Today, we arrived in the Northern Israeli city of Nazareth. The city that Mary and Joseph were from, and where Jesus grew up. It is a provincial city of about 100,000 people today. At Jesus' time, it was a small cluster of 20-40 caves or grottoes with a population of 100-200. It is on a hill overlooking a large valley below.
When I mentioned the line to a fellow traveler, she replied back with a snark, "that was an early statement..." So far, we have visited many of the sites of the miracles of Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection. Nazareth and the land around the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus did most of his ministry, teaching and preaching. The life and teaching of Jesus is so often overlooked when we focus on the miracles. Another fellow traveler has asked "why do we not have a holiday to celebrate the Sermon on the Mount, along with Easter and Christmas?" A good question...the teachings of Jesus show us how to shape our lives, and to have our lives shaped by God. That is why we have come to this region, to explore where and what Jesus taught.
Earlier in the day, we visited Jericho, the lowest point on the earth at 1200 ft below sea level, and the world's oldest city at 10,000 years old. We saw the cite of the biblical city of Jericho, where Joshua caused the wall to tumble down, a site still being excavated today. And we also visited a sycamore tree, said to be in the same spot where Zacchaeus climbed in Luke 19, another man inspired by Jesus' teaching.
Outside of Jericho we climbed to a monastery believed to be the place of Jesus' temptation in the desert after his Baptism in the river Jordan. It is not a flat desert like we may think of, but a cliff with caves. Early Christians later inhabited these caves when they left the cities to form early monastic communities.
Tomorrow, we visit a local Anglican congregation that worships in English and Arabic, outside of Nazareth.
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