Week 5 … Upper Galilee

This "day" we set off on the road that takes us North into "Upper Galilee". A higher elevation provides more plentiful rainfall and even snow on Mt. Hermon. The abundant rainfall and run-off forms several small rivulets (the Dan, the Snir, and the Banyas). These come together to form the Jordan, which flows through the Land of Israel forming a bulge in the middle which we know as the Sea of Galilee, then it narrows again to continue its flow into the Dead Sea.

This area is rich with biblical connections. Dan today is a beautiful nature preserve. The walk is delightful even if a bit tricky. For our efforts, we are rewarded as we come upon one of the amazing antiquities, an impressive mud brick gate perhaps dating to @ 1900 BCE. Several OT references are made to Dan. Abraham went to rescue Lot in Dan (Gen 14:14). Later, after settling into the land, the Danites didn't like the land they were assigned, so they went and chased out the peaceful people of Laish and took over their town, re-naming it "Dan"(Judges 18). Then there are the cult shrines that Jeroboam set up after the division of the North and the South. He wanted to keep the citizens of the North from having to go down to Jerusalem to worship (1 Kings 12:26ff). "From Dan to Beer-Sheva" is how the land boundaries are defined in several places in the OT.

There is no account that Jesus stopped at Dan, but there is a reference to the place just next door, the city of Caesarea Philippi earlier known as Panias in honor of Pan, the Greek god of woodlands and caves. An Arabic corruption of "Panias" became "Banias", as it is called today. At one point, it was also called Neronias to honor Nero! Note how the names would suggest something of the politics of the times. Herod renamed the city "Philips Caesarea". According to the Synoptic tradition, it is here that Peter makes his profession of faith in Jesus. As you read this account in Mark and Matthew, note that at the same time Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) he also misses a very important point and Jesus calls him on it. Jesus speaks about his passion and suffering and this does not sit well with Peter. Peter simply does not get this concept. The Messiah was to be powerful and restore the rule of David. Jesus is teaching something radically new here: that the one who would exercise strength and authority is the one who will give his life in service. Such a model stands in stark contrast to the political regimes of Greece or Rome and the various names by which "Caesarea Philippi" was known.

Dan and Banias both are about as far from Jerusalem as one can get while still being in "Israel". Here Jesus first predicts his passion. If the disciples fail to understand the kind of servant leadership of which Jesus speaks, they also seem clueless about what awaits Jesus in Jerusalem. From this vacation spot in the north, there is ample time and distance to escape. The natural beauty of this area provides a respite and relaxation, time for play! Jesus and his disciples are on vacation! The thought of "Jerusalem" and all that is linked with it is far away. So it is for us. Time in the Galilee seems peaceful and reflective and removed from the tensions that we will feel when we finally get to Jerusalem.

Traveling through the Golan Heights puts us closer to the border with Lebanon and Syria. Military installations will be very visible. Israel gained control of the Golan after the Six Day War in 1967. There is a long history and many reasons why the land of the Golan became the source of dispute. A stop to visit the bunkers used by the Syrians and Israelis prior to the Six Day War in 1967 will be a reminder of the conflict that undeniably mark this part of the world. And high atop the highest hill sits "Nimrods Castle", the name of a crusader castle that attests that such conflict is woven into the history of this part of the world.

One interesting place to visit is Katzrin. Not a biblical site, it is a reconstructed Talmudic village dating from the 4th-5th C. CE. As we have said, many Jews, no longer welcome in Jerusalem, went and settled in the Galilee. With the increased number of Christians, they became a minority and some left and settled in the area of the Golan. The restored village offers us a chance to imagine what sort of homes they lived in and how they lived their daily lives. When we visit Capernaum, we will see "homes" of Peter's neighbors. It is hard to imagine what archeologists say are "four room houses", but at Katzrin, this has been restored so we might imagine what the "good old days" were like, what sort of tools and implements they used, etc.

This "day" of travel may have seemed a bit less like "walking in the footsteps of Jesus", but the places we visit widen our mind to see God acting throughout all of human history. Quite likely, Jesus did more walking in this area than is recorded. When he visited Tyre and Sidon, he would have traversed these roads. The gospels are sketchy at best. But someone has called the land the "5th Gospel" and understanding it brings much into sharper focus. "Galilee of the Gentiles"… evidence abounds to support this. Exposed to outside influences far more than Jerusalem, Galilee was the place Jesus chose to begin his ministry. This "Light to the nations" perhaps reminds us that we may not separate ourselves from our world, but recognize it as the place where God's presence is to be made visible through the light that has shone on us. We are to be like the city set on the hill. Jesus himself must have drawn this image from the landscape of the Galilee and, sitting on the shore of the Sea, looking across at the city of Tiberias, a city set on a hill, shimmering with light in the night, today makes one smile with understanding.

1. Each of us, in one way or other, has "authority" over another. How do we exercise

this?

2. What can we learn from Jesus' instruction about service, authority and the giving of

self?

3. What are the "pagan" influences in life that we can touch with the light of Christ?

4. Know the places that give you rest and refreshment. These may not be simply places,

but people or things to do or thoughts to harbor. What are these for you?