Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, etc.

Sunday afternoon, July 19, -- Sea of Galilee.

Well, we’ve certainly had a full day so far. Marilyn, Randy and I were up and out by six am to walk along the “board walk” outside our hotel, along the Sea of Galilee.

At 8:15 in the morning we began traversing the Sea of Galilee in a smallish old style boat. Our first order of business was to take the Lord’s Supper. Marilyn had pre-prepared unleavened bread, our tour guide provided wine and small, individual Olive wood communion cups. We passed by the table to take the elements. The sea was beautiful with no “sudden squalls” and no one followed the Jesus example of sleeping in the stern. It was a special, emotional and spiritual experience. We read from The Word, sang “Come Share Lord” and communed with God, Christ and one another. We sang a few songs that had been inspired by experiences on the Sea of Galilee—“Master the Tempest is Raging,” “Love Lifted Me” and a round of “There are fishes in the nets of the hands of the men, in the boat, on the Sea of Galilee.” Staff on board showed us how an ancient net would have been thrown. Rodney Cramer followed suit and did a credible job of casting the net. Neither cast produced any fish. We felt like the disciples who “fished all night but they caught no fishes.”

Our bus was waiting at the end of our hour-long voyage. We boarded and stopped briefly at the location that celebrates the Sermon on the Mount and then headed north to the region of majestic Mt. Hermon, Caesarea Philippi and the ancient shrine to the god Pan (where Peter made the good confession at the “gates of Hades.”) What an experience that was!

After a lunch of pita loaves and fish we visited the cliffs of Arbel along the old road from Galilee to Nazareth. Our guide thinks that it would be likely that Jesus would have called Simon the Zealot from the refugee caves along the way where the Zealots hid out.

Then on to the probable site on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus called the fishermen and later appeared them once again after the resurrection and ask Peter three times about his love. It is in the same area as the feeding of the five thousand may have occurred.

And finally for our days adventure we visited the ancient cite of Capernaum where Jesus spoke with authority in the synagogue, healed a demoniac and many others including Peter’s mother-in-law. The foundations of that very synagogue are still present, as well as remains of Peter’s house—both of which have been pretty well authenticated in the last few years with a high degree of certainty as authentic first century remnants.

What a day it has been.

Tomorrow we’re off for Nazareth and then Jerusalem.