Church of the Annunciation, Mt. of Transfiguration, Armageddon, Mt. Carmel

Our 2nd day in Israel leaving Galilee and heading toward Jerusalem.

 Mosaic @ the Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth

high altar Church of the Annunciation

 Mt. of Transfiguration

 Armageddon

 Armageddon

 Armageddon

 View of Mt. of Transfiguration from Armageddon

 Armageddon, above, the ruins, below, view from Armageddon

 Mosaic from Church of Annunciation

Mosaic Church of Annunciation

Prayer in the church of Annunciation

Caesarea Philippi, Sea of Galilee, Beatitudes, Breakfast with the Risen Christ

Here are a bunch of pictures from a long and holy day.
Blessings,

 Church of the Beatititudes-the Franciscan Sisters allowed us the celebrate Eucharist at an outdoor chapel.

 the view of the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes

 Modern Church at Capernaum built over the ruins of the ancient church. This is where Jesus lived during his ministry

Debbie dips her toes in the Sea of Galilee where Jesus fixed breakfast for his disciples after his resurrection. John 21.

Caesarea Philippi: one of the sources of the Jordan begins here. At the springs source, Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah.

This is the cave where the spring begins.

1st view of the Sea of Galilee

Boat ride on the sea

Jon tries his hand at fishing.

Sea of Galilee site of John 21, where Jesus cooked fish for the disciples in his 3rd resurrection appearance.

Toni gathering rocks from the sea.

Walter looks out at the sea.

Jon does likewise.

Mike and Cyndi Hohl pose for me on the shores of the sea

Blessings to all,

Robert

Mount Nebo and the River Jordan

Today was a big day in Jordan. We began at a church in Madaba which is a heavily Christian community near Ammnon, the capital of Jordan. The church was an important place of worship during the Byzantine era but was partially destroyed by earthquakes. A beautiful mosaic map which was on the floor of the church has been partially restored to reveal a pilgrims' guide to the holy land. There were many other breathtaking mosaics in the church.

We next went to Mt. Nebo, the place where Moses was allowed to see the promise land yet not allowed to enter it. What a beautiful spot. It was a place to ponder how to be satisfied with not getting what you want; about the fullness of life which comes knowing that others will enjoy something that you won't experience; and learning to make do with what you have.

We then went to the site where most scholars believe Jesus was baptized. This was the 1st place we'd been on our trip that wasn't crowded. We walked the path to the spot and we were the only ones there. We had planned to celebrate the Eucharist and renew our baptismal vows but had not expected such privacy. We had a moving service and then walked to the Jordan to put on feet in it. Across on the river (a mere fifteen or so feet) was the Israeli side where many pilgrims dressed in baptismal robes were going into the water to renew their vows.

A few hours later, we were in the promised land, Israel. As always the security was tight and several of us, myself included, were subject to intensive baggage searches.  When I told our Israeli guide of our frustrations, he smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said that they could afford to make any mistakes.

At the end of a long day, we were glad to check into our rooms, have a good supper and get to bed--which is what I am about to do!

blessings,
robert

Petra Pictures

Here are some pictures of a truly amazing place.

Robert

Climbing Mount Sinai

Climbing Mount Sinai                       

For centuries, pilgrims have journeyed to Mount Sinai to climb to the summit as a pilgrimage. At the top of Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Christians, Jews and Muslims consider this spot a holy place. When we arrived at Saint Catherine’s at the foot of Mount Sinai, six of us decided to take this pilgrimage to the summit.

One of the key aspects of this journey is to reach the summit of Sinai just before sunrise to experience the beginning of a new day on that holy mountain. In order to undertake this journey, we had to meet our guide at 1:30 a.m.

Our guide took us to the spot where the pilgrims would meet and we were shocked to see a huge throng of people waiting to begin. He said there would be over 1,000 people there and we assumed this was an exaggeration.  He probably underestimated the number of people. Around 2:00 a.m. we began the journey. The variety of people undertaking this hike was huge. Fit athletic folks were alongside couch potatoes in flip-flops carrying boxes of pastries. It was a staggering spectacle of humanity with one goal—to reach the summit of Moses’ Mountain, Sinai.

Since we began in the dark, we all carried flashlights. As we moved along it was eerie to look back at the stream of lights snaking up the mountain looking like the world’s longest strand of Christmas lights. The hike up the mountain was 5 miles  ( or so we were told) and the final elevation at the summit was over 7,000 feet. At several junctures along the trek were Bedouin huts where they sold water, juice, coffee and tea.

We arrived at the summit around 5:00 a.m. and got a good spot to watch the sunrise. Waiting in the darkness for a new day to dawn at the spot where God gave the commandments to Moses was a humbling and holy experience. Honestly, I am still working through and processing the experience.

The journey up the mountain in the darkness over rocky and uneven terrain was a thoughtful and meditative time I will never forget. The time to be still and wait for the sunrise at the summit gave me a deep awareness of how very small I am in this vast universe, but yet how very precious I am to the holy God who has created us. The details of those revelations can be pondered for quite awhile. I intend to do that.

Blessings,

Robert