Entry into the Holy Land, Mt. Tabor and Nazareth

We left Jordan behind on Friday.  I have to say that Amman seems like a beautiful city.  My sister and I talked about even considering returning one day.  For any who are curious, I never felt unsafe or in danger...Jordan seems a safe and secure country.  No one ever treated us poorly because we were Christians, and on the contrary, were warm and welcoming.  I highly recommend making a trip to Jordan!  We only got to scratch the surface...

As we crossed from Jordan into the Holy Land, I couldn't help but think about the first time Israel passed into the Promised Land from Jordan.  From the Book of Joshua:

3 Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim, with all the people of Israel; and they came to the Jordan, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it, 4 that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."  And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on before the people.” And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.8 And you shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’"

14 So, when the people set out from their tents, to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap far off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zar′ethan, and those flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off; and the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 And while all Israel were passing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

To think, we basically did the same...obviously not with the river turning back and all haha, but we crossed into the Promised Land over the Jordan, just as they did.  It's hard to even process that.

We arrived into the West Bank and got through security...it was quite an experience.  In some respects, not as strenuous as I would have imagined it to be.  It was actually less intensive than airport security, although we had to go through several screenings instead of just one...but even so, I got to keep my shoes on and my laptop in my backpack.  I was the only one in the group that wasn't allowed to go through immediately.  The lady who issues the visas was suspicious of me from the moment I walked up.  (I guess I look like a troublemaker lol.)  She asked me a lot of questions about my family and where I was born, and finally told me I needed to wait while she checked on some things.  About 10 or 15 minutes later, a guy walked up to me, handed me my passport and walked away.  One thing I have noticed being here in Israel/the West Bank is that uniforms don't seem to be of much importance.  From security officers to hotel workers, people are dressed as if they walked off the street.  The guy who brought me my passport looked like another traveler, and the armed guard who checked our bus at one of the checkpoints in the West Bank looked like a college kid just walking around with a gun.  Even the hotel porter who delivered my luggage to my room was dressed in jeans and white under shirt.  Quite strange.

Anyhoo, after surviving all of that, we made our way to Mt. Tabor.  I was quite excited for this.  Mt. Tabor is traditionally believed to be the site of the Transfiguration, which is one of my favorite Gospel stories.  Of the three versions, I prefer Luke's:

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli′jah,31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli′jah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen;[a] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Mt. Tabor is also mentioned in several passages in the Old Testament.  Mt. Tabor is in northern Israel, near Nazareth, in the Galilee.  Here it is:

I can't begin to describe how I felt seeing that mountain and driving up it.  Here was the (traditional) site of one of my favorite Gospel stories.  At the top was the Basilica of the Transfiguration.

We celebrated Mass in one of the outdoor Mass areas

It was quite beautiful.  I had told my sister that this story was one of my favorite in the Scriptures, and she asked me why.  I said I didn't really know...I had always been drawn to it.  During the Mass, I started thinking about why I liked this story so much, and a (supposedly) Irish proverb came to my mind: "Eaten bread is soon forgotten."  I think one reason I love this story so much is because it is so mysterious.  It isn't obvious why this event takes place.  One of the most common explanations is that Jesus had hoped to strengthen the faith of his disciples by showing them the truth of who he is, in hopes that when they saw him broken and bloody on the cross, they might remember that they had seen him in glory.  I love this interpretation.  In the story of Scripture, there are several themes.  One of them is the juxtaposition of remembrance and forgetfulness.  God remembers humanity; humanity tends to forget God.  In my life, God has revealed himself in many ways.  He has touched my heart and whispered to me.  I have never doubted these experiences.  Yet so often, I tend to forget that they have happened.  Many times in my spiritual life, I have felt alone and forgotten by God.  I have felt his absence.  While this is normal in the journey of faith, it is also the experience of my forgetfulness. My forgetting that God is always with me, always experiencing every step with me, even when I don't feel his presence or hear his voice.  Being on the mountain of the Transfiguration; being reminded of why I love this story so much has been a wake up call: to remember.

After we left Mt. Tabor, we made our way to Nazareth.  As we were driving, we passed the village of Nain, where Jesus raised the widow's son.  

From the Gospel of Luke:

11 Soon afterward[b] he went to a city called Na′in, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”17 And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.   

 This story has always moved me.  Thinking about it reminded me of a Buddhist parable:

Kisa Gotami had an only son, and he died. In her grief she carried the dead child to all her neighbors, asking them for medicine, and the people said: "She has lost her senses. The boy is dead. At length Kisa Gotami met a man who replied to her request: "I cannot give thee medicine for thy child, but I know a physician who can." The girl said: "Pray tell me, sir; who is it?" And the man replied: "Go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha."

Kisa Gotami repaired to the Buddha and cried: "Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy." The Buddha answered: "I want a handful of mustard-seed." And when the girl in her joy promised to procure it, the Buddha added: "The mustard-seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend." Poor Kisa Gotami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said: "Here is mustard-seed; take it!" But when she asked Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your family?" They answered her: "Alas the living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our deepest grief." And there was no house but some beloved one had died in it.

Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless, and sat down at the wayside, watching the lights of the city, as they flickered up and were extinguished again. At last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere. And she considered the fate of men, that their lives flicker up and are extinguished. And she thought to herself: "How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness."
Putting away the selfishness of her affection for her child, Kisa Gotami had the dead body buried in the forest. Returning to the Buddha, she took refuge in him and found comfort in the Dharma, which is a balm that will soothe all the pains of our troubled hearts.

Death is inevitable.  It is something we must all experience.  Even our faith as Christians invites us to embrace this part of life and see it not as an end, but as a new beginning.  But Jesus did not simply rationalize with the widow in Nain.  He could have, but instead, his heart was moved with compassion and he did something wonderful for her and for us, to give us hope that death does not have the final word on life.  Seeing this village for myself, I was reminded of this great truth, this ultimate question of faith.  Death is not the end; it is to experience life in a new way.

We finally arrived at our hotel, pretty tired and worn out.  As we were waiting for our bags to be unloaded, the guide pointed out that our hotel overlooks the Plains of Megiddo:

The plain of Megiddo is where the Armageddon takes place in the Book of Revelation.  As I was looking out over it, I couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful and peaceful it is.  Here is where the end takes place.  I believe even Islam cites this place as well.  Many Christians read the Book of Revelation literally: that the events there will happen as written.  Of course, Catholics don't read Revelation this way, but understand that there is a great of metaphor and analogy.  Many people fear Revelation.  For me, Scripture shouldn't bring fear, but peace.  After all, the most written phrase in all of Scripture is "Do not be afraid" or some variant.  Scripture is certainly challenging (it isn't a fairy tale) but it isn't meant to bring us fear.  Looking out on these plains of the end times, I felt a great sense of peace.  The end shouldn't be something we fear; it should be something we anticipate with great joy.  For it will be when we are made one with God and share in his life forever.  From the Book of Revelation:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.[a] 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; 3 and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them;[c] 4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

Seeing Megiddo for myself reminds me of this.  

And so now we begin walking in the places Jesus himself walked, seeing the places Jesus saw.

Peace!