Galilee: Part 1

Forgive my tardiness in writing…we have been on the move constantly and it has been hard to take the time to sit and type. 

Where to begin?  It has been a whirlwind!  On Saturday, we began our journey around Galilee.  We started by visiting the Basilica of the Beatitudes, the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount.  I think it would be helpful to pause for a moment and explain why I keep saying the “traditional site.”  Some sites we can say for sure were where Jesus was or a particular event in the Scriptures took place.  But others, we aren’t so sure.  Was this mountain the exact site of the Sermon on the Mount?  We don’t know.  But from very early in the history of the Christian faith, pilgrims venerated these exact sites and built churches or shrines there to commemorate the Gospel stories.  As our tour guide said “tradition and the constant visit of the pilgrims made these sites holy.”  That’s good enough for me.

Anyhoo, we visited the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount and celebrated Mass in one of the outdoor areas.  

From the Gospel of Matthew:

5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

It was quite a beautiful Mass.  In his homily, Fr. Dan invited us to reflect on what it would have been like to be told all your life that you are worthless.  That you are ugly and unloved; That your very life means nothing to anyone.  And then what would it have been like to meet Jesus and hear him tell you the opposite?  To hear him say that you are beloved; that God knows you and loves you?  That was essentially what the Sermon on the Mount was.  Jesus turning the idea of blessedness on its head.  It was quite a beautiful homily.  After the Mass we had an opportunity to just walk around and take it all in.

After we left the Mountain of the Beatitudes, we visited a church called Tabgha, or the Church of the Multiplication.  This church was built to commemorate the traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000.  

From the Gospel of Mark:

30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. 34 As he landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; 36 send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

This small chapel is famous for its mosaic at the altar depicting the 4 loaves and 2 fish (the 5^th loaf is the Eucharist consecrated on the altar at Mass).  This was quite moving for me.  As I sat in the chapel and recalled the story of the multiplication, one particular line struck me: “And they all were satisfied.”  We never seem to have enough in this life.  We never seem to be happy with what we have or with our present circumstance.  Tomorrow always seems to promise something better; something new that will be the answer to all our woes today.  But tomorrow never comes.  And so we are always despairing that life would only be better “if ________.”  And yet here are the multitudes satisfied by bread and fish.  Of course, there is more to this story:  the people are satisfied by God acting in Jesus.  As I contemplated this sitting in the chapel, the last line of St. Teresa of Avila’s prayer came to me: God, alone, fills us.  We spend our lives filling ourselves with junk: literally and metaphorically.  We feel empty, unsatisfied.  Instead of looking to God for bread, we settle for candy; for the fast food of this world which in the end, doesn’t sustain us.  I felt overwhelmed.  Even I am guilty of looking to other things or other people to give me in small measure what God offers in abundance.  As St. Augustine said (and sorry Tim if you are reading this hehe) “Our hearts were made for thee, O Lord.  And restless ever will they be, until they rest in thee.”

After we left the Church of the Multiplication, we headed to the Sea of Galilee.  It was a beautiful sight! (Of course, we had already been seeing it, but now we were actually heading for its shores!) 

We boarded a tour boat that was modeled on a first century fishing boat that had been discovered on the floor of the sea.  It was so beautiful to sail out onto the water, knowing WITH CERTAINTY that this was the site of so many stories about Jesus.  When we reached the middle, the engine of the boat was turned off, and the tour guide asked us to just listen to the silence of the sea.  It was so still and quiet, that you probably would have been able to hear a pin drop.  It was breathtaking.  We had some opportunity to pray and to contemplate our surroundings.  We also did a lot of singing and even some dancing!  One of the crew members on the boat taught us how to dance the Hava Nagila!  It was so much fun.  It was obvious that everyone was deeply moved by this boat ride.  It was incredible!

From the Gospel of Matthew: 

22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land,[a]beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind,[b] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

And here we were on that same sea, looking at the same hills that Jesus and his disciples saw...

To be continued....