One of yesterday's poignant moments was listening to Garland read The Beatitudes as we sat in a caved nook overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Even when we wandered downhill the acoustics on the hillside were impressive; you could imagine Christ addressing a large audience here. Very neat!Our experiences here run the gamut from tender feelings of the heart as we sat quietly on The Sermon on the Mount while just an a hour earlier we were dancing it up to gospel songs on a boat ride filled with Nigerians on a Christian Pilgrimage! Never a dull moment!
A few of the sites from yesterdays travels include:
Kursi: This location was the likely place where Christ performed the miracle of the man possessed by demons, and the swine casting themselves into the sea.
Bethsaida: A fishing village and home to Apostles Andrew, Peter, and Phillip. In Bethsaida Jesus healed the blind man with 2 blessings.
Wadi Hammam: The most direct route from Capernaum to Nazareth lies within this canyon. We filled Paige's water bottle at a fresh spring that would have been used by ancient travelers; a place Christ would likely have stopped to rest and drink. Cool!
Ginnosar: A kibbutz where two archaeologists discovered a 2,000 year old fishing vessel. In a painstaking process they removed the boat from the Sea of Galilee so you get an idea of the very look of the boats that the Apostles would have fished from or the boat that Jesus would have calmed the tempest.
Tabgha: The purported site where Christ met the 11 Apostles after his resurrection. This is where he asked Peter 3 times "Do you love me?" and encouraged Peter to "Feed my Sheep."
Yardenit: A tourist stop where Christians can pay a fee for the experience of being baptized in the Jordan River. The likely spot of Jesus' baptism is actually further south near Jericho. But this is an interesting visit just to see the many forms people choose to show their devotion. We saw one man dunk himself multiple times, another couple blessed by their priest but not completely immersed, and sometimes entire groups will hold hands and get baptized altogether.
Tiberius: The largest of the 15 port towns around the Sea of Galilee. We tried the touted St. Peter's fish (tilapia I think) at a restaurant right on the water. Paige was adamant about ordering the fish (head, eye sockets and all) and Webb was adamant about not trying it (too many bones) but the fresh warm pita bread and hummus has become a crowd pleaser for all of us.
Spending time in the Sea of Galilee you really get a sense of why Christ loved to be here. It's a beautiful place; a peaceful place and it would have been a nice change from the congestion of Jerusalem.
