Sunday, Oct. 31 - Cana, , Mt. Tabor (Mount of Transfiguration), Nazareth, Acre (Ptolemais)

 Mount Tabor, also known as the Mount of Transfiguration.

 Me, with The Rev. Emad Daibes, Rector of Christ Anglican Church in Nazareth. He read the Gospel first in Arabic and I followed in English.

The Rev. Emad Daibes (l), The Rev. Larry Hall, Rector of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston (c), and The Rev. Dale Chrisman, Rector of Trinity Anglican Church in Lago Vista (r).

 Ruins of the original village of Nazareth under the Church of the Annunciation. Nazareth only had 120 t5o 150 residents in Jesus' time.

Yet another plate of hummus, which with tabouli, have become staples of our pilgrims' diets the past week. I might have eaten this entire plate myself.


Well, where do I begin? We left early (as usual) from our Royal Scots Hotel in Tiberias. Built in 1800s by the Scotland Anglican Church  as a hospital and converted into a first class hotel in early 1900s. Did I mention that Tiberias is the third holiest city in Israel - after Jerusalem and Hebron?

First, the Sea of Galilee is not really a "sea." It's a big lake. It's 650 feet below sea level and is 120 feet deep at its deepest point. Beautiful blue water. Realizing Jesus spent much of his ministry on or near the Sea of Galilee...realizing he saw the same hills and landscape...pretty overwhelming.

As we arrived in Cana (remember, it's where Jesus performed His first miracle (our Israeli guide who is an expert on history and the Bible gave us detailed information on Jewish wedding traditions and why Jesus performed the miracle on the third day of the wedding). From Cana, you can see a hill that looks very much like a big belly button. In fact, it's Mount Tabor where Jesus was transformed in front of several disciples and where Moses and Elijah appeared.

From Cana we also saw the mountain near where Elisha raised the Shunammite woman's dead son back to life. If you don't remember the story, see 2 Kings 4.
Cana is only two miles from Nazareth, our next stop.

First, you need to know that there are two sites that  compete to be known as "Mary's Annunciation. We visited both. Actually we visited three churches, one of which does NOT claim to be the site of the Annunciation. One is a Greek Orthodox Church built over what is purported to be Mary's well (where she grew up). The second is the Church of the Annunciation which is built over the ruins of the original town of Nazareth. Did you know that Nazareth's population was only 120 to 150 in Jesus' time? Really small. Anyway, the Church of the Annunciation has a Grotto that is claimed to be Mary's house and where the angel appeared to her to tell her she was to bear a child.

The third church is Christ Anglican Church Nazareth. This is where Larry Hall and I were invited by its Rector to co-celebrate Sunday's worship service. Our challenge was, the service is done half English, half Arabic. That's because the congregation is Arabic Christians. And 46 of us only speak English. Larry and I both appeared dazed and confused as he walked us through the service. OK you read the Gospel in English after I read it in Arabic. You read half the Prayers of the People in English after I read this half in Arabic. We'll stand together at the Altar -  you sing the Lord's Prayer in English while I sing it in Arabic...well, you get the picture. But, guess what? It turned out beautifully. In fact, I was half choked up during the service and as they exited, about half our pilgrims had wet eyes, too. It truly was moving to hear the two congregations saying and singing the familiar liturgy in two different languages although as one family.

We also saw the synagogue where Jesus taught - or at least the site of where the original synagogue was. Remember, in an earlier post, I told you that the common phrase used here is "It is reportedly the site where..." You can imagine that, lacking photographs to document such things, there is seldom total agreement on where certain things (such as buildings) were.

I asked our guide how many days it would have taken Jesus to walk from Nazareth to Jerusalem - something Jesus did quite often. He said it's about 45 miles and would have taken Him about 4 days! plus, he said the journey was full of dangers such as bandits and natural hazards. No wimps were they!

Last on our schedule was a trip to Acre (known in Hebrew as "Akko.") and known in Jesus' time as Ptolemais. It's not known if Jesus ever visited there but the assumption is He did since it's so close to where He spent His ministry. But we do know Paul spent time there. It's on the Mediterranean and what we saw was a fortress built by the Crusaders in 1200. Huge with underground secret passageways and sophisticated latrine and waste disposal systems. In fact, Napoleon tried to capture the fortress in 1799 and failed when he got through the first protective wall but got trapped before he could get through the second wall. Fascinating tour if non-Biblical.

Again, as we traveled north of the Sea of Galilee toward the Mediterranean coast, I was reminded of how much the terrain looks just like the Hill Country of Texas. Rocky and hilly in one part and tall hills covered by green trees and vegetation in the next. But it's also clear how rugged the people of the Bible were to walk many miles each day across inhospitable terrain nd sometimes inhospitable people to get where they wanted to go. Especially our Lord and Savior who traveled throughout the region including frequent trips from the Sea of Galilee area into what is Jordan and into Jerusalem.

Get out a map or Google Israel and study the distances and the topography. It's really a beautiful country unfortunately being torn by religious strife. Christians, which in 1947 made up 27 percent of the population, now is only two percent. They're being driven out by both the Jews and the Moslems. Each blame each other. But, it's a reminder that we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We're to pray for God's chosen people. As Christians leave Israel, everyone suffers.

Tomorrow we go by boat across the Sea of Galilee. We visit the city of Capernaum where Jeus did the majority of his mighty works and healed many. It became, in a sense, His home city. We'll visit the ruins of a house purported to be Peter's and where Jesus stayed a number of times. We'll visit Bethsaida where the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes happened and where the Mount of the Beatitudes is located (of course, where Jesus taught the Beatitudes to the multitude). Last, we'll visit Caesarea Phillipi where Jesus asked His disciples "Who do the people say I am?" and Peter answered "You are the Christ. The Son of the living God." 
  

Saturday, Oct 30 - Birthplace of John the Baptist, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Sea of Galilee

As we left Jerusalem early this morning, most of us felt a keen sense of loss and nostalgia. We've been told about how Jerusalem gets in your blood. I believe Jerusalem is a Christian's spiritual home no less than it is for the Jews. It's difficult to put in words but I feel like it's now my second home.

We immeidately saw something that has been a huge surprise for me. I pictured Israel to be the Judean desert where Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days. I pictured barren, somewhat desolate, rolling hills covered in rocks. Boy was I wrong. Just a few miles north of Jerusalem we entered a foggy, mountainous area covered with huge firs and pines. We were on our way to the cave where John the Baptist was born. Yes, a cave. Actually, many in Jesus' time were born in caves because it was safe and the temperature (65 degrees year round) is ideal for a newborn. It's in a small village built on the side of a hill called Ain Karem. The church built over the cave is called Convento di S. Giovanni Battista. Beautiful. Ornate. Full of paintings by famous painters all of whom wanted to commemorate and capture  the birth and life of the "precursor of our Lord and Savior."

Back on the bus to Caesarea. We passed through Tel Aviv again (where we arrived from London). Tel Aviv reminds me of the Dallas skyline. Lots of tall buildings and what I would call an Americanized look.

Caesarea is simply amazing. Built by King Herod to honor his friend Julius Caesar, it pre-dates Jesus. It's importance to Christianity is as the location where Cornelius the Centurion was the first Gentile to convert to Christianity. Before Cornelius, only Jews had been converted. It's also where Paul, a Roman citizen and therefore not subject to punishment by the Romans as were the Jews, was under house arrest for two years before he was sent to Rome to be tried by Caesar. Of course, Paul was executed in Rome.

Caesarea has an amphitheatre, hippodrome and offices and baths and swimming pools. The Romans built an aquaduct from the mountains to bring fresh water to Caesarea - which was built on a peninsula into the Mediterranean Sea. Here's the fascinating thing. The pipe was built to drop one inch per mile for the 30 miles or so to Caesarea. That meant a steady flow of water but gentle, not a rushing of too much water at one time. Our Israeli guide said engineers today can't produce that kind of exact slope in pipes even with sophisticated engineering tools including GPS.

The amphitheatre seats around 5,000. The hippodrome was where the more brutal entertainment was held. Chariot races, gladiator fights, and gladiator vs. lions and tigers. Here's what is so interesting about the Hippodrome. Ten years ago, no one knew it was there. Historians wrote about a Hippodrome but "experts" assumed they were lying to make the Romans look good. In fact, archeologists discovered it about 8 years ago and today you can see the stands, the stalls where they kept the animals, and the "admission booths."

You can see the original colorful tiles on some of the floors. You can see the steam baths (by heating water in pipes behind the rocks), the swimming pools, and the irrigation system that fed fresh water into the entire complex.

On to Haifa, called the "San Francisco of Israel." Beautiful city. Tall mountains to the east, condos and apartment buildings built cantilevered over the lush, green hills. Our lunch was at a German restaurant in what is called the German Quarter. Built in 1870. Haifa is a port city, the third largest in Israel after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Then onto Mount Carmel. You'll have to read I Kings 18: 19-40. It's where Elijah battled the false prophets of Baal and Asherah and proved to the doubters that the Hebrew God was greater than the false gods of men. We drove to the top of the mountain (with breathtaking views over Haifa and its harbor) and conducted an outdoors communion service. Larry asked me once again to Celebrate.  Incredibly moving to be where Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, once stood and where a church is dedicated to him.

We then drove an hour-and-a-half east to Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was built by Herod Antipas. While there's no mention in the Bible of Jesus connected to Tiberias, most assume He came through here because much of Jesus' ministry was in towns in this part of the Sea of Galilee. It's reasonable to assume He boarded a boat here to go to Capernaum.

 Byzantine church built over the cave where John the Baptist was born.

 Amphitheatre built by Herod at Caesarea on the Mediterranean Coast.

My good friend Dick Chote and me with the Mediterranean and ruins of Caesarea behind us.

 View from Mt. Carmel overlooking Haifa, called the San Francisco of Israel.

Conducting Communion at sunset on the spot where Elijah defeated the false prophets of Baal and proved that the Hebrew God was greater than their false gods.

We're spending the next three nights in the Royal Scots Hotel, built in the 1800s as a Scots Hospital. It's now a luxury hotel adjacent to the Sea of Galilee. We're up early tomorrow to begin a full day visiting Cana (where Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding), Nazareth, home of Mary and Joseph and of Jesus from the age of 2 until He was 30. Then we'll visit Mt. Tabor where Jesus was Transfigured. We conclude the day by going to the River Jordan where I'll purchase water to be used in future baptisms.

Jerusalem - Friday. To Masada, Dead Sea, Qumran, Jericho, Birthday Surprise

Friday began with another early wakeup call so we could be on the bus at 7. On the way to the Dead Sea, everyone sang Happy Birthday. Really special.

Dead Sea: first of all, it's the lowest spot on earth. This means high temperatures, high pressure (good for asthmatics because it forces open the alveoli and lungs). It also means chewing gum and yawning (just like going up and down in an airplane.) This is the Judean desert where Jesus was tempted by Satan. I can tell you one thing, after seeing how barren and desolate it is, I would have been tempted by a drink of water or a Nutty Buddy. Reminds me of parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.

The surprising thing about the Dead Sea is I always had a mental picture of a fetid, salty, whitish, brackish pool of stagnant water. The reality is it's a huge body of water, beautiful blue, and clear. Just salty. Try 30 percent salty. One of our group said he was looking forward to going into the Sea because "All my life, I've wanted to float in water." Sure enough, everyone floated. In fact, it was difficult to get right side up after being on your back. It's like you've got floaties on your ankles.

Next up were the caves at Qumran. Fascinating. Just caves in the side of mountains and hills. In 1947, a shepherd was looking for a lost sheep, saw a cave below him and leaned way down and tossed a rock in the opening. When he heard a piece of pottery break, he investigated and the rest is history. In clay jars were found manuscripts including a full text of Isaiah and most other Old Testament books.

Then we went to Masada. I need to correct my earlier post about what happened there. The Zealots did not commit suicide. Actually, the 960 men, women, and children met in the synagogue. The priest and leader, Eliazar, convinced them that the besieging Roman army would torture and rape the women, torture and kill the children, and torture and kill the men. Instead, they voted to kill themselves. Here's how they did it. They drew straws (so to speak) and the 10 men who drew the lots were to kill all the others.

Each of the 10 was to kill his own family as well as others he was assigned. Then, one of the 10 was selected to kill the other nine and then, because suicide was/is forbidden in Jewish law, he was to fall on his sword (literally). That way he wasn't committing suicide.

They even left huge storehouses of food, grain, etc. so that the Romans would realize that they -the Zealots - could have held out for months if not years. But they killed themselves to avoid the torture and killing as well as to send a signal to Rome that they were not subject to nor were killed by the Roman soldiers.

It's a story of sacrifice similar to our own story of the Alamo. In fact, when an Israeli soldier finishes basic training, they are brought to Masada where they take a vow "Never another Masada." Inspirational and beautiful. You get to the top via gondola. You see the ruins built by Herod which included swimming pools, offices, barracks for the Roman soldiers, and storehouses for food. Incredible accomplishment.

Then we drove to Jericho. Did you know it's the oldest continuously habited city in the world? 10,000 years old. (and it looks every day of it.) There is a startling and stark contrast between the towns and cities in Israel compared to the towns in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian territories. Reminded me of a Mexical border town. We had lunch there in an outdoor restaurant. For the fourth time in three days, we had falafel, hummus, shredded lettuce, lamb burger, rice, and chicken kabob.

Back to Jerusalem for an hour in the hotel. Then, off again, this time to a very nice store in Bethlehem (again, Palestinian territory which means your passport has to be checked by machine gun-toting  Israeli soldiers. When they decide a bunch of old Episcopalian/Anglicans aren't likely to be a threat, they get off the bus and say "Shalom."

In this store, I bought Trinity a beautiful Nativity scene made out of high-grade Jerusalem olive wood. They had one for $40,000 - not the one I bought. Most were in the $2,000 range (again, not the one I bought).

In the restaurant, guess what we had? Again, lamb, falafel, hummus, shredded lettuce, rice. But then, with great fanfare, the waiters brought out a large birthday cake complet with candles and a huge sparkler and everyone (for the third time today) sang Happy Birthday to me. Yeah, yeah. I got a little teary. You know me. I told them how special they all were or had become to me. You've got to understand, when you spend time in Jesus' tomb and on Golgotha  and walk on the Via Dolorosa with people, you feel a special bond.

Wonderful ending to another long day. Up tomorrow and on the road at 7 to leave Jerusalem (gonna be hard for most of us) for Tiberias, Caesarea, and the Sea of Galilee area where we'll spend the next three days. Again, no pictues tonight because my Internet service is spotty at best and I need to figure out how to reduce the size of the pictures. That's for tomorrow.

Thursday - Temple Mount, Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, Shrine of the Book, Celebrating Communion

In yesterday's blog posting, I failed to mention that I saw my first machine gun yesterday. We had lunch in Bethlehem, which is Palestinian territory. Leaving Israeli territory and going into Palestinian territory isn't a problem but coming back into Israel creates serious scrutiny by the Israelis. Two machine-gun-toting Israeli soldiers came on our bus. One was a young woman - rather attractive. Someone asked her if she spoke English. She said "Of course. I grew up in Colorado and my brother lives in Dallas."

Today is Thursday, October 28 and was the highlight of our pilgrimage so far. One thing we've learned is you have to be flexible. Our guide, Dr. Saleem Ateek, is a psychotherapist from Dallas who grew up in Israel and who has well-connected family still here. He arranges all our tours, hotels, restaurants for meals, and so on. Today was a busy day since several of our plans had to be rescheduled.

First up was a walk from our hotel through the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, and the Christian Quarter of the Old City. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the events commemorated in the Twelve Stations of the Cross occurred. Most scholars believe that the church is built on the site of the actual crucifixion and the site of Jesus' tomb. We got to touch the rock believed to be the site of the crucifixion.

We saw Mount Zion (Jewish Quarter) where the elite lived in Herod's time. In fact, he built his rich friends their own bridge to get from their homes into the Temple. There is a 24-foot wide section of the original wall left. Very impressive.

We saw the Wailing Wall (or as the Jews call it, the Western Wall). I put the prayers my Trinity members had written into the wall as we stood alongside the various sects of Jewish men.

Then we entered the Temple Mount. This has the familiar golden dome Moslem building (the Dome of the Rock)  and the entire Mount is the source of conflict between Israelis and Moslems. Moslems believe that Abraham was told to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, on the site of the Dome of the Rock. Jews (and we Christians) believe that it's the site where God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Can you understand why there might be some controversy here? In any event, the second Temple was destroyed by the Romans paving the way for the Moslems to build the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on what is considered Jewish holy ground.

We Christians weren't allowed to go into the Dome of the Rock or the mosque. In fact, we were warned not to carry our Bible onto the Temple Mount and certainly not to hug or hold hands. The Moslems do not allow it around their facilities.

At this point, our guide, who is an Arab Christian, said that we in the United States are lied to by our media (no surprise there!). He said we should only take about 1 percent of the reports of violence seriously in the Temple Mount area.

From there, we went to the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed a man crippled from birth. Only problem was, it was on a Saturday (the Sabbath) and the healing sorta got Jesus in some hot water with the religious authorities. The pool was formed when King Solomon quarried the site for rocks to build the Temple. It's some 40-feet deep and its waters were thought to have healing properties.

Then on to the Crusader Church (also known as St. Anne's) where it's believed that Mary was born - in a cave under the church. Caves were where many were born in those days because you could keep wild animals out.

The Antonia Fortress, named for Herod's best friend, Mark Anthony, was a huge structure from where Herod could keep an eye on much of the Old City including the Temple area. He needed to keep his eye on things because he suffered from, among other things, paranoia. This is where Jesus was tried and flogged before being taken to Caiphas, the High Priest.

Then the Via Dolorosa which, very frankly, was very disappointing. Its path is through 12-foot-wide strip surrounded by shops the whole way - some covered and underground. It was believed to be the same way two thousand years ago when Jesus carried His cross along its path leading outside the city walls to Golgotha.

Our next-to-last stop was the famous Israel Museum - the Shrine of the Book. It features the original text of Isaiah  (the Isaiah Scroll) - although it's hidden away for security. The center of the famous building is a round copy of an accurate reproduction as well as original pieces of some of the documents found in the caves in Qumran. Goat herders found (in the late 1940s) the documents well-preserved in clay jars in caves. All the Old Testament books But only the book of Isaiah is totally intact and complete.

Last, we went to the house of Caiphas where a church has been built over it - St. Peter Gallicante (the Rooster). This is where I celebrated Communion. Beautiful church built over a series of caves where prisoners were kept - including Jesus after his meeting with Pontius Pilate and before he was led away to His crucifixion. In fact, we walked on the original roadway Jesus would have walked. It's a Roman road built connecting the City of David with Mount Zion, where Caiphas' house is and where Jesus met with the disciples in the upper room and celebrated the Last Supper.

Tomorrow we're off to the Dead Sea and then to Masada where 960 Jews committed suicide in lieu of allowing the Romans to capture, torture, and then kill them. Masada is a flat plateau on top of a mountain. It's a story reminiscent of the Alamo story. In fact, all Israeli soldiers learn a phrase - "Never another Masada." Very inspiring.

Sorry, I can't get my photos to upload to the blog. I'll try again tomorrow (Friday).

Trinity Family and Friends: I may not be able to post anything to my blog for awhile. It costs $17 a day to get Internet access here at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. I bought one day to get yesterday's post up...but aren't sure I need to spend that much money each day.

 

I'll see what the Internet fee situation is in upcoming hotels and perhaps I can post again.

 

Today was incredible.

 

Began with communion at the Anglican Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr, celebrated by the Bishop. Then to the Mount of Olives which has a commanding view of the Valley of Gehenna ("hell") looking toward the Temple Mount and the wall surrounding the Old City. There we saw the Church of the Pater Noster ("Lord's Prayer") where the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.

 

Then we went to the Garden of Gethsemane. It truly is covered with olive trees, some dating back 2,200 years which means...Jesus actually would have seen them. Inside the Church of the Agony is the rock upon which tradition says Jesus spent His last night praying.

 

You'll note that in the Holy Land, you hear a lot of "tradition says..." and "tradition has it that..." because historians and theologians know where a place is but the exact spot might be unknown. For example, later in the day, we visited Bethlehem and saw the spot where most experts are pretty sure Jesus was born. Bethlehem is five miles from the center of Jerusalem.

 

We also saw the Shepherd's Field where tradition has it that the shepherds were spending the night with their herds in a cave when they saw the star and heard the angel command them to go into Bethlehem and worship the new King of kings. We actually went into the cave where we read the famous Luke recitation we all hear on Christmas Eve.

 

Last, we went to the Church of the Nativity where we saw the birthplace. There was an Eastern Orthdox funeral going on at the time and the juxtoposition of visiting the place of Jesus' birth and the funeral of an adult was striking.

 

I have lots of pictures and, if I'm not able to get my blog posted again, at least I'll show you the pictures. 

 

I've attached a few from today. 1. Our David Citadel Hotel pool and view of Jerusalem. 2. Temple Mount. 3. Garden of Gethsemane with 2,200-year-old olive trees. 4. Church of the Nativity - birthplace of Jesus.

 

Blessings,

 

Dale+

Getting to Israel

It was a long day (or was it two days?). The Austin pilgrims got on our bus around 10 a.m. for our trip to Houston's Intercontinental Airport. We arrive around 1 and met the Houston pilgrims. Our British Airways flight was on time. Flying a 777 is nice. Fortunately, we weren't full and I had an empty middle seat next to me.

My seatmate was an interesting woman. A Jewish woman who is a commercial real estate broker in Houston. She was thrilled we were all going to her homeland and, in fact, knows one of the Houston pilgrims from her business. She wasn't threatened at all hearing about Jesus and how we were all expecting life-changing experiences in the Holy Land and walking where Jesus walked.

 We arrived in London on time (8 a.m. London time, 1 a.m. Austin time.) We only had to wait an hour-and-a-half for our flight to Tel Aviv. Another flight that wasn't full and, once again, I got an empty seat next to me.

Ben Gurion Airport (Tel Aviv) was a madhouse. Lots of 777s and 747s arriving at the same time. Everyone speaking different languages and everyone standing in the same lines to go through Customs.

 Our tour bus is a brand new 2010 Mercedes. Pretty nice.

The drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is beautiful. Reminds me of the Texas Hill Country and also the area around Albuquerque. Hills, trees, valleys. It's a 2,400-foot climb from Tel Aviv (on the Mediterranean Coast) to Jerusalem so we got to see a lot of tall hills and deep valleys.

Sunday Preparations Before Departure for Holy Land

What a day! It began early with our Sunday worship service. 64 worshipers. Beautiful music. Surprised at the end of announcmenets by the entire congregation coming up and laying on hands and praying. This was followed by one of our incomparable Pot Luck Lunches.

Lot of last minute to-dos. Charging all the electronic gizmos you have to travel with today. Trying to remember which buttons to push on my new Iphone so we don't get charged thousands of dollars in foreign roaming charges. Trying to remember how to type this and import photos so you can see where I'm going, what I'm doing, and what I've seen.

The 11 Austin pilgrims meet at 9:30 Monday morning to travel to Houston where we catch up with our 33 Houston pilgrims and board our British Air flight to London.

My next post will likely be from Jerusalem. I'll try to do this daily but please forgive me if I miss a day or can't get Internet access.

Thank you for visiting. I'll try to keep things interesting.
 
Here are a couple of photos from today - church and packing. One suitcase and one backpack.