What Matters

Petra and Jaresh

I woke early to open curtains in our room that framed a breathtaking vista of the Petra valley. Our hotel is built into the side of a sheer valley wall that overlooks mountains and hills not unlike the Bungle Bungles in Australia in form. Spectacular.

We drove the short journey to the visitors centre where we began our journey down a gentle decline into the ancient siq (canyon). Both inhospitable and beautiful, the width of the canyon is at times only a few metres. The cliff walls stretch hundreds of feet vertical, decorated with beautiful streaks of orange, red, brown and yellow in the rock face. All along the cliff walls are remains of the ancient Nabatean culture. In this canyon 35,000 people lived around the time of Christ, earning considerable wealth from their position on a major trade route. Their homes, temples, shops and tombs are carved out of the rock wall. The remains of their sophisticated water system (aqueducts and dams) indicate their ingenuity. An undoubted highlight of the 10km return walk is the so-called treasury building. Rising 42 metres, this elaborate tomb was made famous as the scene of the final minutes of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

This whole site was 'lost' for centuries and still has major archaelogical excavations to be undertaken over coming decades. I will love visiting sometime in the future to see what else is uncovered. Although our visit to Petra had no biblical connection, this was yet another cultural and historical highlight of my journey.

After lunch we traveled the 3.5 hours north back to Amman. We traveled through desolate, desert country - driving past villages where boys played soccer in the sand. I could not help but refect that it was on land like this just to the west that the children of Israel journeyed on the way to the promised land. I now know just how promising it was.

Our final night in Amman was marked by a celebration dinner. Enourmous amounts of food was paraded before us as laughter filled the tables. A great way to finish the journey.

The last 10 days have been incredible. I am typing this update on my phone as I sit in the transit lounge at Dubai airport. So many images fill my mind. In the next few days I will write a final Israel post and offer the Big things I take away from my trip.

Jordan

Today began with an early morning border crossing from Israel back into Jordan. The process is complicated and involves multiple security checks, unsmiling immigration officers and soldiers ever watchful with powerful guns. It's sobering to think that Jordan is perhaps Israel's most friendly Arab neighbor!

We traveled two hours south west to Jordan's capital of Amman. Yet another ancient city, Amman was the capital city of the biblical Ammonites and was later renamed Philadelphia by the Roman conquerors. It hosted one of the seven churches named in Revelation. The ruins are perched high on a hill overlooking a bustling, compact city of 2 million. Near the ruins is a museum that houses, amongst other treasures, the oldest human form statues ever discovered. Ancient coins, pottery, dead sea scroll fragments and other items are housed in a ramshackle building that would barely rate as a shed in Australia. I took some wonderful photos.

Lunch was taken at Madgala where we later viewed a 6th century mosaic that maps the holy land. A short 15 minute drive later and we were on the summit of Mount Nemo. Here Moses saw the promised land for the first time. Stretching out before him (and us) were the Jordan valley, the Judean hills, Dead Sea and in the northern distance, the Sea of Galilee. It's not hard to see why it all seemed to be a land flowing with milk and honey after the brutal realities of the Sinai wilderness.

Seeing the view, it is incredibly sobering to think that Moses did not get the chance to enter the land because of his earlier disobedience. It seems so harsh. As one person on our trip wisely said, the greater a leader's responsbilities, the greater are God's expectations. Of course God also empowers, but we have the choice to lean into His strength, or rely on ours.

Back on the bus, we then began our longest land journey of the whole trip as we headed south to Petra, an ancient city carved out of the rock (think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) that is now one of the new seven wonders of the world. Tomorrow we spend half a day exploring it. I'm typing this update on my Iphone in the lobby of our hotel overlooking the Petra valley. Did I say I was blessed?!

Galilee Journey

Today began in a slightly sunnier Haifa, where we stayed in a lovley boutique hotel in the old German quarter. Our first stop was at the ancient city of Megiddo. The ruins date back at least 5000 years. Evidence of at least 25 separate civilizations is visible in the archaelogical digs. This was one of the Canaanite cities conquered by Joshua. Like so many ruins we have visited it was just amazing to walk around a place with so much history. Megiddo also overlooks the valley thought to be Armegeddon mentioned in John's vision in Revelation.

We then headed west for the Sea of Galilee. The region is fertile, with banana, avocado and grain crops dotting the winter landscape. We stopped at the Mount of Beatitudes where tradition has it that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was amazing to walk around a place where Jesus preached a sermon I immersed myself in for so many months last year. The site overlooks a natural ampitheatre that spills down to the shores of the lake. It was not hard to imagine the crowds straining to hear Jesus' voice.

Back on the bus, we then traveled down to the foot of the mountain and I had the chance to dip my hand in the lake. A short distance away, we pulled into Capernaum where Jesus based his three year ministry on Galilee. This stop was an amazing highlight of the whole week. The1st century ruins are incredible. This was where Jesus healed the paralytic, where he healed the man with the withered hand and where he called Matthew to follow him.

We then bused around to the east side of the lake where we had some lunch before boarding a boat to travel back to a small village just north of Tiberius. Here there is a boat excavated from the mud. It has been dated to the first century and may well have been known by Jesus and his disciples, and perhaps even used by them.

At the end of the day we headed to the southern end of the lake and the Jordan river where there is a site where Christian pilgrims are baptized in the river. The river is bordered bumy Australian eucalpyts and is eerily similar to home. The baptism site is also a way too overcommercialized for me. The day finished at a kibbutz on the southern shore where I am typing this now. Nice.

What a day. It is amazing to see the region where Jesus conducted most of his ministry. A beautiful place where place names from the bible are visible from any place on the lake. Capernaum, Bethsaida, Tiberius, Sepphoris.... I am truly blessed.

Galilee Journey

Today began in a slightly sunnier Haifa, where we stayed in a lovley boutique hotel in the old German quarter. Our first stop was at the ancient city of Megiddo. The ruins date back at least 5000 years. Evidence of at least 25 separate civilizations is visible in the archaelogical digs. This was one of the Canaanite cities conquered by Joshua. Like so many ruins we have visited it was just amazing to walk around a place with so much history. Megiddo also overlooks the valley thought to be Armegeddon mentioned in John's vision in Revelation.

We then headed west for the Sea of Galilee. The region is fertile, with banana, avocado and grain crops dotting the winter landscape. We stopped at the Mount of Beatitudes where tradition has it that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was amazing to walk around a place where Jesus preached a sermon I immersed myself in for so many months last year. The site overlooks a natural ampitheatre that spills down to the shores of the lake. It was not hard to imagine the crowds straining to hear Jesus' voice.

Back on the bus, we then traveled down to the foot of the mountain and I had the chance to dip my hand in the lake. A short distance away, we pulled into Capernaum where Jesus based his three year ministry on Galilee. This stop was an amazing highlight of the whole week. The1st century ruins are incredible. This was where Jesus healed the paralytic.

Heading North

Today we left Jerusalem. We headed south about an hour to the Valley of Elah. It was here that David had his showdown with the Philistine champion Goliath. It was quite surreal to stand in the dry river bed where the contest would have occurred. It was not difficult to visualize the Philistine army on the ridges overlooking the valley where the army of Saul waited, seemingly impotent. I picked up five, small stones as a memento of the
visit. Hope I can get them through customs!

We then headed west and north, traveling for about 90 minutes, leaving the Judean hills for the fertile coastal plain. The contrast is marked. The hills are arid and rocky, the plains green with winter crops. Eventually we wound our way to Caesarea by the sea.

This ancient port was built by King Herod just before the time of Christ. It was an important port for the Romans. It was also the home of Cornelius and his family, the first gentile converts to Christianity (Acts 10). It was from Caesarea that Paul sailed for his trial in Rome. The ruins include an ampitheatre and hippodrome where chariot races and other contests would have been held. Really cool.

We then headed further north for Galilee and the town of Nazareth. I know I am repeating myself, but I was not prepared for how hilly it is. Perched on a mountain overlooking the valley of Jezreel, Nazareth is no small village now. It is a large town of 80000 with a large Christian population, although no longer in the majority as they once were - Muslim Israelis now outnumber them. We visited the Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the ruins of the house where Mary supposedly lived and where the angel visited her with news of her pregnancy. Under the church are ruins of first century homes, perhaps even the one Jesus lived in as a boy. We also visited the site where the village synagogue was thought to be located and where Jesus announced his public ministry.

After a long day in the bus we then returned to the coastal city of Haifa where we at staying on a gorgeous little hotel in what was the German quarter.

Today has been sabbath. At our hotel in Jerusalem the two lifts operated differently. One operated according to sabbath law in that it traveled up and down stopping at every floor so that people did not need to push the button, which is constituted as work. There was no cooked food at breakfast, not even the toaster we normally use. Traffic around the city was almost non existant. However, as we got to the coastal plain where many residents are secular Jews we saw people about normal weekend actvities and the traffic become heavier. Can't help but think of Jesus words that man was not made for the sabbath, but the sabbath for man.

Dead Sea Floating

When I was a young boy my grandmother gave me a book by British broadcaster David Kossof called simply, as I remember, Bible Stories.  In it he re-tells simply and powerfully bible stories from a unique first person perspective.  It switched me on to the bible.  I was given another book written by Kossof that re-told in a similar style the story of Masada, the remarkable fortress built by Herod in the Judean wilderness, taken over by Jewish zealots and eventually re-won after a brutal siege by the Romans.  (Wikipedia it of you don't know the story.  You should).

Today we visited Masada.  On the shores of the Dead Sea, hundreds of metres above the surrounding plain, Masada is truly remarkable.  We walked around Herod's elaborate palace, in to his extensive baths and through the 16 storerooms that meant hundreds could live there for years at a time without replenishment.  It is am engineering marvel.  It is also deep in the modern Israeli psyche.  There is a saying here, 'Masada will never fall again.'  Surrounded by enemies, or at least states that are ambivalent about their existence, Israel is determined to position itself never to suffer a 'noble' defeat.  Such a complex place with even more complex politics.

We then visited Jericho for lunch, ascending the Mount of Temptation where it is said Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil before he began his public ministry.  Like the rest of the Judean wilderness, it does seem to be forlorn, lonely place.  Near the top of the mountain we visited a Greek Orthodox monastery, perilously perched up against the sheer cliffs.  Only one monk lives here, overlooking the Jordan valle across the mountains of Moab (Jordan).  After traveling back down the mountain by cable car, we visited the ruins of ancient Jericho.  This is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world, and the lowest (below sea level).  The ruins themselves were not remarkable to look at, but to think some of them pre-date the story of Joshua by hundreds of years is amazing.

Our day ended with a visit and swim in the Dead Sea.  Ten times saltier than the ocean, the Dead Sea is famous for its supposed healing properties and tens of thousands of people visit it very year.  Just on dusk we entered the water.  It was bizarre.  You lie back and you cannot help but float - in fact its is hard to right yourself to stand up again.  It was an unforgettable experience.

In His Steps

Today I walked where Jesus walked and sat where he sat.  It started on a clear.cold morning on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city and the Temple Mount.  Here Jesus wept over Jerusalem.  We walked down from the summit to the Garden of Gethsemane where the ancient Olive trees gave some sense of the surroundings Jesus spent that agonizing night of his betrayal.  The path we walked is also approximate to the path days earlier he would have walked on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Later in the morning we went back inside the Old City and sat on the steps that lead up to the temple.  Jesus would have walked these steps as he entered the temple precinct and overturned the money changers tables.  The scale of the temple precinct is breathtaking, even by today's standards, so I can only imagine the spectacle it was in Jesus' day.  We had lunch at a Kibbutz on the outskirts of the city before traveling to the Israel museum where a 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem in Jesus' day is a major exhibit.  So helpful.  But the major exhibit is fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls, including an almost intact scroll of the Book of Isaiah.  So humbling to consider the reverent dedication of those who copied this out so painstakingly and beautifully.

The day ended at Yad Vashem - the Holocaust Museum.  This was truly moving.  An understated, but beautiful building is filled with graphic and moving illustrations and testimonies of the horror of that time.  The Children's Memorial - dedicated to the 1.5 million children who died - grabbed me by the throat as you here name after name pf victims read in darkness broken only by candlelight. 

My only concern on this trip is how possibly I can drink it all in.

Tale of Two Cities

After waking up infuriatingly early (3am) and dozing a little after-wards, our group of twenty left for the nine mile journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  To get there we traveled through the 'wall' dividing much of the West Bank from the rest of Israel.  It was pretty simple for us to travel through as tourists, but for Palestinians the process can be arduous.  Unsurprisingly they don't like it very much.

Our guide in Bethlehem is a Palestinian Christian.  In fact 40% or so of the population in the town are Christian.  He spoke of the challenges the wall presents the Palestinian people and the traumatic effect it has had on the economy, with unemployment at especially worrying highs.  When we were back on the other side of the wall later in the day, our Israeli Christian guide affirmed the wall and the fact he believed it had reduced dramatically the threat of terrorism on Israeli soil.  Two Christians.  Two cities 10 miles apart.  Two very different views.

Enough politics.  Here are today's 'dot points'.  I visited:

• The fields where the shepherds were visited by the angelic host.
• The Church of the Nativity, including the supposed birth place of Jesus
• The Western Wall (wailing wall) of the Jerusalem temple, including underground excavations which were truly awe-inspiring.
• The site of the Upper Room.
• The site of the chief priest Caiaphas' house
• A platform overlooking the Valleys of Kid-ron and Gehenna ('Hell")

What a day,  At the end of it all, as we overlooked this divided, amazing city - we heard the Muslim call to evening prayer resounding across the valleys, reminding us that the issues here are complex and the history even more so.  So much to drink in.

Jordan to Jerusalem

What a day it has been.  It began in Dubai where we left at 8.30 for Amman, Jordan.  We then traveled by bus down to the Jordan Valley and the border with Israel.  The crossing took 90 minutes and numerous passport checks.  We then had a late lunch at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a shepherd boy in the 1940's.  On the shore of the Dead Sea,it is a bleak, moon like landscape.  What a desolate place it must have been for the community that lived there in the time of Jesus.

We then traveled the 19 or so miles up past Jericho to Jerusalem.  And when I say up, I mean up!  The shores of the Dead Sea in the lowest land point in the world, 400 metres below sea level.  Jerusalem is 800 metres above sea level - so the gradient is steep.  We passed Bedouin communities, settler villages and urban sprawl until we came into Jerusalem city.  I have to say I was not prepared for the feeling of coming into Holy Ground.  The place just reeks history, from the old walls to the ancient architecture.  I love the fact we will be based here for the next five days.  Time enough to explore.

It's cold.  I'm tired.  But what a gift to be here.  Thank you God!

Pilgrimage

After Christmas our family travelled to Naracoorte (four hours south-east of Adelaide), where Sue and I grew up and Sue’s family still resides.  We drove past the high school where I fudged my way through an education.  I walked around the footy oval where my mediocre AFL career began and ended.  I sat in the back row of the church where Sue and I would furtively hold hands during those long-winded sermons.  (Yes, I know that they are like!)  It was a pilgrimage of sorts – a revisiting of sacred moments of our past.

The Oxford dictionary defines a pilgrimage as ‘a journey to a sacred place for religious reasons.’  Tonight I leave for a 12 day pilgrimage in the true sense of that word.  With 20 other pastors and leaders I will journey to Israel to visit the sacred places I have read about in the Bible and have imagined in my mind’s eye.  I will spend four days in Jerusalem and will visit Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho and the Sea of Galilee.  I will wade into the Jordan River and float in the Dead Sea.  I am just a little excited!

I never planned to go on this trip, but by God’s grace an opportunity was offered to me late last year.  An added blessing is that Matt Hunt, Senior Pastor of Helensvale Baptist Church and a good friend will also be travelling with me.  To be honest I don’t really know what to expect, except that it will be a life-changing experience.  I imagine my preaching will be enhanced as my love for, and knowledge of the scriptures is enhanced.  I appreciate your prayer for me as I travel and for Sue, Joel and Emily as they await my return on February 5.