Into the Wilderness

Today we followed Jesus from the Sea of Galilee to Cana to Nazareth.  One of the most holy spaces for me was the Church of the Annunciation which sits atop a first century cave/house long associated as the house of Jesus (since the 100's CE).  The largest Christian church in the middle East, it sits atop the ruins of this ancient house, a Byzantine church from the 4-6th centuries and a Crusader church (1100's).  The 20th Century Church is on the 2nd floor with a wonderful hole above the altar that sits in front of the house.  The sound of beautiful Catholic music wafted down as I walked in front of the house.  It felt so holy.  To think of Nazareth - think hills.  It is built on the side of hills.  This should get the attention of folks in Northeast GA. 

We then followed the Jordan River Valley down to Jericho and the Judea Wilderness.  We traveled through the West Bank and bordered Jordan for most of the way.  To my surprise - the Jordan River no longer runs between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.  The Sea of Galilee provides all of the fresh water for the country of Israel.  The area is still rich in farm land, but no river.

We then made our way to the traditional site of Jesus'

baptism by John.  There is a 99% chance that this is the place - alhthough, its no longer the Jordan river.  I'm not sure where it comes from - but it was cold!  The site sits between Israel and Jordan and has only been open for about 8 months.  There are churches there from all of the world - Ethopian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and others.  And there were pilgrims there from around the world to be baptized.  I had the great privilege of baptizing Janis Stapleton.  What a wonderful experiece as she came up from the water - it touched everyone in our tour group.  

Finally, we made our way down to the Dead Sea.  We

passed Masada on the way - which I didn't realize over looked the Dead Sea.  We will climb in Monday.  At our resort, we all went out to float in the dead sea.  It made any skin abrasion sting like crazy.  And I made the mistake of splashing water in my eye.  Wow!  ouch.  My skin feels dry and fresh tonight.

Finally, we saw lots of sheep and camels today in the

dessert.  This shot is my favorite.   Last year, I posted a picture of a horse tied up at the Racetrack for its owner to go into get a drink.  I guess he is not along.  Here's a camel doing the same thing.    

It was  good day.  Thanks for following and praying.

Shalom!