On the Road Again

On Friday we left Ashkelon and journeyed up North, to Jesus' old stomping grounds, the Galilee region. We stayed at a lovely hotel on the Plain of Gennesaret called Nof Ginnosar. The Hotel was absolutely beautiful, located on the sea of Galilee, which is more like a lake than a sea. The murky waters which Jesus once traversed on foot were soothing and cool on our "day around the lake", reaching temperatures in the 100 degree range with very high humidity. On our last night, our Israeli guide, Illan, grilled very non-kosher cheeseburgers for us, and had the time of his life celebrating the fourth of July with us. Illan is a very interesting man: combining hippie with nationalist, his jovial personality is often juxtaposed by war stories and deep theological musings. Yesterday, we visited many of the cities Jesus visited during his ministry, and we finished by going to the Museum of the Boat. The museum of the Boat had one attraction: a boat. The boat in question was actually a two thousand year old boat which was actually pretty cool. A short distance from the museum was a pier, at which was birthed a replica of the museum boat. Sarah Seibert asked me if I wanted to see it, and so we went to look at it. Within five minutes we were sailing the Sea of Galilee, aboard the hand-made boat, built by a former resident of Salem, MA whom Sarah and I (but mostly Sarah because she reigns supreme at schmoozing) befriended. David was a pretty cool guy, and he gave us certificates proving that we had been on the boat. Afterward, we went swimming.
Nof Ginnosar's one flaw was terrible wifi, which is why I am writing so long post factum. Today, we set out from Gennesaret and journeyed to Bet-She'an, a city with thoroughly impressive ruins. Standing atop the tell and looking down at the Roman ruins on the plain below was incredible, and brought to mind Percy Byssche Shelly's poem Ozymandias:

I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:And on the pedestal these words appear:'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."  

Another wiser man said it this way: 
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures on eath, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

At Bet-She'an, we bade farewell to Jonathan Kirkpatrick, who had come to visit us again, and when we were done, we headed to Armageddon...except not really. While many believe that Armageddon will take place at Megiddo (where we were), there is much better evidence that Jerusalem is the actual site. At any rate, Megiddo was a remarkable tel, and afterward we settled in for the two hour drive to Jerusalem. We visited the garden of Gethsemane, and a church dedicated to where Jesus wept over his impending death. Illan made an excellent point about how God wants obedience and that that was the point of Christ's ministry. He used the example of Jesus' answer to the people asking him about paying taxes to the Romans. Jesus answered them saying "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. Just before this, Jesus asks to see a denarius (a Roman coin of a moderate denomination) and then asks whose image is on it. As humans, we are all made in God's image, and therefore what Jesus actually said to his challengers was "give to Caesar the things that bear his image and give to God the things that bear his image". Next, we went to Church of all Nations, where we further contemplated Christ's obedience. Obedience is something that requires training, Illan told us, using an object lesson from his time in the army. As a medic, he was responsible for having to save lives under fire, and he was able to do so because of his training.
The Christian life is a lot like that, and without proper training, we will not be able to be obedient as Christ was able.
On a slightly more light note, I rode a camel, which the most excellent Sarah Seibert documented, and then returned to the old city to do some shopping.
I will be home soon, and I look forward to seeing you all very soon!