The City and the Sea

I’m looking ahead with great anticipation. Let me explain. Tomorrow Ginger and I fly to Jordan and will travel on from there to many sites in Israel. We’ve been looking forward to this trip since last summer, but there’s more to the thrill than that. After spending a day with Izzy, he emailed me and offered to let some of his friends and family in Israel know that I was coming. He wanted some dates and a location where we might meet them. What a gift! I sat last Thursday to type that we would have a few days’ free time after the tour. On that Thursday and Friday we would be in Jerusalem.

It’s hard to describe how it felt typing “Jerusalem” with the knowledge that we would be in that place. Jerusalem. No longer a name in the Bible, but a living city. Not just any city, but one that has been bitterly fought over, one sitting on a hill held sacred by three religions, one who has killed many prophets and Jesus of Nazareth. As I wrote the word I remembered reading that the building codes in Jerusalem require that all new construction must be in stone. Jerusalem.

But this morning the thrill came from looking at our itinerary which Ginger hung on the refrigerator door. One week from today we will sail on the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias to Capernaum and visit the Mount of Beatitude. Some will be baptized in the Jordan. So next Sabbath sailing on the Sea, and the following Sabbath walking in the City (but we shan’t walk too far.)