It seems like forever ago, but one week ago today (Friday) our group was finishing up a 4 day hiking trip in the Galilee. Starting in Nazareth we hiked the 40+ mile Jesus trail to the ruins of Capernaum, the headquarters of Jesus' ministry.
It was nothing like what I imagined.
Our first day we up up up, just to get out of Nazareth, then down down and through green wheat fields and pine forests. Our assignment for the day was to make up our own "Behold! saying. Jesus had some of these like, "behold the birds of the air... the lilies of the field. Even Solomon was not clothed like one of these." (Very paraphrased ...) So our job was to make our own like, "behold the well-worn path. Those who say on in will reach their destination!" We spent our first night in Cana where Jesus turned water into wine, probably on his way from his baptism to Nazareth before the Luke 4 story.
Our second day we hiked through a pine forest. It smelled just like the Rockies! Our thought asignment was "The Kingdom of God is like..." That night was spent at a goat farm / Eco Hostel, Yarak Ozone. We had the pleasure of having an impromptu hymn sing in the dwindling evening light, sing song after song as they came to mind in our mixed and made up harmony. Singing has become a wonderful theme for our group. At any non structured moment, if someone starts singing a well known song of any type there will shortly be 3 or 5 or more voices all joining in with their own harmony.
Our third day of hiking we walked though some more fields. Eventually we worked up and over the Horns of Hitton and down through a little canyon filled with grazing cattle. Our assignment for the day was "blessed are the..." Are you catching the theme?? That night we climbed up the cliffs of Arbel to stay at a little Bed and Breakfast.
Our last day we went over the cliffs, past some more cows, and down the road to the town of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee. There we saw one of the only synagogues from the first century found in Israel. It is almost 99% possible that Jesus stood in this synagogue and worshiped. We also finished up the spiritual part of the hike with a little message by Linford to wrap everything up. We sat in a beautiful chapel looking over the Sea with a gigantic boat for the alter. Surrounding the space were pillars with each of the 12 apostles, and just outside in the narthex was a circle of pillars with the names of the women who followed Jesus with one pillar left blank for women today.
From Magdala we hiked a few more hours through fields of bananas and flowering citrus fields to Capernaum. We finished tired, hot, sweaty, a few more blisters, and with a big dose of satisfaction.
But we didn't have time to rest! (Or even shower...) Straight from the Sea of Galilee we took a 3 hour bus ride back to Nazareth. (It's a bit
... dissatisfying to hike for days and then drive back in a few hours...) At Nazareth we jumped right into volunteering at Nazareth Village, a village built to depict what it would have been like for Jesus where he spent most of his. Earlier in the week we donned first century garb and did varrious jobs like pull weeds while tours walked by and took our picture. This night we again dressed up, this time to help serve an evening dinner commemorating a transition in leadership for the village. After hiking all day and serving food all night it felt great to collapse into our beds at 11 that night.
But that's not that last of our Nazareth experience! Sunday a group of us went to the Catholic Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Annunciation. Remember, Nazareth is also the place where Mary was met by an angle and told she would give birth to the savior. This church supposedly preserves the place where that may have happened. (And there's first century ruins in the lower part to back up the claim.) I have NEVER been to such an exciting palm Sunday celebration! There was a bagpipe marching band and buggle fanfares and palm branches and large crowds. There worship service itself was mostly traditional Catholic in the local Arabic language. What a privilege to be a part of such an amazing worship!
Sadly, Monday morning it was time to move on. We boarded a flight from Tell Aviv to Antalya through Istanbul and off we flew. Turkey is great, but our time in the conflicted Israel/Palestine was special. Someday I will be back. Someday.
Despite the sadness of leaving the land I called home for 3 months I am really really enjoying Turkey, and soon there will be Greece, and before I know it Italy, and the graduation and then... but tomorrow is not today and yesterday passed by too quickly. One step at a time. And right now that is going to be exploring Fathiye, Turkey and finding a cheap döner to eat :)
No comments:
Post a Comment