The Celtic Monk

I attemptd to send this to you all earlier this week and noticed it did not come through for some. When I tried to re-send, no luck. Let's try it again. If all else fails I'll email it once I'm home. Sorry if you get MULTIPLE copies of this edition! Early this morning we visited Bethlehem. We left behind our Israeli guide and driver and were met at the security fence by an Arab Christian driver and guide for the morning. Bethlehem is one of the regions under the control of the Palestinian Authority. There is an uneasy peace between the two sacred towns of Bethlehen and Jerusalem since the Intifada of 2000. What to say about all of that? It's just difficult. Since the fighting, the Christian population has decreased from 70 percent to 30 percent. Life is difficult for all people; Arab Christians and Muslims alike in Bethlehem. Living behind the security fence inhibits the exchange of goods and services... prevents folks from working... it reminds everyone that pea...

One thing there is little time for when you've traveled 6,000 miles and backwards two centuries, is reflection. Yesterday, after our morning trek into Bethlehem, we entered Jerusalem through the Zion Gate...visited Kind David's Tomb the holiest site in Judaism... climbed the steps to the Upper Room and continued a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. We saw several underground excavations of houses destroyed in the Roman conquest at the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. And that was before lunch -- really. Our hotel sits just across a valley from the Old City facing south and a little east. From the floor to ceiling window we can see the Mount of Olives and the Muslim Quarter [which in reality is more like the 2/3rds] within the walls of the Old City. This morning I heard the loud speakers blare the Muslim call to prayer before the sun came up. Now as the sun cuts through the morning haze the surface beauty of this troubled city begins to take sh...

I attemptd to send this to you all earlier this week... and it did not come through for some. Let's try it again. If all else fails... I'll email it once I'm home. Early this morning we visited Bethlehem. We left behind our Israeli guide and driver and were met at the security fence by an Arab Christian driver and guide for the morning. Bethlehem is one of the regions under the control of the Palestinian Authority. There is an uneasy peace between the two sacred towns of Bethlehen and Jerusalem since the Intifada of 2000. What to say about all of that? It's just difficult. Since the fighting, the Christian population has decreased from 70 percent to 30 percent. Life is difficult for all people; Arab Christians and Muslims alike in Bethlehem. Living behind the security fence inhibits the exchange of goods and services... prevents folks from working... it reminds everyone that peace is distant. There are no easy answers here. We [Americans] cannot imagine what ...

Today was a day of fun sightseeing and relaxation... did I mention shopping? We began the day at the Underwater Sea Conservancy which was just beautiful. The conservancy allows land lovers to descend 20 feet under the sea into the middle of a coral reef. Fish, anemone, and coral abound. After being underwater, we boarded Jeep-like Land Rovers for a trip up the Eliat mountains. This part of the desert gets less than .025 inches of precipitation each year. Fortunately for us, two months ago they had a deluge which they considered a "ten year" rain event which lasted several hours... and the desert began to bloom. Trees and flowers that had been conserving their precious water, seeds, blooms had come to life. WOW. We continued up the mountain for about an hour over rough terrain until we reached what was undeniably the top. From there we could see (with the help of our guide) the borders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. There were stunning mountain ranges...

On Sunday we drove the length of the Negev Desert from the southern tip of the Dead Sea to the deep water port in the city of Eliat on the Red Sea. Along the way we stopped to take pictures of Lot's wife, pillar that perhaps once stood on the shores of the Dead Sea but after shifts in tectonic plates, now is half way up a mountain. About ten minutes before seeing the fertile port city in the distance looking much like an oasis, the air conditioning on the bus became 'intermitent'. While on a bus in the Negev you do not want intermitent air conditioning! We were happy to reach the Isrotel Royal Beach Hotel where we have been pampered beyond our wildest dreams. Standing on the balcony, we can see the nations of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and of course Israel. The city of Eliat, Israel and the city of Acaba, Jordan share this northernmost tip of the Red Sea as a common deep water port. At least they do in times of peace. Just in case, their is an Israeli PT boat that c...

I’m wondering tonight what amazes you? As you go through your day, do you ever feel really wowed, or really grateful? This week I’ve been amazed by people; some who’ve been dead and gone for thousands of years, and some who are traveling companions for this pilgrimage. This morning we visited Beth Sheam, the largest active excavation in Israel located about half way between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. A community of 40,000 from the 2nd century CE – the excavation includes the main street where the business of town occurred, a theatre, public baths, hippodrome, gymnasium and gold-smith shop. What amazed me most was the creativity of both the builders of the city and the dedication of those who are piecing the city back together. The main street, called “Cardo” (the word from which we get ‘cardiologist’) was so named because it was the heart of the town. Many of the public buildings have intricate mosaic floors or walls not because it was necessary, only because it was upli...

We’ve spent the past few days traveling The Galilee. I grew up thinking that Galilee was a city or town like Nazareth or Jerusalem. It wasn’t until my first trip to Israel that I learned that The Galilee was a region in northern Israel. The people here further differentiate between The Upper Galilee (north of Magdala/ Capernaum) and The Lower Galilee, the area we are staying in and around Tiberius, Nazareth, Mount Tabor [Transfiguration] We visited the town of Nazareth where Mary the mother of Jesus was first approached by the angel Gabriel to learn she would be the mother of One to be called Emmanuel. It’s likely that Jesus spent the first 20 years of this life there. While in Magdala (Mary Magdalene’s hometown) we saw the boat that was excavated in 1986 and has been dated as a fishing boat of the 1st century. We sailed in a replica boat to the middle of the Sea where we heard scripture read, prayed the Lord ’s Prayer together and were led in singing “Amazing Grace” by Barbara Rum...

You know it’s one thing to be 50+ living in a country that boasts being 200+ years old. But it’s quite another when you are 50+ and looking at the remains of a great harbor, summer palace and aqueduct all 2,000 years old. In fact, it makes you feel younger! Today we visited Herod the Greats’ summer palace in Caesarea on the shore of the Mediterranean. There we saw the ruins of an outdoor stone theater… think of a semi-circle of limestone seats 14 rows high and a stage with the sea as its backdrop. The remains of numerous pillars, capitals, sarcophagus, and a hippodrome… think Ben Hur. Down the road a bit we touched and took pictures of what’s left of the aqueduct which carried fresh water to this elaborate seaside resort. Amazing. We also visited Mount Carmel, where Elijah and his God outwitted the prophets of Baal. See I Kings 18-19. We travelled the Jezreel Valley, stopped at a Druze establishment for a falafel pita with fresh veggie garnish for lunch. At Tel Megiddo we saw t...

Friends and Family, While the middle of the afternoon there, its 10 p.m. in Tiberius. We landed on time from our 12 hour flight from Atlanta Georgia. Friends Stuart and Anita and Israeli tour guide Jacob were here to welcome us. We drove in our motor coach 2 hours from Tel Aviv to Tiberius where they had held dinner for us. As I promised, the food in Israel is exquisite. We arrived at the hotel thinking we were more tired than hungry. After our first course... we were more hungry than tired. No one skipped the dessert buffet. Our hotel is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We can see the lights of the Golan Heights across the lake. In the morning, God willing, we will watch the sun come up over the water. There are not words to describe the feelings. Driving from Tel Aviv, we past the exit sign to Nazareth, Mount Carmel, Meggido (the place of the battle recorded in Revelations). The quiet question inside is "can this be?" "Are we really here?" We are...

Today begins a journey that just a few years ago, I beleived to be "once in a lifetime." In 2006 I traveled to Israel with a group from Columbia Seminary. Four faculty members and 28 pastors made up that group. That trip was life changing, ministry changing, like taking spiritual vitamins. This afternoon I am privileged to begin that same pilgrimage again this time as tour leader with 8 folks from Moorings Presbyterian Church, two friends from Park Ridge,IL, Sam #1 from Ohio, two soon to be friends from Texas and Sam #2 my husband. Anita and Stuart[Park Ridge] are already on the ground in Tel Aviv and have reported beautiful weather and the celebration of the Israeli Memorial Day -- including having a ringside seat to a practice 'fly-over' of the Israel equivalent of the Blue Angels. We'll meet up with them at the airport in Tel Aviv when we arrive, be joined by our Israeli tour guide and driver and be off to Tiberias on the shore of the Sea of Galil...

We've passed another observance of the week filled with mystery, called Holy. Anticipation began on Passion Sunday as we read of the triumphal entry, and the waving of palms, all the while knowing what was to come. I tend to live this season with an almost palpable awareness of the light and the darkness... the goodness and evil at hand. As I went to the texts and let them seep into me, I always walked away changed. Everything I heard, read, or saw during those holy days was run through the filter of the cosmic happenings. I was aware that the whole creation was indeed still groaning. Christ's pain and betrayal was real in the Amber Alert posted from Georgia... in the body of the little girl found at the trash dump in Florida... in the less than promising unemployment forecast. These were the realities of walking with the Son of Man this 2010 Holy Week towards a certain death; and yet. Like the disciples, we continue to walk with Him. We go ahead when He asks to prepa...