Jaffa and Trip back home

Today, the journey starts back to Rosthern.  In the morning I went out again to the Mediterranean Sea, did some reading and writing, and took in the last few moments of warm weather.

Then I went over to Chad's place, said goodbye to his room mates and took Chad and Jordan to Tel Aviv.  Both of them were heading on trips themselves, and I was glad to give them a ride.  The Kia has room for 3 people providing you do not have too much luggage.  As well, the gas tank is full, so we should not have too much problems.  I dropped off Chad at the airport and then dropped off Jordan at the bus station.  Now I had a few hours to spend - why not go down to Joppa (Jaffa).

Jaffa has been around for a long time.  I saw some excavation from the time of the Canaanites that was 3500 years old.  Jaffa is a port city that has a few connections with Biblical times.  It is where Jonah set forth to Tarshish in disobedience to God - there is a statue of a whale commemorating the story.

It is also the port where Cedars from Lebanon came into for both Solomon's temple and the second temple built by Nehemiah.  And finally, maybe one of the most powerful references for me is the story in Acts 9-10 where Peter lives at Simon the Tanner's house and raises Tabitha (Dorcas - I like the Greek name better than the Hebrew one here) from the dead.  It was at Jaffa that Peter had the vision of the unclean meat.  He is also there when Cornelius sent for him to come up to Caesarea (our first stop a few days ago) to hear the Good News.  Cornelius became the first Gentile convert.  I felt like eating some bacon in Jaffa to celebrate but could not find a place.

I visited St. Peters church - built in memory of the time Peter spent in Jaffa.  It also was a beacon bringing pilgrims from Europe to the Holy Land - their first site from the ship.  The church is around 500 years old.

I also found a cool Statue of Faith.  The left side represents Jacob's Dream, the right side the sacrifice of Isaac and the top the fall of Jericho.

Then I went and read scripture in the town square.  A beggar came and sat in front of me and started hassling people walking by for money.  Funny he did not notice me.  I felt God telling me to give away my remaining amount of Shekels.  It was not that much around $15 worth.  I thought that I am not going to give it to this man who is being quite mean to people.  So I got up, walked out of the square and noticed a man digging through garbage and looking for pop bottles.  I walked by him again, new this is the man, and took the 50 Shekels out of my wallet to give to him.  I caught him by surprise, he bowed down to me two times, I said God bless you and went on my way.

I was going to use the money to get lunch and maybe some date honey to take back home.  But I still had a couple pitas from last nights supper, a couple things of cheese from breakfast and an energy bar, so there was no need for me to use the money.

Next stop was the Airport.  At the first stop they asked if anyone had given a gift for me to take back home.  I said yes, and they put me through some more thorough checking.  Chad had sent some items as Christmas gifts to his immediate family.  They searched through my suitcase with that swab thing and took some time.  The security agent then said she would get me to the beginning of the line at British Airways and I also received Exit Row seats for both the flight to London and the one to Toronto.  I was quite happy!

In London, I took the tube to my hotel and had a good nights rest.  I then went to a store that Cassidy would love called Poundland - where everything costs one British Pound - got some gifts for her and breakfast.  Then off to the tube to Heathrow.  I have a two hour stop over at Toronto and arrived home at 8:30pm Saskatchewan time.

Travelling to Natanya, Shabbat Service, St. Peter's Fish

Well it was time to leave the holy city of Jerusalem.  We met a friend of Chad's (a chap from Great Britain) at Jaffa Gate of the old city.  We were planning to take a taxi down to where the car was, however, the guys driving the cabs were in a heated argument.  I hear this is common in Middle East culture.  I think they were yelling about not wanting cream cheese on their toast, or something like that.  Once we finally got their attention, they had no idea where we wanted to go, even with the map on the iPad showing the way.  It was probably better to walk and save 50 shekels ($16).  Twenty minutes later we arrived at the car.

It was then an easy journey to Natanya.  It would have been even easier if I would have checked the gas gauge at any time during the journey.  I think someone may have drained the tank when we were parked for two nights, because I was sure that there was 3/4 of a tank at the Sea of Galilee :)  That is the story I am going with, ha ha.  Anyway, the car stalled half way up a hill, then the momentum took us over the crest, and I saw a gas station on the left of the freeway!!  We coasted to a spot that was safe, walked over to the gas station, found two empty pop bottles, bought 20 shekels of gas and went along on our journey!

I bought some Fanta at the next gas station and Chad bought some coke just so we could payback the bottler for providing some much needed empties!

We arrived at the congregation and had a great time of worship.  The speaker talked about repaying violence with love.  He said if asked how he would respond in a violent situation today, it would be with a fist - that is his first inclination.  However, he hopes that by the grace of God, if a violent situation would arise, God would give him the wisdom and energy needed to suffer and love instead.  God's grace comes in the moment, not in the what ifs.  He quoted the early church Father Tertullion - "The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the church."   It cost something to follow God. Believers have always overcome suffering.  The beheading of John did not stop the message.  Violent men always come in the way of the truth.  As well the church paid a high price in suffering to get the word of God in our own language.  When the church does not suffer we lose our focus. We forget Jesus.  We cannot afford to lose in freedom what we gained in suffering. 

1 Peter 4:12-19

   Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

   If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!

    It’s judgment time for God’s own family. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message!

If good people barely make it,

What’s in store for the bad?

So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.

When we are confronted with hurt, with violence - we must love them.  Jesus way is to boldly proclaim the gospel, pay the cost, and return violence with love.   We must make sure we are suffering for righteousness sake.  Roman soldiers saw how believers died and it changed their hearts. 

1 Peter 3:8-17

The Body of Christ needs to show love and blessing to one another. We need to train our hearts to bless.  Return Blessing for curses we receive.  Do not wait for persecution to act out the love if the kingdom of heaven. 

It was amazing how well the sermon fit in with everything I was learning on the trip.  A remarkable trip!

After the service, I went out for lunch with a bunch of Chad's friends and then headed to the hotel for a time of reflection, some blog writing and a walk along the Mediterranean Sea.  Then I went to a nice little Restaurant in downtown called The Scotland.  I ordered a St. Peter fish from the Sea of Galilee, should have had it for breakfast (John 21), but it was great!  I have never ate a fish before while it was still looking at you!

City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Bethleham/West Bank, Mount of Olives

Today was another day of adventure.  After having breakfast at Casa Nova, the Catholic Retreat House, we headed out to see the City of David.  These are excavations that are happening on the site of King David's Palace.  There was a 3D Movie that took you back into the time of David and told the story of how he conquered the Canaanite city.  A palace was built to show the power of Israel during the time of King David. We saw walls that were the remains of the palace.

Then the adventure really started, hiking through Hezekiah's Tunnel.  They were chiseled out 2800 years ago to divert the water inside the walls of Jerusalem - 2 Kings 20:20. This would allow for stronger protection.  

As we were going toward the tunnel we saw the base of the wall for the palace of King David.  Archaeologists feel that this stonework was placed by the Canaanites to shore up the hillside.  It is amazing what was done by hand around 3500 years ago!

Then we started our descent down to the tunnel - it started quite deep underneath the City of Jerusalem.  The length of the tunnel is 500 meters with a width of not much more then 2 feet.  At times it is 5 feet high, at times over 10.  It was also completely dark inside!  As well, there was water flowing through, as deep as  2 feet at times.  It was an adventure!  In the middle, as only Chad and I were in the tunnel, I began thinking, what if I were to sprain an ankle, or worse have a heart attack in here.  I quickly started praying to God to take those thoughts away!  I know where the saying "I see the light at the end of the tunnel" comes from now.

The most glorious part is coming out of the tunnel and being at the Pool of Siloam - the same pool referred to in John 9:7 where Jesus sends the man who is blind from birth to wash off the mud from his eyes.  That was beautiful - to be at a place where another miracle of Christ was formed.

For lunch we met with Rachelle Friesen - daughter of Ray and Sylvia Friesen - who is serving at the West Bank for MCC.  She spends a lot of time giving people tours of the West Bank so people can understand the injustices that are going on there from the State of Israel.  

Then Rachelle offered to give me a tour of Bethlehem and the West Bank.  I said yes even though my mom did not want me to go - sorry.  One of the first things that you see when you enter the West Bank is the walls that are all over the place.

The walls have been erected by the Nation of Israel to protect their citizens from suicide attacks from a very small minority in the Palestine territory.  Because of this, the people of Palestine have to suffer.  They are treated different in the courts, need to store water on rooftop tanks just in case water is cut off for awhile, have highways and walls all over their territory that they cannot cross.  Have rubber bullets and tear gas fired at them if the teenage boys decide to throw rocks at the wall.  They don't even have data plans for their phones because Israel will not allow it in!  Even in the land that they have from Israel, there are Israeli Settlers that take the land from them illegally.  As well, once the complete wall is built it would have cost close to $1 Billion.

One wonders what can be done about this.  Some people choice advocacy - which can be very powerful.  People around the world need to know what is happening to the people of the west bank and gaza strip.  The best is having a first hand experience - seeing the empty tear gas shells, the humungous walls that divide houses of family members, the taking over of many green spaces, the brutality with which the people are treated.

It reminds me very much about the way the United States treated African Americans.  The way out of this mess may be the way of love, like that of Martin Luther.  If the Palestinians could rally around a leader that is committed to showing love to the oppressor, the walls could come down, the nation could be united.  If aggression is shown (even throwing rocks at walls) then it just seems that both sides truly hate each other.  If that hatred is not dealt with, no amounts of sanctions or advocation will help.  The Israelis (rightly or wrongly) feel that the land is theirs and try to take it away and they will play the victim card (which is why they have so much support from the International community).  They would never give up, for the government and the people are very committed to having the land - any threat is dealt with very harshly (and illegally).

One exciting non-profit organization that I had the chance to learn more about is Musalaha.  There website is at www.musalaha.org .  There mission is to - "promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians as demonstrated in the life and teaching of Jesus. We seek to be an encouragement and facilitator of reconciliation, first among Palestinian Christians and Messianic Israelis, and then beyond to our respective communities."

One of the founders of this organization - Dr. Salim Munayer says the strategy os to bring both sides together and develop foundational relationships.  He states "I came to the conclusion that the theology of reconciliation was the best theology to deal with all these issues, and that more than anything else, the Jewish and Palestinian believers needed to be brought together, face to face. Anything less would not work, because of the dehumanization and demonization going on from both sides."

So what they do is pair Palestinians and Jewish believers together and send them out for a camping trip for three days (with facilitators).  Walls are brought down, barriers are crossed, and people become friends and are united.  It is small, it is ambitious, it is risky, and it is exciting!

While I was in Bethlehem, I was also able to tour the Church of the Nativity.  The church has a star in the basement that church tradition states is where Jesus came into this world as a baby boy.  It was amazing to be there!

Once out of the West Bank - at the checkstop we just had to show the front of my Canadian Passport out the window and they let us through - I met up with Chad and we did some errands and then hiked up the Mount of Olives.  The gate to the Garden of Gethsamane was closed so we were unable to go into the garden - just pass by.  But the view of Jerusalem from the top of the mountain was spectacular.

Sea of Galilee, Kursi, Scythopolis, and Jerusalem

We had another great day of touring around Israel.  It started with going down to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and trying to catch a ride on a boat.  We walked down the dock with no tickets in hand hoping to get a ride somehow (we could not find where to buy the tickets).  We talked to the boat captain and asked how we could get a ride - he said to ask a tour guide.  We turned around and there was a group of Japanese coming down the dock, we asked if we could join them and the tour guide said no problem.  So we went on a boat ride over the Sea of Galilee with a vessel showing a Japanese flag and playing their anthem.  It was a great experience.  I stood up during the ride and started walking over the sea (while still in the boat)!

Next stop was Kursi where there is a good chance Jesus met a demon possessed man and sent the demons into a near by pig herd.  The story is found in Luke 4:31-37.  It was great to be at another place that Jesus was near.  The Galilee area has so many spots where Jesus performed miracles, shared parables, and spent time.

The next stop for us was the Roman Ruins at Scythopolis.  I have always been enamoured with Roman Civilization and to see so many ruins at this site was amazing!  There was a theatre, a bath house, a public washroom, roads and much more.

Here is the base of the floor for the Sauna.  The Romans would place a marble floor over top of these pillars and have hot ovens sending heat to underneath the floor.  The pillars give lots of room for the air below the floor to heat up.  Ingenious!

Here I am checking out the toilet! I am reaching into the trench to wash my hands. This is one big outhouse.

Then we took a road along the Jordan Valley that went towards Jerusalem.  It was an amazing site to drive beside the lush valley in the hill country.  We saw shepherds herding sheep in the same way that David did and also the shepherds at the time of Christ.  We also drove by the area that Abraham asked Lot to decide which land to take (he chose the lush Jordan Valley while Abraham stayed in the hills) Genesis 13 & 14.  We could understand why Lot chose the Valley - but it also led to his downfall because of the others that lived their.

Then we entered Jerusalem!  We parked are car by a bus stop and walked for 20 minutes to the location of our hotel in the old city of Jerusalem.  The old city was built 500 years ago by the Ottoman Empire and has four different quarters - Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish.  We walked to Casa Nova which will be our home for the next two nights.  Here is what the paths in the old city look like.  Sometimes there are even cars driving through!

Then another miracle happened!  While walking around in the old city, we ran into another Saskatchewan resident - Jerry Buhler.  He has been living in Bethlehem and was in the old city just for a few moments.  It is unbelievable for this to happen twice on our trip.  Thanks to Jerry for the supper!

After grabbing something for supper, we went to the Church of the Resurrection.  One of the sites where Jesus tomb is thought to be - the other is the garden tomb.  It was interesting to be in a place where so many pilgrims where coming.  People believe in the Risen Christ and are coming to acknowledge the miracle, the resurrection and the salvation it brings.

That brought the end of the day - time to rest our weary bodies after all that excitement.

After having breakfast at Beit Bracha with 10 of the volunteers that work there we headed up North to the border of Lebanon and Israel.  This is where Tel Dan is - the ruins of the city of Dan (one of the 12 tribes of Israel - Joshua 19:47).  Some of the walls that were built by the Israelites were amazing.  It really gives you an idea of how hard it would be to capture a fortified city, or bring the walls tumbling down.

Here I am standing at one of the Hebrew high places that was built by Jeroboam when the Kingdom of Israel was split apart.  A golden calf was placed in this area for the locals to worship.  This was a great sin that Jeroboam had led Israel in committing - 2nd Kings 10:29.

The amount of remains that has been uncovered he was amazing.  We also saw trenches that were built by the 20th century Israeli army right beside the remains to help them hold the area against attackers.  Lebanon is within eyesight from this ancient town.

Here is the spot where the judge of the city would sit and make judgements.  It was outside the city gate.  

The Dan Spring is one of the main tributaries into the Jordan River, providing water to the Sea of Galilee which also flows to the Dead Sea farther south.

This was an amazing place to be.  It is also great going with my own personal tour guide named Chad.  He has studied so much of the history and has a desire to see it all as one history.  He understands how it is intertwined and gives so much valuable insights at each spot.

Next stop was Caesarea Philippi.  This is a place that we know Jesus went to.  In Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus asked his disciples while here who people said he was.  After saying John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets, Jesus asked "Who do YOU say that I am".  Peter says "You are the Living Messiah, the Son of the Living God."  

Jesus responds with "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.  You did not learn this from any human being.  Now I say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and all the Gate of Hades will not conquer it.  And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven."

I believe I was standing close to where Jesus was when he said these words.  As you can see, the magnificent rock formation in this picture.  Peter upon this rock I will build my church!

As well, Jesus could have pointed to the cave in the rock as the Gates of Hades, as a lot of cultic activity was happening in this cave.

Next we went for a great lunch close by at a Lebanese Restaurant.  I had kabobs dipped in hummus, pita bread, egg plant, and  a lot of other vegetables.  The food tour is going very well!

Next stop was Tel Hazor a large Canaanite development that would always give trouble to the tribes of Israel.  Chad believes that Deborah and Barak destroyed the town when fighting the King of Hazor.  Later Solomon built a Palace here and the remains of the Gate have been exposed.

King Ahab also dug deep down to a spring to provide water for the city in case of a siege.  It is pretty remarkable for them to do this 3000 years ago.

Towards the end of the day we went to Capernaum.  Many feel that Jesus made this town on the coast as his home base.  There is a Catholic church built over top the home of Peter.  This modern building was the third church built on the site that we know of.

We saw the Synagogue in Capernaum that was a few hundred feet away from Peter's house.  As it says in Mark 1:21 and on, Jesus taught in this synagogue every Sabath.  Later on in the chapter, it talks about how Jesus left the synagogue and went over to Simon (Peter)'s home.  Jesus spent a lot of time in Capernaum and the towns in the Galilee area.

The remains of the synagogue that you see here was one built by the Byzantines in the 4th Century.  It was on the same floor as the one doing the time of Christ.

Lastly, we saw a Roman Mile Marker.  They were placed every mike on a Roman Road to help people know how far they have come or need to go.  They are referred to by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount when Christ say if a Roman Soldier asks you to carry their load one mile, you carry it two.

Caesarea, Mount Carmel and Nazareth

Today was my first taste of Ancient Israel.  We started by going to the town of Caesarea.  It was built by Herod the Great in about 25-13 BC.  It was an important port and administrative centre for Roman Control in Judea.  Crusaders from France rebuilt parts of the city in the 13th Century to have a port to command on the Mediterranean. 

Here is a picture of me in my Riders Jersey standing beside some 700 year old ruins.

At first we were only seeing the ruins from the 13th Century, it got much more exciting once we started finding the area that was built by the Romans.  We saw large marble canyons, a Hippodrone and then a grand amphitheatre.

What made it really exciting is that we looked in Acts for references of Caesarea and realized that the first Gentile convert and his family - Cornelius the Centurion - were from Caesarea.  We knew that they would have been sitting in these same seats!  You can read the story of Cornelius in Acts 10

Now we were on our way to Mount Carmel.  We stopped at a restaurant along the way that had a tremendous buffet!  The hummus tastes so great here in Israel.  We had a pita with shnitsel (tenderized chicken coated and deep fried - very tasty) and were told to load up in the salad bar that had great selection of fresh salad.  We then drove to Mount Carmel and hiked up on a path that took us to interesting site.

A Catholic Religious Order called the Carmelites was founded on Mount Carmel in the cave that it is believed to be where Elijah hid out from King Ahab.  There has been a monastery on the top of Mount Carmel since the 13th Century.  Carmelite tradition suggests that a community of Jewish Hermits had lived at the site from the time of Elijah until the Carmelites were founded there.

Here is a sculpture depicting the story of Elijah and the Baal Prophets from Kings 18.

We met a very nice lady in the souvenir shop at the monastery.  She shared with us how she believes in Jesus and knows it in her heart.  She talked about the importance of faith and we need Jesus because of our human sinfulness.  It was a heartwarming meeting.

We then got a chance to take a breathtaking view of Jezreel Valley.

Now we drove towards our guest house that we had booked on the Sea of Galilee called the Beit Bracha Prayer and Retreat Centre.  On our way, we passed by Nazareth and I said, let's check it out.  Then we went looking for the Basilica of the Annunciation.  We sort of got lost and ended up going up a road and we saw two people from Hague, Saskatchewan walking on the street.

Yes it was Henry and Erna Funk!  It was great to see them and to just run into them in Israel was special.  They have been volunteering at Nazareth Village - a first century recreation and the Nazareth Trust Christian Hospital.  We parked our car at the hospital, made plans to meet for supper and hiked off to see the Basilica.

After supper with the Funks and a fellow volunteer named Jonathon from Switzerland we headed off on our route to Beit Bracha.

We had an exciting day!