5.27.08
Today was mostly boring. I found myself out in lala land for a while. The beginning of the day was review, and we actually stopped at a couple of places we had already been to. I think the day was a little out of place. It didn't help that we were all exhausted from the previous 4 days in Galilee. But now we're back, and we get a "day off" tomorrow, although our prof has planned 2 extra-curricular events that we are going to. We'll be going to the Garden Tomb, and to the Western Wall tunnels. Both of these were by appointment only, so it's a special treat to be able to go.
Today, however, was spent in some of the outlying areas of Jerusalem. We went to the Church of our Father and to the Church of Dominus Flavit (the Lord Weaps). This church was very cool. I got a great shot of the dome of the rock through the window.
The Garden of Gethsemane had a beautiful church, The Church of the Agony. I wanted to spend more time here, but we were pretty quick in and out. It was a dark and ominous church - the colors and themes echoed the night Jesus spent in the garden. I loved it and snapped up a bunch of pictures.
We also went to Herodian and Bethlehem. At Bethlehem we went to the Church of the Nativity, which is a bit over the top. It is filled with gaudy imagery and far too much incense and candles. It was cool to be at the place that was highly likely to be where Jesus was born. I also thought I was an expert at debunking the Christian Christmas story myths, but I've learned even more.

Mom - for the answer to the quiz, check here:

quiz answer

moments

5/26/08
Galilee
Today was a bizarre day. Even though it was really full, it felt remarkably laid back. I thought yesterday was fantastic. I loved our communion service that happened after dinner. We spent time talking and praying and sharing on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was really great to hear what other people were learning and have time to reflect myself. There were snapshots in my mind that I shared and it was really cool. I have those God moments - those little connections with my Savior - that have happened periodically throughout the trip. I had a handful of people come up to me afterward and thank me for sharing, which was a very reassuring thing. I'm really glad the things that have impacted me have impacted others as well.

We went to Zippori, a town that has a number of names associated with it. It would have been the main city in Galilee at the time of Jesus, and was a short walk from Nazareth. There was a home there that had a magnitude of mosaic art on the floor. It was amazing the detail of work using a bunch of colored stones.
We also stopped at the spring where Gideon's men were whittled down in numbers. It was kind of cool, but lost it's luster since a swimming pool had been built right next to it.
We picnicked at another spring that was nice. A little relaxation - we were able to swim in it before lunch.
After that we went to Beth-She-an, a major site with an amazing amount of excavations. I thought it was beautiful, and was really glad it was near the end of our trip. Even though it had little biblical significance, it was really interesting to see how a Roman City would have been at the time of Jesus. The expanse was impressive, as you can see in the picture - it was loaded with a giant bathhouse, theater and massive architecture. It was demolished by a huge earthquake in the 700's.
I have a quiz for my mom. Try to figure out where the tree is from. It's from a movie. I'll give you the answer on my next post.

Tonight has been about reconnecting with everyone. I talked with my wife, saw my boys over the web-cam, and now getting pics uploaded and the blog updated. Drop me a line if you can, I'm a little homesick!

Jesus Day!

5.25.08
EVENTS OF THE DAY

My highlight location of the day was Capernaum. But before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you about an awesome discovery that was made. When the water was low, a couple of fishermen found a 1st century fishing boat! It was quite an intensive restoration that took over 10 years, and it was an amazing thing to see. You can read more about it here.

Back to Capernaum. Even though it was extremely "touristy," I felt close to Jesus there. It was really the first place I felt that I was very close to him in a location. But when you find yourself standing in the synagogue he taught it, from the place he would have stood, it's amazing. We also saw what was most likely Peter's house. What was so amazing about that was it had been expanded to incorporate a house church. Rather than being a small little house, there were rooms and rooms added on. They made their family larger. It struck me that it was so organic, so raw and full of Christ. I think that's why I loved Capernaum. It felt raw and full of Christ.

We also went to Korizim, the likely place of the Sermon on the Mount. There is the tourist location that advertised as the location, but one of the benefits to having a prof that really studies this stuff is that you don't get swallowed up in all the hoopla. This city was a welcome change in ruins. The building materials are completely different in Galilee. They used basalt from the lava flow rather that limestone. So instead of staring at pale brown rocks, we got dark black rocks. I thought it was pretty. One of the awesome lessons pointed out during our teaching time was that Jesus spoke as "one having authority." He didn't name drop a rabbi like other teachers did. They would say, "Rabbi Hellel says..." But he said, "I say to you..." Awesome.

We went to Bethsaida, which I felt was a total disappointment. There wasn't anything particularly interesting. I think it was because our prof had dug here 2 years ago and was very cynical of their "findings." It put a sour taste in my mouth. One of the most memorable quotes of the trip happened here, "Archaeology proves nothing." Makes me wonder why we're doing this, but he pointed out a very important fact. You can make archaeology say things it doesn't say, so when someone says they found proof of something archaeologically, it isn't proof but evidence. It's very different.

The last stop was Kursi, the possible location of two different miracles. One was the healing of the demoniac where Jesus cast the demons into the pigs and then into the sea. The other was the feeding of the 5000. I was exhausted by this point, but the location and flowers were beautiful and inspiring.

Today was a day full of Jesus. I loved it!

Storms

5/25/08 Thoughts on the Day

Today we began the day on a boat. We boarded a boat and travelled across the Sea of Galilee. We stopped part way across and had a great time of reflection. Marc had us imagine what it would be like to be one of the disciples on the boat with Jesus. He first read the story of Jesus calming the storm, and then the story of Jesus walking on water. Jesus had calmed the first storm while he was with them, and now they're caught in the same situation. The thought hit me that they must have asked themselves, "Where's Jesus" or "I sure wish Jesus was here, he could fix this." Now, during this second storm, Jesus arrives by foot. They are now more scared of him than of the storm that is still raging upon their boat. (This is interesting since I've always pictured Jesus walking on calm, glassy water, but it was during a storm!) They had to be having this thought. And then he shows up in POWER! Power that scares them. I am trying to think back and recall if I've ever felt that way about my Savior. Have I been scared of his power? Should I be?
The feeling that really stuck with me was "Where's Jesus this time?" These disciples were being obeident. They obeyed and crossed the sea, but they couldn't see Jesus, and they felt he wasn't around when they needed him. Can anyone else relate to this? I feel this way in my life right now -> Jesus, you've shown up before, why not now? Will he show up in even greater power than before, like he did with the disciples? I don't know - I don't think that's what this story is about - but I think he could. That is the hope that I have. He could show up with greater power, n a way that will scare my socks off. I do know that he'll show up - he's never left - and even more, that like his disciples of that day, he has compassion on me in the middle of my storm.

Galilean Idol

5/24/08
Our place on the Sea of Galilee is amazing. Ein Gev is right on the lake. It is by far the best place we've stayed. Unfortunately, while running out into the lake last night, I stepped on a shell. My big toe got a pretty good chunk of skin removed, but I didn't need stitches. It eventually stopped bleeding.
We began the day at an overlook where you could see Syria and then turn all around and see the lake. We went to a lot of places today. It was a fast paced day. We overlooked Gamel, a place that was reminiscent of Masada. The Jews here held out a long time against the Romans, and then committed suicide, rather than be captured.
My favorite place of the day was Caesarea Phillipi. There was a large cave with many carvings and niches for the Greek god Pan. Jesus made his statement to Peter and the other disciples about the gates of Hades not prevailing over the church at this place. This is astonishing because there is a rumor that the locals believed the cave there was the entrance to Hades. If this is true, it is remarkable that Jesus would use this opportunity to say this. He chose this location, full of pagan idol worship to make a case for the church. He also taught us teachers how to teach. He used something common from the day as an object lesson. Maybe we should point out Gucci billboards and talk about consumerism, or political ads and talk about honesty and integrity.
We stopped at a beautiful waterfall, too.
After this we went to Dan, a large place where many interesting artifacts have been found. The most interesting is an inscription that mentions "The House of David." There was little historical evidence outside of Scripture about King David before this find. Dan had a large altar built and a huge platform for the golden calf. Quite fascinating.
At night, I moped around and missed my family. It was the first night I forced myself to be alone - and it was horrible.

arm a geddon it

5/23./08
It was another full day. I've been really overwhelmed at how much we have to do. We are constantly racing from point to point, snapping some pics and then back on the bus with hardly anytime to process. I guess that's what writing this is for.
We went up the coast and into the Jezreel Valley. The valley is beautiful and larger that the other valleys we've seen. We stopped at a place where you could see the valley and point out the mountains of Tabor, Moreh and Gilboa.
We went to Caesarea, a beautiful old city that King Herod built to honor Caesar. Which Caesar escapes me right now. Herod built this city to show that he was Rome. He wanted the Romans to know that he was Roman. He built the temple for the Jews to show them that he was Jewish. Interesting how little politicians change, isn't it? Herod also did this on the backs of the Jews, through labor and heavy taxes. Looking at the city was awesome, but then it kind of made me sick to know the motives behind it.
We were on top of Mt. Carmel where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal. We also spent time at Megiddo, where we discussed its eschatalogical impact. There are a bunch of people that believe it's the location of the final battle. Armageddon literally means "Mountain of Megiddo," and so many people believe that Megiddo will be the stage. I tend to think it is metaphorical. Megiddo was the site of so many battles over the years, huge battles by large armies. The author knew of the history and wanted to communicate the magnitude of the battle. Being there really firmed this up in my mind - the valley just isn't big enough for a modern war with airplanes, etc. It would be over really fast.
The interesting thing about Megiddo is that has been destroyed and built up 25 times. It also had a spot in the city that has been the location of a temple or holy site 17 times. I think that's fascinating.

I also got to hike to the top of mount Arbel. It was an awesome view, really windy, but worth it.

Unfortunately, after two weeks of this it's starting to feel like lots of piles of stones over and over. I'm still learning a lot. I can recognize Solomonic gates, tripartate homes, casement walls, etc. I feel like I need to recognize Jesus in it all.

Hot Stuff

5.21.08
Today was a hard day. We walked a lot today, in the scorching heat of the wilderness. I felt like I did fine, but it was wearing. There was a lot of complaining, and it was hard for a lot of people to pay attention. We went to a lot of tourist spots, which I thought took away from some of the significance. Most of the spots weren't biblical either, although they added to the context.
We first went to masada, a fortress on top of a huge plateau. It was amazing from the ground, but once you got in the city itself, it didn't seem quite so impressive. Herod's palace was a colossal feat of building, but the rest seemed like a lot of what we had seen before. We spent a lot of time on masada, exploring and taking pictures.
Next we went and floated in the Dead Sea. It really is a unique experience. It feels like you're in wet Jell-o, just thick enough to hold you up. After a couple minutes, it really burns. My neck started to burn, and i got splashed in the eye, so I got out quick.
After that we hiked En-Gedi, a natural spring in the wilderness. This is where David and his mighty men hid in caves fleeing from Saul. It is also the place where David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but cut off a corner of his robe instead. It is a critical passage that shows David's willingness to follow God's leading.
We ended the day at Qumran, which was scorching hot, on the northwest edge of the Dead Sea. There are a number of theories about who the people were, and what they did. The main thing about this site is what was found around it. This is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. It was awesome to see the caves in the cliff walls and learn about the different theories of the scrolls as we sat there.

Negev remix

5.20.08
Today we explored a number of places that I found really beautiful. I got up really early this morning to catch the sunrise over Maktesh Roman. It was beautiful and poignant. While at the crater, i took about 100 pictures. I loved it there. In the morning, we went to Avdat, a Nabatean settlement. The Naboteans were spice traders that used the routes through the Negev. They centered around Petra but had a settlement in Avdat. There were some Christian items there as well, like a church and baptistry. It would be a hard life to live in the hot and arid land.
At Ein Avdat we took a hike up a canyon and then climbed a canyon wall. I thought it would be much more strenuous than it actually was. I had a great time. I don't usually enjoy hiking all that much, but with landscape this stunning, I'd do it all the time.
So far, some of the sites we've gone to have been less interesting than others. Beer-Sheva was one of those. I found a couple of things that would be great for teaching, but the overall vibe of the place was boring.
Arad had an interesting feature, however. It had a temple - like that in Jerusalem, but smaller. This was against the covenant and in complete defiance of the law. What made it worse was that it appears to have a place for two gods. They found an inscription that mentioned "Yahweh and his Asherah." I realized that I, too, can easily become syncretistic by loving consumerism, comfort and air conditioning.
Tomorrow is the Dead Sea, Masada, and En Gedi. These are some of my favorite spots from the last time I was here. So far, the Negev has been my favorite.

Shephelah and Negev

5.19
Today was a great day. It was a day spent in the Shephelah and the Coastal Plain. We finished the day in the Negev at the most beautiful youth hostel I've ever seen. We started the day early at 7AM on the bus. We hit a number of spots along the valleys in the Shephelah. Our first stop was Beth-Shemesh where we got to dig through pottery shards. I am now the proud owner of authentic Israel pottery. Later, we went to the Elah Valley and stood in the field where David fought Goliath. I thought it was a very remarkable experience. I got 5 smooth stones from the very streambed David did. Although the time was short, I thought it was astonishing to be in that place.
Further on our travels, we stopped at Maresha, which was a biblical site. It was so amazing. Because of the heat, they dug caverns out of the soft limestone. it was a really beautiful place and it was amazing to see the ingenuity of the people who lived there.
We were able to swim in the Mediterranean in the afternoon. It was exactly what I needed. It was fun to get in the water and relax.
Once we arrived at the hostel, it was amazing. The location of this place is awesome. Maktesh Ramon is an amazing crater that expands for miles upon miles. It resembles the awesomeness of the Grand Canyon. I spent a lot of time taking pics at sunset and moonrise. At first, I was by myself and it was so peaceful. Just me, my camera and my headphones. Then, after a couple of minutes, it seemed like everyone was out there. It was great though. I am planning to get up early to see the sunrise in the morning.

slow down and worship

Day 5
5.17.08
Today was my favorite day yet. It was a day off, a slow down day, and it proved to be exactly what I needed. I wasn't planning on it, but went to church this morning (Saturday) at a Messianic service. It was at a small chapel which sat about 80, but it was packed when we got there. I stood in the foyer, where I could still see. They sang a bunch of songs in Hebrew, and I could follow along and sing as well. I had an elderly gentleman singing over my shoulder the whole time. He had a beautiful voice, and listening to him I was able to correct my mispronunciations. There were moments where I just let him sing and allowed myself to be captivated. The songs were so deeply theological and really brought the full story of salvation history together. The songs spoke of the King who sits on David's throne, and Yeshua the Messiah as the one who truly saves. I was brought to tears standing there.
Later, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and went to the Pool of Bethesda. At the pool, we found another church that was solely "for the purpose of praying and singing hymns." Our group went inside and we began to sing together in a cathedral that makes even mediocre singing sound amazing. It was a powerful moment for me as well. There were people coming in to see what the singing was about, but I didn't notice that we had a little crowd until we were leaving. It was a beautiful, holy moment.
Tonight, a bunch of us continued our singing in the student lounge. It was a great worshipful day. The Sabbath. In Jerusalem.

temptation, tunnels and tombs

Today I felt like Indiana Jones. Thanks girls, for singing the theme song. We spent time today in three locations. First, we went and saw Hezekiah's broad wall. I was amazed to see that the city didn't look anything like the city of Jesus' day. That has been very striking for me thus far. Each time period had a very different Jerusalem. In my mind I had always pictured the same place. But David's Jerusalem was incredibly different from Hezekiah's Jerusalem or Herod's Jerusalem.
The next place we went was the city of David. We walked along the southern wall to the Dung Gate (that's where all the sewage would run out because it's the lowest point). I found the time in David's City to be powerful as we read the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah. It was easy to put yourself in David's shoes, looking down upon the city from where your palace would be. He would be able to see anyone. It was really awesome when our prof was authentic and spoke reality into the story.
Next was Hezekiah's Tunnel. This was a tunnel that was built in order to seal off Jerusalem's water source from the Assyrian Army. The water source was outside the walls, but it got sealed off and channeled into the city. This was a big engineering feat. They started one man at the spring and another from the city and they met halfway. It is amazing they even got close to each other. We walked through the tunnel in ankle deep water. It took quite a while to walk through - about 30 minutes. The whole time I was thinking about the work that it would take to create such a tunnel. A man with a pick axe and an oil lamp. That is hard work and dedication. It was also a stunning display of faith on Hezekiah's part to seek God and plan effectively for the protection of the city.

To end the day, we walked up the Kidron Valley. I was struck by the elevation change up to the city of David and the temple mount. When you are up top, it doesn't seem that far down, but when you are at the bottom, it is a very arduous task to get to the top. It also struck me that these battles with large numbers of soldiers would fit in this valley. It is stated that at least 185,000 soldiers were in the valley with Sennacherib when the Assyrians attacked Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:35). They would have spread farther than you can see. It would have been quite a sight. We also got to see some tombs and monuments that would have been present as Jesus crossed the valley. That was really cool. Large tombs, that I crawled inside of, really brought it home that I was here.

from hell to resurrection in 5 minutes

Today was a great day. We spent the morning walking around the Old City of Jerusalem. As we walked out of the school, we looked over the Hinnom Valley. This is where child sacrifice occurred, and where the city dump was started. During Jesus' time, it was a place that was constantly on fire from the trash that was being burned, so it was an ample picture of death and agony. When he spoke of Gehenna, people knew what he was referring to. It was a powerful moment to look out over the valley and to be struck with the force of Jesus' statements when I could see where and what he was talking about. After our morning devotion, where Jan spoke about Jerusalem only being a tourist place without Jesus' death and resurrection, it was fitting to begin with the idea that we needed to pray and weep over the city as Jesus did.
We started at the Zion Gate and made our way in a sort of clockwise fashion around the city. I had gotten lost around there last night with Josh, so it was funny to start where the evening ended. We went through the Armenian quarter into the Christian quarter. There we spent a little time at a church that has a number of names - Anastasia, Resurrection, Holy Sepulchre. It is most commonly called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today, but was known as the church of the resurrection for many years. It was built in the 4th century by Helena, Constantine's mother, when she researched and found the likely place. Time has changed the idea, but it was only through bad research. The Church of the Resurrection was stunning and caused me to wrestle with the dichotomy of worship and excess. I think it is a beautiful expression of worship to build a building like that, but at the same time it appears to be so much excess. what good the money could have done. But, I know that Jesus accepted gifts that were expensive and seemed over the top.

initial thoughts

today ended up being a fun, eventful day. after very limited sleep and a really long flight, we arrived in Jerusalem slightly behind schedule. when we got here, our leader and our bus were nowhere to be found. it appeared he had forgotten or was running very late. he's the kind of guy that would be totally early. we got to the school, which is really cool. it's built into a wall around jerusalem, so it's maze-like in its hallways. i have yet to find the library. it is on Mt Zion and overlooks the Hinnom Valley. We can literally walk a hundred yards and be in the old city of Jerusalem in the Armenian quarter.
after dinner, another guy and i decided to walk around the town - New Jerusalem rather than old, since we'll be doing that tomorrow. we finally found Ben Yehuda street, where all the happening stuff was. Then we walked back toward school. Rather than go the way we came, we decided to wander into the old city and subsequently got pretty lost. thinking that the 100 yards idea was true, we thought we'd take a shortcut. rather than the 5 minutes it would have taken, we got back in about 30. we learned the Armenian quarter rather well.
i'm looking forward to a good night sleep tonight. it will be much appreciated. i've already got a roommate sawing logs as I type, so I am very thankful for the nightshade and earplugs. tomorrow is 8AM to take a tour of Old Jerusalem.

Why is Greenland icy and Iceland green?

Well, I find myself on the plane on my way to Israel. The whole experience thus far is a little surreal. I'm sitting next to a guy who is really cool - a blessing, since I was afraid that I would have an experience that rivaled that of Planes Trains and Automobiles.

Right now, we're flying over Iceland, just passed Greenland. Juno is playing for the second time on the flight. It's weird to think that we travel over the Arctic Circle rather than straight east. But, it's logical once I think about it.

I started a really interesting book by Shane Claiborne. It's called Jesus for President - thanks Kyle. About 100 pages in, I find it a very engaging read. The premise is that understanding the political climate of Jesus' day supercharges his words with revolutionary meaning that we don't understand at a cursory glance of the Scriptures today. I have been thinking about these ideas for a couple years now (in some ways longer, because I've never felt all that patriotic) and I'm finding a lot of it rings true. It would be really interesting to get the academic side of this idea, although I appreciate the many footnotes and references. There are statements that are made that should require footnotes that don't have any - some of the big things I've been chewing on don't really get answered - just restated.

I also learned that Manchester United won their match today, which means Chelsea places second. Better than the fourth that most people were expecting after the managerial change. And they still have a chance at the Champions League against ManU. Next year.

three weeks of posts?

it's been a solid month since my last post. but i've written a good paper, failed miserably on a vocabulary test and learned a lot in the process. i hope to discuss some of my personal discoveries from my paper in a later post.

for those of you who don't know, i will be traveling to israel for a class for three weeks, starting may 11. i am really looking forward to the time to learn, be engulfed by the land, and to have some time to meditate with God and ruminate over the last couple of years and what lies ahead. i haven't felt like i've had much time at all to slow down for about two years. i will miss my family to no end (i've only been away from my boys for 3 days at the longest). however, i know that my time away will be beneficial to my whole family as well.

if you would pray for me on my trip that would be great. i am really trying to have a reflective attitude and absorb this whole experience. it is my second time in israel, but unfortunately i don't remember much of the first time. i feel this is an enormous piece of being able to teach the Bible - especially the Old Testament.

my hope is to blog some of my thoughts - we have to keep a journal anyway, so why not do it electronically right? so hopefully, there will be a good three weeks of postings up here in the near future.