He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

 This morning we left the Sea of Galilee and made our way to Jerusalem via Jericho.

Sunlight breaks through the clouds as we prepared to leave the Sea of Galilee

Our morning prayer Gospel started with the parable Jesus told in Jericho immediately before he went up to Jerusalem. 

While the people were listening, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they imagined that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there. Accordingly he said, 'A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed king and afterwards return. He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds. "Do business with these" he told them "until I get back." But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, "We do not want this man to be our king."

'Now on his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for all those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came in and said, "Sir, your one pound has brought in ten." "Well done, my good servant!" he replied. "Since you have proved yourself faithful in a very small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities." Then came the second and said, "Sir, your one pound has made five." To this one also he said, "And you shall be in charge of five cities." Next came the other and said, "Sir, here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown." "You wicked servant!" he said "Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest." And he said to those standing by, "Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds." And they said to him, "But, sir, he has ten pounds …" "I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

' "But as for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence." '

When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

And so we started our journey for Jerusalem, singing the Galilee Song as, life the fishermen, we left the beautiful Sea of Galilee.

So I leave my boats behind!

Leave them on familiar shores!

Set my heart upon the deep!

Follow you again, my Lord!

Our first stop was to the archaelogical remains at Beit She'an. Scythopolis as it was known by the Roman was refounded and rebuilt from about 63 BC. 

The theatre

The bath house

The cardo - the main shopping street

The pedestrian area either side of the road

The shops in behind

Please don't be scandalised... they think this was the public brothel

The public toilets

Group bonding on the public latrine

Before the War of Independence that led to the formation of the state of Israel the population of the town had been entirely Muslim and Christian. It was captured by the Haganah in May 1948. The battle over the town during Operation Gideon caused most of its inhabitants to flee, and the remainder were expelled. The town was then resettled exclusively by Jewish immigrants.

The next stop was to the ancient city of Jericho, in the State of Palestine. Jericho is claimed to be the oldest city in the world and is 258 metres below! sea level. Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of more than 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back 11,000 years (to 9000 BC),  Jericho is described in the Bible as the "city of palm trees".

Mass was in the Parish of the Good Shepherd. We changed our Mass time enroute so we were in a simple little chapel above the junior section of the primary school. Outside we heard the constant tooting of the traffic. From below there was the sound of little children. And as we prayed the Eucharistic Prayer the call to prayer resounded from the mosque across the road. At our sharing in the evening someone made lamented that it is impossible for a Christian from Jericho to visit Jerusalem and the holy sites of Jerusalem.

As we drove to Jericho we had reflected on Jesus healing the blind man, Bartimaeus

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.'  And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me.'  Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.'  So they called the blind man.  'Courage,' they said 'get up; he is calling you.'  So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus.  Then Jesus spoke, 'What do you want me to do for you?'  'Rabbuni,' the blind man said to him 'Master, let me see again.'  Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has saved you.'  And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

- Mark 10:46-52

Then for the Gospel of the Mass we had the account of the tax collector Zacchaeus.

Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus  made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: 'Zacchaeus, come down here. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.' And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay at a sinner's house' they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay them back four times the amount.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.'

Luke 19:1-10

In both gospels there were people building walls... With Bartimaeus many of the crowd scolded him and told him to keep quiet. And with Zacchaeus they all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay at a sinner's house' they said. 

But Jesus heard the blind man... Jesus saw the silly little man in the tree. Jesus notices.

But so easily we try not to see the people on our streets. So easily we don't want to hear when people ask for help.

When Bartimaeus was told, Courage, get up; he is calling you,'  So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. The blind man threw off his cloak that would have been his protection from sun and rain, wind blown dust, from dogs sniffing around and indifferent and intolerant passers by. If Jesus didn't come through his cloak was lost. Someone would be sure to steal it. Bartimaeus again shows us what discipleship is, casting aside everything and going to Jesus, following him.

And Zacchaeus too, despite the protests of the crowd, casts off what possessed and imprisoned him, giving half his property to the poor, and repaying those he cheated four times the amount.

Jesus comes to bring liberation and salvation, breaking down walls with arms outstretched in love. And so Jesus left Jericho where he cast off everything in trust of his Father and stretched out his arms on the cross for our liberation and salvation. 

In doing so Jesus embodied our first reading... 

Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.

- Romans 13:8-10

Street scenes in Jericho

Even though we were next to the Mount of Temptation where supposedly Jesus spent his forty days in the wilderness and despite my spiritual guidance...

So many in our group fell into the temptation of shopping...

and smoking

The City of Dates

Our next stop was the view of the Monastery of St George of Choziba, in Wadi Qelt (the Qelt Valley). This path up the Wadi was the old way from Jericho to Jerusalem.

There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, 'Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? What do you read there?' He replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.' 'You have answered right,' said Jesus 'do this and life is yours.'

But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied 'A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead.  Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him.  He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.  He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him.  Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. "Look after him," he said "and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have." Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands' hands?' 'The one who took pity on him' he replied.  Jesus said to him, 'Go, and do the same yourself.'

Luke 10:25-37

It's interesting isn't it, Jesus identifies with the Samaritan, the foreigner, not the ones considered to be righteous. Would he identify with us?

When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it... as we arrived in Jerusalem the skies shed tears...

I rejoiced when I heard them say: "Let us go to God's house."

And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact.

It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel's law it is, there to praise the Lord's name.

There were set the thrones of judgment of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray: "Peace be to your homes!

May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace!"

For love of my family and friends I say: "Peace upon you!"

For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good. 

Psalm 121

The journey to unconditional self-giving love

Today was the first day of rain on our pilgrimage, which was rather disappointing given that we were travelling to ancient city of Caesarea Philippi in the Golan Heights. 

Our morning prayer as we left Tiberias came from St Paul's letter to the Corinthians...

Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them.

If I have all the eloquence of people or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.

Love does not come to an end. But if there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the gift of languages, it will not continue for ever; and knowledge - for this, too, the time will come when it must fail. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will disappear. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and think like a child, and argue like a child, but now I am a man, all childish ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known.

In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.

Its a reading we have heard many times before, especially at weddings, and we because it is so familiar we can easily brush over its meanings... 

At times at weddings I suggest to couples since God is love take out the word "love" and replace it with "God" and the meaning suddenly starts to change... God is always patient and kind; God is never jealous; God is never boastful or conceited; God is never rude or selfish; God does not take offence, and is not resentful. God takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; God is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.

And since we are created in the image and likeness of God take out "love" and "God" and replace it with your own name... Dimitrius is always patient and kind; Colleen is never jealous; David is never boastful or conceited; Andrea is never rude or selfish; Marcel does not take offence, and is not resentful. Susi takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; Teresa is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.

When we do that we all realise that we are a work in progress, that love and our relationships of love, whether in marriage, in family or with God are a work in progress as we grow from childish ways to a deeper perfection of love. Since we are created in the image and likeness of God who is love this is truly the vocation of us all, to grow to become love itself in Christ Jesus who is the love of God made manifest.

Sadly we signs of the absence of love in the Golan Height, that area of Israel was captured from Syria during the Six Day War of 1967.

The aftermath of the state of the state of tensions between Israel and its northern neigbours, Lebanon and Syria... several kilometres of areas mined...

Military equipment ready to repulse another attack

Our first stop today was Caesarea Philippi. The first mention of the ancient city was during the Hellenistic period was in the context of the Battle of Panium, fought around 200–198 BC, when the name of the region was given as the Panion. Later, Pliny called the city Paneas. Both names were derived from that of Pan, the god of the wild and companion of the nymphs.

The spring initially originated in a large cave carved out of a sheer cliff face which was gradually lined with a series of shrines. The temenos (sacred precinct) included in its final phase a temple placed at the mouth of the cave, courtyards for rituals, and niches for statues. It was constructed on an elevated, 80m long natural terrace along the cliff which towered over the north of the city. A four-line inscription at the base of one of the niches relates to Pan and Echo, the mountain nymph, and was dated to 87 BCE.

The once very large spring gushed from the limestone cave, but an earthquake moved it to the foot of the natural terrace where it now seeps quietly from the bedrock, with a greatly reduced flow. 

Statues of the gods?

In Greek and Roman times Caesarea Philippi was an important home of the gods.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up, 'You are the Christ,' he said, 'the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.' Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-20

Whenever I read this I always imagined Peter trying to work out the answer to Jesus' question in his head... But then one day, at St Benedict's in Auckland, a Deacon was reading the Gospel, and just the way he read it, it was as if there was a burst of inspiration from Peter's heart, like a spring of water bursting forth. And so I was amazed to see Caesarea Philippi for the first times and the number of springs everywhere bursting forth from the mountain here.

But the question has another significance... What would you answer to Jesus if he said to you, "But YOU, who do YOU say I am?" And again, the answer can't be something that just comes from our head or our figuring out. What is the answer that bursts forth like a spring from within you? 

The spring at Caesarea Philippi

Notice the water bursting forth at the base of the rock... unfortunately the camera chose to focus on the leaves of the tree not the water and rocks

But the Gospel continues... 

From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to put to death and to be raised up on the third day.  Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him.  'Heaven preserve you, Lord,' he said 'this must not happen to you.'  But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me Satan!  You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God's way but a human way. If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themself and take up their cross and follow me.'
Matthew 16:21-24

Peter wanted a good news Jesus... But life is not like that, and nor is love. At a wedding couples promise to be true to each other in good times and bad, in sickness and health, for richer for poorer. Suffering is a dangerous opportunity that has the potential to bring out the best of love and to deepen love. This is the same in our relationship with God, and in Christ, in God's relationship for us, for his suffering and death reveals the fullness of God's love for us. But so often we think in a human way as we wrestle with the meaning and mystery of suffering in human life. When you think of it in this way, to take up your cross is not simply accepting suffering, for the cross is THE sign of total self-giving love and that is what each of us are called to, to be people of unconditional self-giving love after the example of Jesus himself. 

With that thought in mind we headed for Cana where at the wedding feast Jesus turned the water into wine. Our first stop was to the beautiful Greek Orthodox church in Cana.

We then went to the next door Catholic Church for Mass...

The size of the stone jars

Ruth said, Wherever you go, I will go, wherever you live, I will live. 

Your people shall be my people and your God, my God.

Wherever you die, I will die and there I will be buried.

- Ruth 1:16-17

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' Jesus said, 'Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water, 'and they filled them to the brim. 'Draw some out now,' he told them, 'and take it to the steward. 'They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it come from - only the servants who had drawn the water knew - the steward called the bridegroom and said, 'People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink, but you have kept the best wine till now.'

This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.

John 2:1-11

When you look at the size of the stone jars there is a lot of the stone jars you wonder how long it would have taken them a long time to carve out with hammer and chisel. Then, when Jesus told the servants to fill the stone jars with water, it wasn't a simple matter of turning a tap. It may well have involved repeated trips to the well and with smaller pots to fill the six large stone jars... 900 wine bottles full!

In the same way marriage takes work... it involves a chiseling out a space in the heart for first the spouse, then the children, then the children's friends, and then the grandchildren, and the grandchildren's friends. Our journey of life is a call to a constant expanding of the heart. And that space in the heart has to be filled with the ordinary things of love and service, looking out for the other, ready to do things for the other. In fact it can be so ordinary we don't notice just how the love is growing. Perhaps its only when we someone dies we realise just how much we love them and what they have meant for us.

But along the way we get little glimpses when our hearts burst overflowing with love, They are graced moments, they last for a time but they give us the courage to carry on. 

And so with the reading from Ruth, which is about her relationship with her mother in law, we remember that the more we become one with the other the more the love within us in transformed - what is ordinary is revealed as a fine wine that matures day by day. 

The three married couples on the hikoi then renewed their vows to each other while others in the group renewed their promises to spouses at home or in heaven.

What we see in marriage becomes the patter

I, HUSBAND, renew to you, WIFE,

the promises I made to you 

on our wedding day

when I took you as my wife.

We have seen good times 

and difficult times.

We have seen our love challenged and we have felt our love deepen

I stand by you now and I will love and honour you all the days of my life.

I, WIFE, renew to you, HUSBAND,

the promises I made to you 

on our wedding day

when I took you as my husband.

We have seen good times 

and difficult times.

We have seen our love challenged and we have felt our love deepen

I stand by you now and I will love and honour you all the days of my life.

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.
You created us in love to share your divine life.
We see our high destiny in the love of husband and wife,
which bears the imprint of your own divine love.
Love is our origin, love is our constant calling, love is our fulfilment in heaven.
The love of man and woman is made holy in the sacrament of marriage,
and becomes the mirror of your everlasting love.
We ask your blessing on these couples as they renew their wedding vows. 
Lord, they have shared with each other the gifts of your love 
and have become one in heart and mind 
as witnesses to your presence in their marriage. 
You have helped them create a caring and loving home  
and have given them children formed by the gospel.
They have seen good times and difficult times.
They have seen their love challenged and have felt their love deepen.
Lord, continue to pour out your blessings upon them 
as they continue to love and honour each other.
May they both praise you when they are happy and turn to you in their sorrows.
May they be glad that you help them in their work,
and know that you are with them in their need,
May they grow graciously together in old age
until at last they come to the kingdom of heaven.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen

The concluding prayer for today is the Shema, the central prayer of the Jewish faith. It is contained in the Mezuzahs, a little "box" you find on doorposts in Jewish homes and buildings. It should be touched as you enter and leave the house much like we bless ourselves entering and leaving the church.

Moses said to the people: 

Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is the one Lord. 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. 

Let these  words I urge on you today be written on your heart.  You shall repeat them to your children and say them over to them whether at rest in your house or walking abroad, at your lying down or at your rising;  you shall fasten them on your hands as a sign and on your forehead as a circlet; you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Expand our hearts Lord 

so that we may love you 

and our neighbour

with an unconditional self-giving love