The Picture is taken near the place Jesus is beleived to have given St. Peter the "keys." Notice he is handing Peter the shepherd's staff and the challenge to take care of and feed the sheep.
What makes this experience unique is that the programs are in the context of “the fifth Gospel.” That’s the “place” where Jesus and the Scriptures are based. When a person reads the stories of Israel, Jesus, and the early Christians while “standing” and “living” in the place where it all started (The Holy Land) we get a new and deeper understanding. That’s what I’ve come to appreciate more and more each day. I see how complex is our tradition and how rich are the words of scripture; rich in ways I’ve never understood.
We’ve taken many guided excursions including a trip to the Galilee area to get to know the land. We looked at archaeological remains of buildings and churches to understand how it began and developed over the centuries.
We’ve gotten to know Jerusalem and the area where Jesus walked, preached suffered and died. We’ve been educated in Jewish tradition and understanding of the scriptures. We’ve learned about Islam and the common roots that originate back to Abraham.
We visited Nazareth and it’s churches; each could be a semester or longer of religious education. Nazareth is a city of churches that commemorate many aspects of Jesus’ early life. The home of Mary, the home of Joseph, The Sea of Galilee, where Jesus preached the Beatitudes and Peter was given the keys. We went by boat from Capernaum to Tiberius; as Jesus would have done many times. We read the scriptures that pertain to the event that is commemorated there. It’s been another month of “retreat.”
When I speak of “place” where it happens there are some questions. This happened 2000 years ago and the specific location is not always available. We look to a process of historical and archaeological study to determine or make an educated guess as to location, but the important aspect is that id did happen and this place helps us to understand and put it into a place. It’s a process of making it part of a person’s spirituality.
The last week we’ll visit the Dead Sea, Massada, located nearby, the Negev, and Ein Kerem. More on that will be coming.
June 30th I leave about Noon for the trip to Nova Scotia (New Scotland) where I’ll continue to explore more on “Celtic Roots and Spirituality.)
We’ve taken many guided excursions including a trip to the Galilee area to get to know the land. We looked at archaeological remains of buildings and churches to understand how it began and developed over the centuries.
We’ve gotten to know Jerusalem and the area where Jesus walked, preached suffered and died. We’ve been educated in Jewish tradition and understanding of the scriptures. We’ve learned about Islam and the common roots that originate back to Abraham.
We visited Nazareth and it’s churches; each could be a semester or longer of religious education. Nazareth is a city of churches that commemorate many aspects of Jesus’ early life. The home of Mary, the home of Joseph, The Sea of Galilee, where Jesus preached the Beatitudes and Peter was given the keys. We went by boat from Capernaum to Tiberius; as Jesus would have done many times. We read the scriptures that pertain to the event that is commemorated there. It’s been another month of “retreat.”
When I speak of “place” where it happens there are some questions. This happened 2000 years ago and the specific location is not always available. We look to a process of historical and archaeological study to determine or make an educated guess as to location, but the important aspect is that id did happen and this place helps us to understand and put it into a place. It’s a process of making it part of a person’s spirituality.
The last week we’ll visit the Dead Sea, Massada, located nearby, the Negev, and Ein Kerem. More on that will be coming.
June 30th I leave about Noon for the trip to Nova Scotia (New Scotland) where I’ll continue to explore more on “Celtic Roots and Spirituality.)
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