The Journey of a Lifetime Begins With a Single Toe

My ruminations about Israel have been interrupted by another trip.  On July 7 we embarked on a Holland America Land+Sea adventure to Canada and Alaska.  It was a trip of firsts.  Though we had been to Canada and Alaska before, this time we were venturing north of the Inside Passage and were journeying to the Klondike Gold Fields.  I guess it was the continual stories of pioneers, frontiersmen, shills, and native peoples that made me a little more adventurous this time around.

In Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory, I was introduced to the "Sour Toe Cocktail" served up at the Downtown Hotel.

From the Dawson City website:

The legend of the first “sourtoe” dates back to the 1920’s and features a feisty rum-runner named Louie Linken and his brother Otto.  During one of their cross-border deliveries, they ran into an awful blizzard.  In an effort to help direct his dog team, Louie stepped off the sled and into some icy overflow—soaking his foot thoroughly.

Fearing that the police were on their trail, they continued on their journey. Unfortunately, the prolonged exposure to the cold caused Louie’s big toe to be frozen solid.  To prevent gangrene, the faithful Otto performed the amputation using a woodcutting axe (and some overproof rum for anesthesia).  To commemorate this moment, the brothers preserved the toe in a jar of alcohol.

Years later, while cleaning out an abandoned cabin, the toe was discovered by Captain Dick Stevenson.  After conferring with friends, the Sourtoe Cocktail Club was established and the rules developed.  Since its inception, the club has acquired (by donation) over 10 toes.

So...you show up at the Downtown Hotel, buy a shot of Yukon Jack for $5 and wait in line to see the "Toe Captain."  For an additional $5 he will pronounce the rules: "Drink it fast or drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe."

He drops the gnarly toe in your glass and you drink it down!

                  

Oh yeah, there's a hefty fine if you swallow it...yuck. The Captain said they are down to their last toe.

If you pass the test, which I did, you get a certificate and are a member of the club. I still can't believe I did it!

The Holy Land - The Fifth Gospel

When we were in Israel, I became introduced to the  writings of Bargil Pixner.  He was a Benedictine monk who lived in Israel for 25 years, half of that time at the Sea of Galilee.  He believed that the land itself was the Fifth Gospel - that you would not fully understand the Bible without also understanding the land where it was set.  He believed that God's revelations were made in a particular time and in a particular place. By understanding the biblical landscape, Pixner believed that we can "experience the four Gospels with a new and greater clarity."  His books with Jesus through Galilee according to the fifth Gospel, and with Jesus in Jerusalem - His First and Last Days in Judea, are beautifully photographed and full of insights drawn from the physical topography of the Holy Land. I thoroughly recommend them.

This was our first glimpse of the Sea of Galilee - which is actually a fresh-water lake.  It is also known as Kinneret, Lake of Gennesart, or Lake Tiberias.  The majority of Jesus' ministry took place in the area of the Sea of Galilee - in what is often called "The Evangelical Triangle" - from Capernaum to Korazin to Bethasida.  This is where the marjority of Jesus' miracles ocurred.  The first side stretched from Tabgha-Eremos-Korazin.  The second stretched from Korazin along the Roman road to Bethasida.  The lake shore from the mouth of the Jordan as far as Tabgha forms the base of the triangle, with Capernaum in the middle of the base of the triangle.

Tiberias is located on the Sea of Galilee. There is no record of Jesus ever visiting Tiberias. He probably avoided this area, as it was the home of Herod Antipas. Tiberias is located on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.

These are ruins in the Tiberias area dating back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. The building stone is basalt - volcanic rock.

These are the Golan Heights. Even though it comprises a large amount of land, only 8,000 Palestinians are allowed to live here, under very strict restrictions.

Here we read Mark 1:16-20 about the calling of the apostles. It probably happened in this area.

This is the rock where tradition says Jesus dined with his apostles after the resurrection.

Here Jesus forgives Peter for denying him.

We ended our day at the beautiful Ein Gev Kibbutz on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We each had a cabin right on the water's edge. It was stunning!

Our view of sunset on the Sea of Galilee from our cabin. What a beautiful end to a wonderful day! Shalom!

Into the Wilderness...

"The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.  And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him." Mark 1:12-13.We left the lush oasis of the baptismal site at the Jordan River and began our own journey into the wilderness.

We are reminded that we are in West Bank, where, as the sign indicates,  Israelis are not to enter. Between the two fences is "no man's land."  This area is heavily mined.

Off to the distance we view Jericho "City of Palms," the oldest most continuously occupied city in the world. It is also the city located at the lowest elevation in the world.  It is the first city Joshua captured as the Israelites entered the Promised Land..

In Luke 19:1-10 we read of one of Jesus' visits to Jericho:

"He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who  is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Tradition names this as the Zacchaeus tree. Experts confirm that it could well date back to the time of Jesus. The tree was the centerpiece of Jericho's 10,000th birthday celebration in 2010. We are reminded that Jesus' ministry was also for the marginalized.

As we leave Jericho, we move toward the Mount of Temptation.  Though there is no definitive evidence as to where Jesus went after his baptism, this is traditionally recognized as the mountain where Jesus was tempted by Satan.  A monastery clings to the side of the mountain, hewn from its very rock.

As we sat in the Temptation Gallery and Gift Shop and gazed at the Mount of Temptation, while sipping complimentary green tea, we read Luke 4:1-13:

 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted  by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If you worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” ⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

¹² Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time

Here I am riding a camel with the Mount of Temptation in the background. Camels have an interesting place in the Bible. Some archaeologists believe that camels had not been domesticated at the time of Moses and the Patriarchs, and that references to them in the Septaguint are anarchronistic.  This same group of archaeologists prefer to believe that the Old Testament was not written or assembled until the first century BC.  We think of Abraham sending his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son. He comes upon Rachel who draws water for him and his ten camels. Recent discovery of camel bones dating back to the 7th century BC indicate that camels were around much earlier than once believed, even as early as the second millennium BC.  This evidence is further bolstered by the discovery of early depictions of camels.

There are no biblical records describing Jesus ever riding a camel.  He was familiar with camels, as indicated in Matthew 19:24, where he tells the rich young man "...it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle,  than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  Many of the beautiful nativity sets I saw in the Holy Land depicted the wise men traveling to Bethlehem on camels.  Please note: the Bible contains no such reference!

Israel is often described as "The Land of Milk and Honey." The "Land of Milk" describes the area where we are now - a land of livestock that produce milk. This area is less lush, with more scrubby foliage and grasses suitable for grazing. It seems to me that more of this arid land was given to the Palestinians. As we enter Galilee, we will be moving to the land of honey - the land of agriculture. Israel is a small country of great geographical diversity. I look forward to experiencing it all!

Shall We Gather at the River??

Shall we gather at the river,

Where bright angel feet have trod,

With its crystal tide forever

Flowing by the throne of God?

Refrain:

Yes, we’ll gather at the river,

The beautiful, the beautiful river;

Gather with the saints at the river

That flows by the throne of God.

This morning finds us on the banks of the Jordan River, in the vicinity of the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, where the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land, and where Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind into heaven.  A lot of Christian history in one small area!

The exact spot of the baptism is lost to the ages.  Two dueling spots are located in this area, one on the Jordanian side called  Beitabara and the other on the Israeli side in the West Bank, called Qaser El Yahud. We visited the Israeli area.

Following the six-day-war in 1967, this baptismal area was located in a military zone, and was off limits to civilians.  As the Israelis began to clear the landmines, the site was opened during the Easter season, and then gradually by appointment. When we went it was open on a regular basis, though the land around the site remains treacherous.

The Jordan River is very narrow and muddy at this site. Much of the water is diverted upstream for irrigation.  It is only feet across in spots. You feel you could almost reach out your hand and touch the soil of the sovereign state of Jordan.  There remains a military presence on both sides of the river.

Here we read Luke 3:1-22. "When everyone was being baptized, Jesus also was baptized.  While he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form like a dove. And there was a voice from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness." Luke 3:21-22. Just as Willis Britt read these words, three perfect white doves flew over the site. It was definitely an "aha" moment!  Not long afterward the baptism, John the Baptist was arrested. This was the signal for Jesus to leave his trade and begin his public ministry.

We went down to the water's edge where we renewed our baptismal vows and were anointed with water from the Jordan River. We were able to collect our own bottles of water to take home.  Once the silt settles from the water, it is amazingly clear.  Many people use it in infant baptisms.

According to Bargil Pixner, there were three stages in the development of the rite of baptism.  First there was baptism of self - ritual cleansing, such as in a mikveh, for ritual purity.  Secondly there developed baptizing by a baptizer as a sign of conversion and repentance in preparation for the kingdom of heaven, and finally Christian baptism, the effective sign of entry into the Kingdom of God.

Why did Jesus need to be baptized?   Because he was sinless, Jesus did not need to be baptized.  His baptism demonstrates to us that he identifies with us, sinners.  It gives Jesus credibility with the followers of John the Baptist. By baptizing Jesus, John gave him his stamp of approval as his successor. The baptism was also a perfect picture of the triune God - the Son, the Father's voice from heaven, and the descending of the Holy Spirit. "God in three persons, blessed Trinity."