Tabgha-- Caesarea Phillippi - Jesus Boat

This morning we were all up and ready to head out on our Pilgrimage to view the places where Jesus carried out his ministry here in the Holy Land. Our first full day in Israel started with a short drive (with our driver – Badi - to Tabgha where we made 2 stops. The first was a beautiful church which is the location of the story of the Loaves and Fishes, or the feeding of the multitudes. In the church, under a glass cover is the volcanic rock which it is believed that Jesus stood upon during that time. We were reminded about the sharing of what we have and avoiding fearfulness of not having ‘enough’.
The second stop was a wonderful location by the Sea of Galilee where it Jesus called the fisher men to be fishers of men. Harry read John 21 verses 1 - 8, and Samir discussed the passage, then we had time to wander the site and took some wonderful pictures of this historic and faith-filled site.
Our next stop was at the Mount of Beatitudes where Bill read from the Sermon of the Mount - Matthew 5 vs 1 – 13 – the Beatitudes. We then took a few minutes to contemplate the meaning of these words as we wandered throughout the octagonal Church and the grounds surrounding it. We gazed out over the Sea of Galilee and imagined the gathering around Jesus as he delivered his important message.
Up until now, we have been in an area that is actually below sea level. Our next stop was high in the Golan Heights – the area known as Banias or Caesarea Philippi. This is one of the four sources of the Jordan River and the city that used to define the northern border of Israel. As we drove the winding road we could see the effect of adequate rainfall and the rich soil. There were multitudes of fruit crops including grape vines, and a great deal of vegetation. We also learned about the Druze – a people who live on the Golan Heights, and have their own belief system and culture. There were several settlements of Druze along the way.
The source itself revealed a number of wonderful sights, the stream itself – only a small representation of what it is as it accepts run-off from Mount Hermon, the Wheel with the Sand Verses, The temple of Pan: the overall beauty, and of course the Fig Tree.
We then completed the circle tour of the Golan Heights and returned to Tiberius where we stopped for Lunch at a wonderful restaurant that served a salad of Middle Eastern dishes, and the most wonderful St. Peter’s fish. Ginger wasn’t too sure if she liked the look of that fish staring up at her, but did enjoy the fish once the head was removed. This was topped up with a glass or two of Heineken and some fresh (not dried) dates. Later we learned of the biblical reference that gave these fish their name.
After lunch we were back on the bus for the short drive to our Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. After the Canadian Flag was raised and we all sang O Canada, we were off to the center on the lake. Here with contributions of a short hymn sing with Barbara, and scripture reading by Harry (Matthew 14 vs. 22-31) Bill delivered a brief worship on the topic of not loosing sight of our faith in God amidst the storms of life.
As we made our way back to shore we noticed some of the sites we had visited earlier in the day – this time from the Lakeside.
The final stop of the day was to the Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz, specifically to the museum where we had the opportunity to view the ‘Jesus Boat’ and listen to the story of its discovery and recovery.
Then back to our hotel by 4:30 and the opportunity for a brief social time and some exercise before supper. There was some talk of a swim, unfortunately – the pool is closed – perhaps a swim in the Sea of Galilee?
Tomorrow should prove to be another busy by experience-filled day!