Once lunch was finished, we got back on the bus and went to the Church of the Primacy of Peter.
From the Gospel of John:
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.[d] 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.”19 (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, “Follow me.”
This was the traditional spot of this event. It was a surprisingly beautiful spot to pray and was relatively uncrowded and quiet. There is a small chapel covering the rock where Jesus and Peter talked.
As I sat in the chapel praying, I imagined Jesus saying these same words to me..."Chris do you love me?" "Yes Lord, you know all things. You know I love you." "Then feed my sheep and follow me." After quite a beautiful and emotional time of prayer, we all went down and stuck our feet in the Sea of Galilee.
Leaving the Sea of Galilee behind us, we went to Capernaum. This is a very, very important site in the Gospels, because it is kind of Jesus' home base in Galilee.
From the Gospel of Mark:
21 And they went into Caper′na-um; and immediately on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit;24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
Here is that very synagogue...
From the Gospel of Mark:
29 And immediately he[e] left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him of her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them.
And just across a way from the ruins of the synagogue is Peter's mother-in-law's house..
Mark's version of this story has always been my favorite. If you compare it to Luke's and Matthew's, there is a small detail that (to me) makes a dramatic difference. We believe Mark's was first, followed by Matthew and then Luke. In Luke's version (the "newest" of the three) Jesus simply stands at the door and heals her with his word. In Matthew's version, he touches her and she is healed. But in Mark's, he GRASPS her and LIFTS her UP. The Greek for this is actually the same word for his own Resurrection. It has always been fascinating to me that as time went on, Jesus got further away and less personal. When I was a hospital chaplain, I used this reading all the time, and loved pointing out this detail to the patients. I always told them that this was how Jesus was with them now...not simply standing at the door...not simply touching them...but grasping them; holding them. Seeing the place where this happened was simply amazing.
Over these ruins is a Catholic church.
I found the sanctuary of this church to be particularly beautiful...
And there were many ruins of houses between the synagogue and the church
To think that the people who saw Jesus...who heard his voice and were even maybe touched by him, lived in these houses. Maybe he even visited them. As I sit here and look at these pictures, I realize that I think I was so overwhelmed and tired from the experiences in the morning that I wasn't able to fully appreciate what it meant to walk in this place, where Jesus literally walked. Even just trying to think about it is breathtaking.
From the Gospel of John:
2 On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.3 When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”4 And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me?[a] My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Caper′na-um, with his mother and his brethren[b]and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.
That's right...we went to Cana. We aren't sure if this is the exact Cana from the Scriptures (apparently there have been multiple sites called Cana) but this is the one venerated now by pilgrims. We stopped at a shop and tasted the Cana wine. It was a very sweet, kosher wine (and quite delicious). After doing some shopping, we went to the Wedding Church
While we visited this church, the couples who were with us had the opportunity to renew their wedding vows:
It was so beautiful. It got me thinking about what it is to have a vocation. Several times during my seminary journey, people have said to me "It must be so nice to know that God is calling you to something." Usually, this is said in a way to suggest that their lives lack such interest from God. We have so exalted the priestly vocation, that the vocations of marriage and the single life are not even seen as callings from God. Every vocation has its joys and challenges...but I believe the vocation to marriage is takes great dedication and sacrifice; more than people probably believe or acknowledge. People often tell me how hard my life must be...compared with the lives of many married couples, my life is easy. Many of my closest friends are now married and some are having children. I can't believe how much it takes to not only be married, but to be a parent and have a family. Every vocation is holy and sacred. Every vocation is necessary to the well-being and life of the Church. Every vocation is from God. This day in Cana, I was especially reminded of this.
Down in the crypt of the church, we saw a stone vessel that would have been similar to the ones in the Scripture:
It was HUGE! Not at all what I had pictured. We were told that six of these filled would have produced, roughly, 900 bottles of wine. That's a lot of wine!
As we left Cana, I was struck by that last line from the miracle of the water into wine, where they returned to Capernaum. I guess I had always imagined these places were fairly close by, just down the street. It took at least 45 minutes to drive from Capernaum to Cana...I tried to imagine them all walking in the heat, with only sandals (and probably some of them barefoot).
Simply incredible.
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