Nazareth & Sea of Galilee

Ah, the Holy Land. Whatever you think it’s going to be like when you visit, it’s not gonna be that. This isn’t to say we had a bad time - we enjoyed the day, even though it was loooooong and hot and crowded. But whatever you expect to find at the holy sites based on your (probably) North American Bible school memories, it’s not going to be like that at all.

Let me sum it up for you in a few sentences:

Did [event] actually happen at [place you’re visiting]? Maybe, but probably not. Please buy a souvenir, though.
Did [person] actually [do the thing you’ve heard about] in this spot? Nobody knows. Exit thru the gift shop.

First stop: Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish.

Fair warning: I’m going to sound pretty cynical about some of the things we saw today, but I hope that you’ll see why. I respect others’ beliefs and I approached today’s tour as an exploration of history - because whether you believe the stories surrounding these sites or not, the fact remains that these sites and those stories have shaped history immeasurably. So we’re here at the Church of Loaves and Fishes, also called Church of Multiplication. If you’re rusty on your Bible stories, Jesus was preaching and teaching to about 5,000 people. At some point, he was told that the people in attendance were hungry, but they had only a few loaves of bread and a few fish. This church is built on top of a rock that Jesus is said to have sat upon during that event. It’s under the altar.

Now, the idea that you’re looking at the actual rock that Jesus sat down on while loves and fishes were being miraculously multiplied is pretty amazing… except that after you’re told the story and get the explanation that the church is built on the discovered ruins of two previous churches, then they hit you with, “It’s unlikely that the rock in the church is the actual place that Jesus sat, but it would’ve been somewhere in this area.”

Le sigh. If you want to buy a souvenir of your visit, though, there’s a shop right there inside the church.

The church is home to an immaculate mosaic floor from around the year 480. It’s stunning.

Next stop: Capernaum (that’s the spelling you’re probably used to, regardless of the signage)

Capernaum is, according to the Gospels, the hometown of Matthew. It’s also the town where Jesus performed several healings including one where a paralytic was lowered into the synagogue from the roof because the room was too crowded for the man’s friends to get him in through the door. There are ruins of a synagogue here.

A few steps from those ruins is an excavation site with a church ‘hovering’ over it.

This is St Peter’s Church, which hovers above the remains of St Peter’s house. But is it really St Peter’s house? Probably, and that’s as certain as certainty gets around here. Unlike nearly every other site in the Holy Land, there is no gap in the records of goings-on in Capernaum, so this is probably actually the site of St Peter’s house and thus, it’s probable that Jesus actually hung out with Peter here. Maybe even had a sleepover. So yay. I’m actually surprised there’s no plaque indicating ‘Jesus slept here’ - but there is a gift shop.

A few feet from there is the shore of the Sea of Galilee….

…which, regardless of its name, is a lake. It’s not even a very big lake, only about half the size of Shuswap Lake or 1/495 of Lake Superior.

It’s fed by the River Jordan, which you probably imagine to be a mighty river like the Mississippi or the Nile. It’s not. It’s tiny and shallow and in most places, you can easily just walk across it.

But hey, wasn’t Jesus baptized in the River Jordan? Maybe. Some historians think it might’ve been in the Dead Sea or the Sea of Galilee, but the most popular location puts that event in the River Jordan, at some point between the two lakes… err, “seas.” And so, at some point, somebody was bound to pick a spot and say “here it was” and sell tickets to pilgrims who want to be baptized in the spot where Jesus got dunked. And wow, did that ever work out for them.

And when you’re done dunking, you exit through the gift shop, which is… well… let’s just say that Jesus would’ve flipped some tables by now.

Lots of stuff seems clearly aimed at American visitors, like this $38 t-shirt.

It’s “The First Miracle” wine, celebrating the wedding in Cana where we get the story of Jesus turning water into wine, after which Jesus got invited to all the parties. (Sorry, couldn’t resist) The writing on the back was in Hebrew, so I don’t think they’re trying to say that this is the actual wine from that wedding, because if they were, that bit would’ve absolutely been in English. Regardless, it was so incredibly tacky that it made me laugh out loud. And it can be yours for just under $19/ bottle.

Speaking of wine, everyone was getting hungry about this time and a glance at the watch showed that it was 2pm, so there was good reason for that. Off we go to a local place for lunch.

We had a lunch of either chicken breast or fish with a pickled salad, hummus, pita, and fries. Oh, and some Israeli wine, which was pretty good.

Then it was off to Nazareth! The city where Jesus was born. The city where Mary and Joseph lived. At least this much is pretty certain. And here’s where the certainty ends. You see, the spot where Mary was told that she’d be impregnated and carry God’s kid would be a pretty amazing place to set up a church… but where was that, exactly? The Greek Orthodox Church believes that she was told of the news while gathering water from a spring. So they set up their church there…. well, at a spring, anyway. The Catholics believe that Mary was told at home, so they’ve built the Church of the Annunciation on that spot. But is this actually the spot where Mary lived? Dunno. But they found a house on the site in an excavation and they’re running with it.

Now, cynicism aside, I don’t suppose it really matters if this was the spot or not, just build a church commemorating the event. But don’t let them hear that, because they’re all-in on the “this is where it happened” theory. Regardless, the church itself is stunning….

Tastes differ, of course, but you can keep your elaborately ornate, gold-encrusted, frescoes on every square inch of wall, etc… for me, this plain concrete, almost minimalist design is one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. Stained glass? Of course. No need for the wall-it sized depictions of Bible scenes, though, when simple colour patterns are this beautiful.

And right in the middle of it, the supposed house where Mary lived.

Upstairs is the worship space, which contains depictions of Mary, artwork gifted from seven different countries. The two best ones are from Canada and The US, and they couldn’t be more different. Canada’s is rustic, abstract, monochrome… understated but beautiful.

The American one is a riot of colour and texture, with Mary’s dress appearing like crumpled paper, or perhaps granite, depending on the way the light hits it. It’s gorgeous.

The last stop was next door, St Joseph’s Church. True to the theme of the day, the church was constructed over an archeological site that they are almost 100% certain is not Joseph’s house, but there’s a historic cistern underneath it and well… why not?

Then it was back to Haifa and the ship. It was a long, hot, gruelling day of bus rides and crowds and gift shops. We’re both glad we did it and we both enjoyed the day, but it’s not something we’d likely come back to see again. One of the reasons is that Israel is filthy. Just disgustingly filthy.

And it’s not just trash on the streets, it’s trash everywhere. Graffiti is rampant, buildings are in disrepair, Someone even used a hundreds-of-years old cannon at a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a BBQ pit, the ashes and grease and remnants still in it. Even in the holy sites, where they are adamant that you honour them by not wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts or hats, and that you remain respectful… it seems that if you want to chuck your water bottle or soda can down into an excavation pit, nobody’s ever going to bother picking it up.

Hate to end the post on that downer, but in spite of all the amazing, historically significant things we saw today, the two things that really stuck with me were how trashy everything was and how many ways people are trying to make a buck off the fact that we’ll come visit, anyway….

Once.

On to the next post…

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