Flourishing Life

We packed our bags-and loaded up the bus and were out and about bright and early. On the bus Bob shared a devotional based on Romans 12. Hannah offered some incredible perspective concerning the historical and cultural context which helps us understand the pilgrimage sites from a more wholistic point-of-view. Pilgrimage includes prayer, Bible Study, and singing, but it also includes a lot of gift shops and merchants pushing their wares, centuries of building and rebuilding, and experiences with which we are unfamiliar. Hannah has enabled us to see past a lot of the touristy accruement and grasp the beauty and significance of the Holy Land.

Peggy and Ellen Kessler at Beit Shean

Our first stop was the ruins of the ancient city of Beit Shean. 1 Samuel 31 reports the story of the corpses of King Saul and his son Jonathan hung on the city walls by the Philistines, the enemies of ancient Israel. At the time of Jesus, Beit Shean was the most important city in the Decapolis (The Ten Cities), a region Jesus visited. The Romans significantly improved the city and it continued into the Byzantine period, but was completely destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 749. The site was rediscovered in the 1970s and and was extensively excavated. The National Parks is not custodian of this rich site which serves an amazing example of a Roman city, with shopping sections, theater, amphitheater, a large bath house complex, and wide streets. In the theater, our own Barbara Lanham regaled us with her beautiful singing voice, demonstrating the excellent acoustic qualities of the Roman theater. We spent a significant amount of time there, with much of the group making the trek up the tel (a hill formed over centuries of building and rebuilding). We viewed the remains of an Egyptian governor's house and a building built by Kings David and Solomon after they conquered the city.

We rode by and waved at Jericho, which was defeated by the Israelites as they moved in to inherit the Land. We took the twenty mile road up and out of the Jordan Valley into and through Jerusalem. This is the same basic path pilgrims have traveled for millennia to go to Jerusalem and pray. This represents a rise in elevation of over 3,500 feet. Pilgrim, in Hebrew, means "to ascend" or "to go up." Well, on the desert road from Jericho to Jerusalem we were definitely going up.

This journey to Jerusalem was short, as we were only traveling through in order to arrive at Bethlehem. In Jerusalem, we dropped off our guide, Hannah, as we were going to be entering the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Because of the dangers specific to Israeli Jews, they are not permitted to enter this territory. When crossed the border we picked up a Greek Orthodox Christian guide, Ramzi. He did an excellent job and exhibited a great sense of humor. Most importantly, he understood his history and was remarkably informative and helpful.

(I'm in the lobby of the Olive Tree Hotel in Jerusalem, sitting writing this and I'm looking around. It's a large lobby with lots of couches and tables for hanging out. Many other pilgrims here in the lobby are traveling with Educational Opportunities, but their guides must not wear them out the way our guides do, because there is not a single person out of the forty-one traveling with us here. They're all worn out!)

The first place Ramzi took us in Bethlehem was the famous Nissan Brothers Restaurant for lunch. Afterward we visited the Nissan Brothers Olive Wood Carving Factory and Store. John, one of the sons of the original brother and co-owner, gave us a quick tour of the factory. Then, we perused the shop and I noticed quite a few of us carrying shopping bags to the bus

Roman Catholic Church at the Sheperd's Fields

We then visited the Shepherd's Fields. At first I thought it must have been an "alternative" site, but it was the same place I'd been twice before. I don't remember it being in the middle of such an urban environment. It serves as a calm and pleasant respite from city traffic. A modern church designed by the famed Italian architect, Antonio Barluzzi is on the site. It sits next to a cave which has served as a place of pilgrimage dating from very early. On the other side of the cave are the ruins of a 4th-6th century church and monastery. Inside the church we sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." We then went to the cave below which also serves as a Roman Catholic chapel where Bob read from Luke 2. We were then free to explore the ruins of the old church and monastery. It looks like an archaeology site, consisting of several low walls, crumbling mosaic floors, and some caves. One of the caves was illuminated with artificial lights and several of us made our way down. Inside is a crude chapel. Another cave was not lit, but Lydia and I dared the darkness with flashlights on our phones. There were some Christian engravings on the wall, but the lowest level floor was wet and it didn't smell particularly good. I determined that it was the holy sewer for the ancient monastery.

Interior of the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity

The main pilgrimage site in Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity. This, I believe, is the oldest continuously used Christian Church in the world. The church was spared from the Persian destruction in the 6th century because of a mosaic of the Magi, who were most likely from Persia and are depicted on a mosaic in the church as wearing Persian clothing. The original church was funded by the Roman Emperor Constantine. Mosaics from that church are preserved. The current structure was built by Emperor Justinian in 565. The main church is under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Church and is thus filled with icons covered in the
soot of years and years of burning incense and candles. It is currently undergoing a major renovation and is not as intriguing as it normally would be. However, we were still able to visit and descend into the grotto which has been venerated since the earliest Christian centuries as the site of Jesus' birth.

Bob Kaylor and me in Jerusalem

This was a long day. When we picked up Hannah, back in Jerusalem, we thought we were headed back to the hotel, but she had one more stop in mind. On a hill overlooking the city is a park with an amazing view. She had arranged for a welcoming toast for our arrival in Jerusalem. It was a place I had never visited and I am so happy we shared that time together. We sang a song and toasted our arrival, took a few pictures and headed to the hotel.

Tomorrow, we start early, again, what I'm sure will be another long and rewarding day in the land of the Bible.