I can imagine that even though this is an academic trip, it must still evoke the response of the pilgrim as well: imagine standing in the garden (or near enough) where Jesus himself prayed!
I thought about this quite a bit over several days and again today as our tour leaders asked for reflections about the tour. Actually, this study tour has been so intense there hasn't been a great deal of time for reflection, but in thinking of it as a pilgrimage, maybe I'm just a very unemotional person, but it really hasn't touched me in that way. To walk where Jesus may well have walked has been very interesting, but I can't say that it's increased my faith or inspired devotion because I came to the conclusion many years ago that the Bible is a book of great reliability and that Jesus' teaching represents more than earthly wisdom.
That is not to say that the trip is not inspiring. I think walking through Hezekiah's tunnel (see below) after teaching about it and other Biblical events confirmed by archeology was probably the highlight of my trip. Of course, much more evidence remains of tunnels chiselled through rock than of a man walking on the water.
What I do hope results from this trip is a greater understanding of the terrain and climate where Biblical events occurred along with more understanding of the background events which aren't directly recorded in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Hopefully I can pass on this greater understanding to others in my preaching and teaching and translation of the Scriptures.
My photo for this post is of the Hill of Precipitation beyond modern Bethlehem -- not a place where it rains a lot, but the place where Jesus was likely elbowed to the top of the cliff as the leaders hoped to push him over (Luke 4:28-30). The far side of the cliff is steeper than what this photo shows. In Jewish tradition, the first stage of stoning was to push or throw the offender over a cliff and then to finish them off by stoning them.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment