A Visit To Nazareth

April 14, 2015

This day was a walk in the steps of the apostles and Jesus.  It was heartwarming to see so much has survived the ravages of time and the wars of mankind.

We arrived in the busy port of Haifa early, but didn't need to go through the stringent customs and immigration process of the previous day, as we had already been cleared. The military presence is felt in Haifa, but not nearly as visible as it was in Ashdod and Jerusalem. 

Our tour guide of the day was Luisa, a delightful woman who, like all of our guides, is highly educated in the religious, political, cultural and geographical components of her nation.

Our first stop in Nazareth was the Church of the Annunciation, located on the traditional spot where Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she was the chosen, among all women, to bear the Son of God.

Near the Church of the Annunciation is the church of St Joseph. Between the two huge complexes is a courtyard with a large mosaic. As I walked up the stairs and turned back, I realized it is a huge mosaic of an olive tree, with a peacock in the lower branches. The tree of peace. I pointed it out to Luisa, and others of our group, and she was so  surprised. She said there are normally so many people in the square that she had never seen the design. Needless to say, we were enjoying a day of fewer tourists than we had in Jerusalem.

From Nazereth, we headed northeast to the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee is 500 feet below sea level and very fertile. From our viewpoint, we could see the Golan Heights, and the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.  The war rages on, but we never felt in jeopardy.

In this picture, the Golan Heights are in the middle of the photo, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee.  The locals call this body of water Lake Galilee, since it is fresh water provided by the Jordan River.

We had lunch at a kibbutz that is located on Lake Galilee and enjoyed some terrific Middle Eastern food.  This kibbutz also operates as a hotel for the busy area around the lake. Before climbing back into the bus, John used the w/c.  Check it out...  Notice the sign between the urinals...

 
Our tour guide had NO idea what this was all about.  She headed to the customer service desk to get the scoop.  As most of us already know, the Jewish faith has rules about not working on the Sabbath day.  This particular facility has an electronic eye that automatically flushes when the man using it walks away.  The hotel management said that the electronic urinals should not have to work on Sabbath.  The men have to use the regular toilets, lift the seats and actually flush on their own on Sabbath.  I just couldn't resist posting this little piece of trivia...

After our lunch, we came to Yardenitat at the River Jordan. The area is housed on the grounds of the kibbutz Yardenitat, and is managed by residents of the kibbutz. As could be expected, there were bus loads of people, most notable, six buses from Eritrea. These were the same beautiful people we saw in Jerusalem the day before, and they were going for the whole experience.

Donning the white robe and walking into the river, the came out with radiant smiles. A man from the kibbutz was trying to keep the Eritreans from pulling their clothes off to change into the white robes, right on the steps of the Jordan River. 'Please, please, use the changing rooms. Don't disrobe out here.' While we thought it rather amusing, the poor man was quite beside himself.




In the town of Capernaum we toured the remains of the home of St Peter and his family. According to our guide, St Mary lived there for a few years and where one of the first churches got it’s start. It is easy to see how the families lived on their roofs, as there were no windows and the rooms were only large enough to use for sleeping quarters.

Twice today I was asked to read some scripture, to help explain why the area we were visiting was significant. One time, I just happen to be sitting near our guide in the shade at Capernaum and she asked me to read the Luke 4: 31-39.  This is the story of Jesus casting out the devil when he was in Capernaum. The next time, at the Mount of Beatitudes, she waited for me to catch up with the group and asked me to read the scripture of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5: 1-12.

I asked John why he thought Luisa wanted me to read at Mt Beatitude, instead of someone else from our group. He replied that I read with the feeling needed to convey the message. Out of habit, I ended each reading with, 'The Word of the Lord' and a few of our group chimed in, 'Thanks be to God'. The fact is, I enjoy reading scripture aloud, as doing so helps me slow down and take in the meaning. I remember my Granddad Starkey reading scriptures to me when I was a youngster and how he read with such feeling, occasionally stopping to explain something I didn't understand. I can only hope that some of what I learned from him has rubbed off on me.

River Jordan, near where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.