Galilee

After a whirlwind day trip to the Galilee region in the north, we've officially seen most of the pilgrimage sites of Jesus' ministry in the region. Here's a few picture highlights of the day: 

View from Mt. Carmel

 Our day began with a stop at Mt. Carmel, where Elijah and the prophets of Baal did battle. Our guide, a master's student at Jerusalem University College in Biblical Geography, led us throughout the day, giving us the biblical background to what we were seeing, both narratively and geographically. We read the corresponding bible stories at each location, then had some time for exploration and reflection before heading to our next stop.

Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth

Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth

Mary's house

Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth

Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth

Japanese Mary-Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth

Chilean Mary- Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth

Australian Mary-Church of the Annunciation-Nazareth 

Our next stop was Nazareth, at the Church of the Annunciation. Our visit took place on International Women's Day, which we thought was fitting. Inside the church, you see the supposed site of Mary's house amid Byzantine ruins. Upstairs the sanctuary is covered with mosaics of Mary found around the world. Not only were these breathtaking, but they were an amazing testaments to the commonalities and differences of Christianity across diverse cultures. The Japanese Mary and Jesus looked Japanese, the Australian image contained elements of nature, the Chilean image showed Mary coming from the Andes Mountains.  Yet all showed Mary as the loving mother of not only Jesus, but of the world.

Church of Peter's Primacy 

Church of Peter's Primacy 

Our next stop was to the Church of Peter's Primacy. A tiny church on the Sea of Galilee, this is supposedly where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and establishes Peter as the rock of the Church. Every Pope visits this church sometime during their first year, so the new pope will be where I stood soon!

Capernaum 

1st Century AD ruins in Capernaum 

Peter's mother-in-law's house-Capernaum- where Jesus would have stayed 

On the shores of the Sea of Galilee-Capernaum 

Our next stop was to Capernaum, where you can still see ruins that date back to the 1st century, during Jesus' time. The synagogue that stands there now was built during the Byzantine Empire, but was built on the foundation of the first century synagogue that Jesus would have prayed in. You can also see the ruins of Peter's mother-in-law's house. This is the home where Jesus would have stayed when he visited Capernaum.

Golan Heights in the distance

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee 

Next, we took a very windy boat ride on the Sea of Galiee. From the north-west side of the sea, which is really a glorified lake, you can see into the Golan Heights, which I thought was really cool. Since it was windy, we only went out for a bit. But, we did read the story of Jesus calming the storm on the sea, while in a storm on the sea. We tried, but none of us could walk on water though ;)

Mout of the Beatitudes  

Church of the Beatitudes 

Reading the Beatitudes on Mount of the Beatitudes- Boom! 

Our final stop was to the Mount of the Beatitudes. The text doesn't specify which hill Jesus gave his famous sermon on, but this is one of the possibilities that has been widely visited as the site since the time of the Byzantine Empire. One quick word about "mountains" here: they are glorified hills. The Mount of the Beatitudes is shorter than the hill I live on in Bellingham. I don't know who decided to name all these places, but they obviously had never seen the Cascades. Joking aside, it was pretty amazing to sit along the hillside, reading the Beatitudes, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Since its mostly fields surrounding the mount, its easy to picture how the scene must have looked in biblical times, with crowds gathering around the foot of the hill in the now palm tree orchard. The top of the hill looks out over the flat plain, making amphitheater-like acoustics. While all the stops were amazing to see, the Mount of the Beatitudes was by far my favorite, and the most powerful experience of the day.