Jesus was walking by the sea….

On the Sea of Galilee

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What an amazing last few days we have had!  In less than a week, our group was able to explore the very area where our Lord himself appeared, lived, and preached.

Because of the number of places, I will split these days into a couple entries.  The letters before the name indicate the letter on this map.

 

A.)  Magdala

Perhaps the most famous person from this town is Mary Magdalene (i.e. of Magdala).  However, this town was a major fishing village on the Sea, having over 200 boats in the first century.

Two things which especially interested me:

1)  in the 1980’s, they found a boat dating from the first century AD.  Not only that, they rescued it from the mud in the lake in which it had been hidden for 2000 years, but they encased it in styrofoam and pushed it back into the water.  Yes, they took a 2000 year old boat, and put her back on the sea!

 

2)  the Legionaries of Christ are building a center in Magdala, and they uncovered a first century synagogue.  Not only that, but there was a strange stone they found merely two days before we arrived.

This appears to be a miniature reproduction of the altar in the temple in Jerusalem.  On one side is a menorah, which means we may now know what the menorah looked like in the second temple.  Also, on the top are outlines of chalices and what may be bread.

Synagogues don’t have these, especially this ornate.  There may be some speculation that this could be one of the first altars on which the Mass was celebrated.

Jesus almost certainly preached in this synagogue.  Perhaps here he also appeared after the resurrection, as he does today, in the form of bread and wine.

 

B.)  Tabgha

Although a name which doesn’t register with most Christians, nonetheless one of the most important signs happened here, one of the few things recorded almost identically in all four gospels.

The multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

Tabgha was a deserted place in Jesus’ time, just a little ways down the shore from Capernaum.  The people came from all the towns to follow Jesus (the number of 5000 men, not including women and children, would indicate just about the entire populace).  And they were hungry and had no food.

Five loaves and two fish, a miracle which was to prefigure the Eucharist itself!

The mosaic above has a fascinating history.  You may notice at the top of the photo the legs of the current altar.  This mosaic is in the sanctuary of the Church, run by an order of Benedictine monks.

However, the mosaic was not made by them.  It was part of the floor of the second church built there, in the 400’s!

When Christians could begin building again under the late Ottoman and then into British control, the ruins of the second basilica (built on the same spot as the first church) were discovered, and much of the mosaic floor was in tact, including this mosaic.

So, we know this spot is the same spot as that church.

What’s more, we know that the second basilica was built over the first basilica, which was built over a shrine which dates back to AD 28.  Account for the six years the calendar is off from the birth of Christ, and you get the year Christ would have been 34.  He died at age 33.

 

I still can’t believe I was standing in the very same place where all this happened!  I’m so used to thinking it was such a long time ago and so far away.  Yet, here I was in the place.  And although sometimes the distance of years is quite noticeable, I couldn’t help but think how his promise of giving himself as food still, every day, connects us to this very spot at that very time.

 

I couldn’t help but return here in my free time to pray.