The Great Outdoors...

“From today’s experience, what will you most want to share with folks back home?” This is one of the many reflective questions that is asked as we gather each evening. Uggg. It is a hard question! I have been thinking about you, dear readers, all day. We have traveled to a variety of places. This morning we traveled to the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus is said to have given his Sermon on the Mount. Next we traveled to the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes and viewed the rock (now within a church) where the miracle is said to have occurred. Later we journeyed to Capernaum to view the remains of Peter’s house and closed our day with a trip to an archeological site of a Roman city close to Nazareth (a city where carpenters in the area often found work- perhaps even Jesus practiced Joseph''s trade here!). The last bit of our day was a tour of the kibbutz associated with where we are staying. To share all that I have experienced today would be overwhelming, so I will share this….

I am surprised that the places where I feel most connected to the scripture we are reading, thus far, are in the outdoor spaces, the landscape that surrounds us rather than within the ornamental churches. Today when we visited the Mount of the Beatitudes, we not only took in the beautiful church but took time to have our devotions seated on rocks in the garden looking down upon the Sea of Galilee.

As Craig read the Sermon on the Mount, I thought of persons back home who come to mind as I hear these words…“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted…” (Matthew 5:3-4) There in the garden we listened to Jesus’ entire sermon as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. There were even birds chirping above us as we heard the words “Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26). I am sure I will not hear the words of this sermon in the same way again whether I am here in the Holy Land or back home in Minnesota. As we were listening, one of our group who was seated near the sidewalk in the garden, noticed that other visitors slowed down, even stopped to take in the words of Jesus we were reading. These words drew crowds in Jesus’ time and still have the power to gather us together today.

As you read this blog, I invite you to take the time to read a bit of scripture with us. The passages connected with our journey can be found on the “Connecting Places and Pages” tab. You do not have to be in the Holy Land to experience the power of these words. By the diverse groups of people we encounter at every site we visit, we are reminded of just how far these words can travel and the power they hold.

It is truly a blessed thing.

Our group at the archeological site, Zippori…..