When I think about the Gospel’s I can not help but think about Jesus walking with his disciples. I think about how Jesus walked from one location to another. I think about how Jesus sent His disciples out to travel to nearby cities to proclaim the good news. I think about how Jesus walked along the sea of Galilee and got in and out of boats to travel around the region. It is inevitable. It is found all throughout the Gospels. Jesus moved, He wasn’t static and stationary. This required an incredible amount of travel.
Today, I began to understand a bit of what that could have been like. We hiked from Nazareth to Zippori, and from Zippori to Cana. It was about a 10 mile hike. First off, I would tell you that I was whooped up on after hiking out of Nazareth. Nazareth is situated on the hillside and we went up about 400 steps to get to the top, and then we climbed some more. Then started the descent, which was equally if not more challenging then the ascent.
We hiked this path all day. We stopped in Zippori national park and checked out the ancient ruins and had lunch there. But we walked and talked. There were times when we walked and didn’t talk. Not on purpose, but simply because we were lost in thoughts. One of our group members mentioned tonight that the hike to Cana was like having church with one another. We were sharing life together. We were laughing, talking, sharing, and processing together. It was a communal approach.
I couldn’t help but think about what it would have been like to have been covered in the dust of the trail and sharing life with Jesus. At the end of the day my shoes were dusty. And I don’t mean a little North American dust. I mean the full monty. They were pretty dirty. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to clean them. I would love for them to remain symbolic of my time walking on the Jesus Trail.
I found myself being drawn into the scriptures in new and fresh ways simply because of what I was seeing. There were wheat fields all around us. There were olive groves, and fig trees. There were gated vineyards and there were mountains that surrounded us on all sides. I walked on a roman road which dates to the days of Jesus and I couldn’t help but touch the stones with my hands and wonder if my Lord too knelt there to lace a sandal, or talk to a shop keeper. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was in the same space 2000 years later.
I walked through the day wondering… Wondering who am I living life with, and sharing the communal aspects of life with? Are there people I am missing out on simply because I don’t value them, or their input in my life? I learned this lesson through the power of the wine press, the olive press, and the cistern. Too much to share in this post, but my concept of community is being radically rocked. My concept of loving your neighbor is being challenged in big ways. My concept of what Jesus was actually saying to these men who walked this same path is being shaped by my time here in the land.
I will have to save my thoughts on my time in the Church of the Annunciation for later. Time has slipped away from me, and I must get to bed. But that too was a deeply stirring moment in my day. I praise God for coming especially near to me this morning in the grotto of that church.
Who are you walking with in life? What parts of your life are lived in direct purposeful intersection with those around you?
~Peter
Community is defined as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. The definition goes on to describe a sense of ownership and desire. Have you ever felt apart of community? Have you ever experienced community in such a rich way that you were better off because of it?
Since writing 