Day 04 - Galilee: Galilee Boat Ride, Tabgha, Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Chorazin, Mount Arbel

Just before dinner tonight, but well after dark, several of us noticed a small boat just off shore, with two young men aboard fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Watching them pull in their nets with a modest catch of fish was a fitting end to a day focused on the area of Galilee that was the setting for the vast majority of Jesus’ ministry: where he called young fishermen to follow himself… to give up everything and follow him.

First thing this morning (after an Israeli breakfast spread that included, of course, fish) we headed up to Mt. Arabel. Sitting on the point we could clearly see Mt. Hermon to the north, the Golan Heights, and around the Sea of Galilee several cities, including Magdala, Capernaum, and Tiberias. This was a mountain Jesus likely “went up” to pray, and the view that inspired his prayers and ministry. And so, just as Jesus sought to connect with the Father there, so did we. Gary invited us to spend some time considering a question Jesus asked on more than one occasion: “What do you want me to do for you?”

From there, we went down the mountain to the shore of the Sea of Galilee at a place called Tabgha, the place where Jesus is believed to have called the first disciples while they were mending their nets after a night of fishing. They left everything to follow him.

Not far away is the site of the ancient city of Capernaum, where so many key events happened. Here is where the Centurion sent for Jesus to heal his servant. Here is where the people lived whom Jesus chastised for not recognizing (and following) him. And here is where the crowds caught up to him after being fed on the countryside, where he told them that what they needed was not more bread, but the Bread of Life. At the center of this site is the place where Peter’s household lived, well preserved and protected beneath a modern church.

At the site of the ancient city Chorazin, we got to walk through many carefully restored buildings… workshops, a synagogue, and many home sites called “insulas.” An insula is a household grouping of rooms and spaces, undoubtedly what inspired Jesus’ illustration of his Father’s house as having many rooms, including one prepared for each of us who will, like those first century fishermen, choose to give up everything and follow him.

Rather than drive back around the Sea of Galilee in the bus, we got to take a boat. We got to see the sea and experience the peace that can be found there and imagine the chaos which can also be. As we crossed, we sang from the song "It is Well" - “through it all, my eyes are on you… and it is well.”

Though we are not all fishermen, we are all invited to follow Jesus. He is preparing a place for us, and whether on the mountain or on the sea, he offers us peace and calls us to become fishers of men.