Every pilgrimage has its surprises. The unexpected upends your expectations and you find yourself trekking down a different path.  


Today was one of those days.


We started with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, where to a person, it was a surprise that Jesus' ministry took place in a small geographical area.  When the motor was shut off, you could hear the lapping of the water against the boat and imagine Jesus out with his disciples.  In times of confusion, storms, and calm, it was profound to think that Jesus saw the same geography we were seeing.


Just when it seemed like it could get any better, we shuffled onto the shore to see a recent discovery of the "Jesus Boat," a first-century boat similar to the ones that the disciples would have used.  Claudia even lined everyone up to see if 12 people or disciples could fit in the boat with Jesus sleeping in the stern. But even as she set up the "photo" shoot to prove her point, one had to question - did the disciples always go as a group of 12?  Did they ever split up - one group to make money fishing, another to get the overnight camp set up, another to stay behind to take care of family? Did all twelve follow him everywhere?





With little time to debate those questions, we were off the Primacy of Peter,  one location where Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection.  A charcoal fire, a haul of fish, and a set of very pointed questions about what it means to follow Jesus - "Do you love me?" he asks.  If so, the command is to follow him wherever it leads. 





Up the road, we entered Capernaum, the home base for Jesus' ministry.  A tour of the ruins, the synagogue, and the modern church gave insights into the way of life for people in Jesus' day.  Of course, he healed and taught, but he also laughed and cried, slept and got hungry.  He did all the things you might expect, but a comment by Iyad got a few of us thinking.  He mentioned that the place where Jews prayed in that day was in the Temple in Jerusalem - not at the synagogue.  Instead, the synagogue was a gathering place for teaching.  The modeling of private prayer on a mountain was radical to his disciples. Could this be why they ask him how to pray?  He was setting the stage for a new kind of relationship one could have with God:  personal, intimate, even individual.  He really was a radical. 

Next up was Tabgha, the site for the loaves and fishers.  Here we saw a different kind of miracle.  One in our group missed a step and the resulting face plant on the stone floor meant a trip to the emergency room.  Everyone swooped in - some offering medical aid, others' praying, and everyone else executing a ton of instructions to get the supplies, the passport, the taxi, etc., that we needed.  Thankfully, after scans and an examination at the local hospital, all that we needed was a few stitches.

The group soldiered on with a visit to this site, contemplating the meaning of Jesus feeding thousands.  Does God's provision always look so generous and abundant?  


Hungry and needing a break, the group headed to lunch to enjoy tilapia, fresh from the Sea of Galilee.  No one found a coin in their fish but that didn't matter; we all experienced the abundance of a table overflowing with food!


The stop at Magdala impressed the group with excavations of this small fishing village. The church on the site was a tribute to women in Jesus' ministry.  More than one person remarked on the massive mural of the women with the flow of blood.  Powerful indeed.  

The day ended at the top of the Mt. of Beatitudes, where we were treated to a rousing reading and commentary on the Sermon on the Mount by Annette.  



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