see, it affords magnificent views, especially toward the Sea of Galilee. Continuing our "Mad Dog & Englishmen" tradition, we hiked to the Horns between midday and midafternoon. The walk up the hill was made easier, yeah even pleasant, by a strong wind. Fr. Steven thoroughly enjoyed himself and we shared in it by his enthusiasm.

I go ahead of you to Galilee...

I tried three times over the weekend to try and write something: they all ended up in the trash. I suspect my problem was too much time, as both Saturday and Sunday were free days! Friday's class was on the Triple Tradition parables (those parables that appear in Matthew, Mark & Luke). Yesterday, we did a second trip to Bethlehem to let it "soak" in and to pray. We couldn't get to the grotto because of Masses. Today, we're heading northeast to Galilee. We're going to try and do a movable feast: those parables that only appear in one Gospel. The picture is of the main Church of the Nativity, which belongs to the Greek Orthodox. Divine Liturgy is going on up front; the trapdoors you see expose 4th century mosaic floors, on the right. We have seen a LOT of mosaics: these are particularly stunning for their vividness and detail.

Here is our schedule for the week. It is, as always, subject to change!

• Monday: Beth Alpha, Nazareth (Basilica of Annunciation; Church of St. Joseph), Cana
• Tuesday: Mass at Mt. Tabor @ 9, Sepphoris, Horns of Hatton
• Wednesday: Mass @ St. Peter's House @ 10, Tagbah, Mount of Beatitudes and Coraizin
• Thursday: Bethsaida, Caesarea Philipi, Golan, Dan
• Friday: Kursi, Belvoir , return to Jerusalem

Between the Essenes and the Sicarii

Our trip this week was a trip of extremes:

• old Jericho and environs: the lowest and longest continually inhabited city on Earth
• the Dead Sea: the lowest place on Earth and the saltiest body of water
  
• Masada: site of one of the most famous battles in history
• Qumran: site of the one the most famous historical and religious finds

Our excursion Monday began with a surprise to our professor: the "Inn of the Samaritan" (not surprisingly, on the road between Jerusalem & Jericho, just like the Bible says!) was open. The site seems to have little to do with the Scriptural story, although the museum proper was closed. It has an absolutely amazing collection of mosaics from around Palestine & Israel outside. There was even a little outdoor "chapel" with a modern mosaic floor. Depictions of animals are common on synagogue floors of the time. The giraffe at left is from a synagogue in Gaza.

St. George of Koziba monastery in the Wadi Qilt was our next stop. This Greek Orthodox monastery is situated quite literally on the walls of the wadi, close to the water at the bottom. My pictures don't do it credit: you can barely see it in the distance right next to my shoulder opposite Fr. Steven! (Yes, I know I should get a better digital camera; the brothers have been giving me crud about it.) One of the guidebooks we've been using (written by Fr. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, OP) calls it, "the perfect example of a monastery in the Judean desert..."

Next was a pure tourist stop: getting a picture on a camel at a "Sea level" marker. Both Fr. Bartholomew and I alighted. It was a fun and frivolous (and cheap: only 15 shekels, just under $4), not to mention a great photo opportunity. The guys haven't sent me the one of me with a "camel hat" yet. Look for it on my Facebook page! Despite their reputation to the contrary, this beast was good natured and didn't smell. (I may not be the best judge of that: I was developing of all things a cold that day.)

The "old city" of Jericho is located roughly 847 feet below sea level at the prodigious spring at Tel Es-Sultan (~1,ooo gallons/minute!), also in the Wadi Qilt. On the way into town, we stopped at Zaccaeus' Sycamore tree. It was difficult to enjoy because we immediately surrounded by Palestinian men desperate (palpably so, sadly) to sell us things. Jericho also has the first surviving defensive wall is dated to around 8,000 BC, pictured at right. There were a number of excavations from various periods in history, including a siege wall. It was impressive...until we got to Masada on Tuesday! There is a tram up the "Mount of Temptation," that affords a spectacular view of the oasis and on to the Dead Sea and the Jordanian hills on the other side. Unfortunately, it was quite hazy (not surprising with the heat), so we did not take it. Our next stop in metro-Jericho was Khirbet el-Mafjar, more commonly called Hisham's Palace. It must have been quite a structure in the day. It was there that stucco was used for the first time in Palestine. The "Tree of Life" mosaic is also there. It is hard to photograph because one is above and behind it.

Because everything in and around Jericho is so close, we decided change our plan and visit Qumran on Monday. It was blazing hot, but just amazing. The Essenses, who likely inhabited the site, were a sectarian Jewish monastic group who expected the immanent coming the Messiah and prepared themselves by meticulous observance of the Law, particularly purity rituals. Some scholars speculate that John the Baptist may have been an Essene: there are many similarities between John's teachings and those of the Essenses. I was quite moved by the site, its quiet and the accidents (Providence?) that saved the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is possible to hike up to the actual caves (pictured is the famous Cave #4, which held the most scrolls), but it was way too hot and late in the day to even contemplate that. From the picture, the Dead Sea is behind the viewer.

We spend the night at the resort village of En Boqeq. It is a funny little village: four major hotels (including one named simply "Lot"!), a plaza with a McDonald's and a cafe and a little promenade with sundry shops and a couple of restaurants. It looks under construction. Fr. Gregory told us that it's looked like that in the five years he's been going there. In our hotel and on the street, I heard more Russian than I have since being in Russia in 1998. Needless to say, this is an Israeli resort. Floating on the Dead Sea is a relaxing experience (until you accidentally get some water in your eyes, nose or mouth). Salt is the "sand" under your feet in the water; the temperature of the water had to be in the mid 90's. We played around for about hour. It feels really good on the skin. Fr. Steven and I both have a number of bug bites that benefited from the soak. You do have to shower when you get out: it becomes uncomfortable when you dry. Although we were in the shade, it didn't take long. Fortunately, there's a station right on the beach.

There is so much to say about Masada. This huge, battleship shaped plateau dominates the landscape of the area; it is impossible to miss. It is a focal point of modern Israeli lore: so much so that Josephus (our primary source about what happened there) would not recognize the telling of the story by the modern Israeli government. In fact, "Masada will not fall again" is part of an Israeli soldier's swearing in. While modern historians can tell that Josephus embellished and added flourishes (like Eleazar's speech), his basic outline of events until the Romans breech the wall is backed by archeology. In the photo, you can see the Dead Sea, the diamond shaped ruins of a Roman fort and a remnant of the siege wall just below. Other sources outside of Josephus show that the Sicarii were not the Jewish freedom fighters that are portrayed today: on the contrary, there were Jewish terrorists who preyed on not the Romans (who were their stated enemy) but on other Jews (those who cooperated with the Romans or who they perceived as being sympathetic to them). We know that they attached the nearby town of En Gedi and killed over 700 Jewish women and children. Regardless of the spin, it is a powerful place to visit. The geography of the place (and human interactions with it) and the sheer force of will and ingenuity it took to live in such a place is astounding.