Holy Land Pilgrimage Journal (Day 4)

Sunday, 15th September 2019

Today commenced with another stunning sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. As I stood on my balcony capturing the sunrise on my camera, the word 'shalom' came to mind. The Hebrew idea of peace, harmony, wholeness and tranquility was all wrapped up in those few peaceful moments at the break of day.

Deep peace of the running wave to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of Christ, of Christ
The Light of the world to you

Deep Peace of Christ to you. 

(Gaelic Blessing)

From the tranquility of the sunrise, we drove up to the top of Mount Tabor, the place where the Orthodox and Catholics believe the Transfiguration of Christ took place. The Franciscans have built a magnificent church on top of the mountain to commemorate this significant event. The church has three chapels, one for each of the people depicted in this story - a side chapel for Moses and another for Elijah, and the main chapel/church for the transfigured Christ. Each space displays magnificent artwork telling the story that appears in the synoptic gospels. The view of the Jezreel Valley from the church is truly breath taking! It's not hard to understand why Peter got caught up in the awe and wonder of what was happening.

We then moved from one mountain to another called the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave the 'Sermon on the Mount.'

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, 

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, 

persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:3-12)

Standing on the edge of the u-shaped valley looking down towards the Sea of Galilee from the top of the hillside was an extraordinary connection with the sermon that ushered in new kingdom values that literally changed the known world at the time and every generation since. I must confess that I felt a deeper connection with the 'Beatitudes' outside than inside the church dedicated to this occasion in Jesus' ministry.

From the hillside to the seaside...

Out on the waters of the Sea of Galilee we paused for a service and commenced with the song by Catherine Baird, 'When Jesus Looked O'er Galilee.' We were then guided through a series of biblical reflections from the following Scriptures:

1. Calling His Disciples (Luke 5:1-11) - There is nothing to fear!
2. Calming the Storm (Luke 8:22-25) - Why can't you trust me?
3. Courage for Fear (Matthew 14:22-33) - Courage! My life is now hidden in Christ.
4. Called Again (John 21:1-13) - Expose my hidden wounds, deal with me that I may find healing.
5. Commissioned (John 21:15-19) - He knows all things, everything I do has love for Him as the foundation.

After sailing on a replica 'Jesus Boat', we visited an actual 2,000 year old Galilean boat that was discovered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, buried in the sand back in 1986 by two local fishermen. The story about the process to recover this artifact was quite extraordinary! It is on display at the 'Yigal Allon Centre' and is a remarkable piece of biblical history that helps you to picture the stories of Jesus and the disciples out on the Sea of Galilee.

Our final stop for the day was a visit to the 'Duc In Altum' in Magdala. This centre dedicated to Mary Magdalene and other significant women in the gospels houses four mosaic chapels:

1. Mary Magdalene Chapel (Luke 8:2)
2. Walking on Water Chapel (Matthew 14:30-31)
3. Daughter of Jairus Chapel (Mark 5:41)
4. Fishers of Men Chapel (Matthew 4:19)

It also houses the most extraordinary boat shaped altar and the Encounter Chapel that is modeled after the structure of the Magdala first century synagogue. Outside this beautiful modern facility are the amazingly preserved ruins of the first century Magdala Synagogue, which was discovered in 2009, as well as other ruins of first century homes. The whole site, in fact city of Magdala, was of particular interest to me as I find the story of Mary Magdalene quite inspiring. However, today I was deeply disappointed and somewhat amazed that our guide perpetuated the false and defamatory narrative that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute! She was no such thing!! Rather, a wealthy woman who was tormented by seven demons, which Jesus cast out of her. Mary, along with two other women of significant influence form the same region became faithful followers of Jesus and used their wealth to support His ministry. The prostitute narrative is a Catholic tradition based on the false idea that Mary Magdalene was the 'sinful' woman who anointed Jesus with perfume and washed His feet with her tears and hair in the pharisee's home.