2/26 (running a few days late posting these!!)
One highlight Allison didn’t mention about yesterday (2/25) in Bethlehem was the trip to the Church of the Nativity, commemorating the location where it’s believed Jesus was born.
A solid-gold star in the floor of the cave beneath the Orthodox church marks the spot where Jesus was born and then lay in his manger.
This morning we headed west from our hotel in Bethlehem to the Mediterranean Sea, to the ancient ruins of the port city of Caesaria Maritima, built by Herod the Great just a few years before the birth of Jesus.
Caesaria was the local Roman capitol of the Judean region at the time of Jesus. Seeing the ruins of the enormous city, including the elaborate aquaducts and the temple Herod built to honor Caesar, made it pretty clear who was in charge.
Peter arrived to Caesaria after being sent for by the Roman Centurion named Cornelius (Acts 10), showing that the Good News wasn’t just for Jews, but was also for Gentiles. And Paul was also imprisoned there for some time (Acts 25-26).
Megiddo (aka Armaggedon)
This ancient city and the surrounding plains is where the forces of good and evil are supposed to ultimately face off as depicted in Revelation 16:16 “Harmagedon.”
It’s an impressive fortified city with an elaborate tunnel that stretches to the spring outside the city walls.
Kibbutz Mishmar ha Emek
Lydia Eisenburg welcomed us on arrival and showed us around at the 90 year old Kibbutz where she’s lived for the past 40 years.
Lydia explained why she is a Zionist; she shared the anti-Semitism she experienced growing up Jewish in Wales, and as a consequence, how important she believes it is to have a Jewish homeland. As a young woman, she moved to Israel in the 1960s and joined this Kibbutz. She shared the history of Mishmar ha Emek—how it went from a largely agriculturally-focused utopian endeavor to an industrial powerhouse (Tama Corporation) that manufactures the lions’ share of the developed world’s plastic netting that keeps hay together in giant, round bales.
For 15 years, she woke up every day at 3AM to milk the cows, then continue with other tasks before spending 4 hours every afternoon after school with her children, then teaching peacemaking classes into the evening with groups of Jewish, Muslim and Christian youth and other groups.
She shared other stories of Kibbutz members who are holocaust survivors and young people who have accomplished amazing feats of art, political and military leadership, and industrial entrepeneurship.
Lydia explained that she feels she and other Jews have a right to be in Israel, but also seemed clear that she feels a responsibility to ensure peaceful co-habitation with Palestinians is made possible. She explained that things with Palestinians in neighboring villages have not always been easy, but that she’s personally made an effort to be involved with dialogue for peace and seek ways to find common solutions.
Sisters of Nazareth Convent
In the 1800s, the sisters at this convent discovered a cave beneath their building that contains a 1st century home and tombs that are similar to the one in which Jesus was buried in Jerusalem.
The cave was carved out of the limestone and a giant round rock sits ready to be rolled in front of the cave door to seal the tomb.
Basilica of the Annunciation
We visited this church in Nazareth that commemorates the spot where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary (Luke 1:26) that she would give birth to Jesus.
The Basilica is a beautiful building that was completed in 1969 and houses the church structure erected by the crusaders in the 12th Century as well as the Byzantine church structure (inside the earlier one) dating to the 4th or 5th Century.
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