It’s been about a week since I wrote to you. It’s not because I have gotten sick or anything like that. We took a short little trip to the Israeli side for a couple of days, staying in the city of Nazareth. I understand that there are about 60 thousand there, and I believe that it is majority Christian. You need to understand that there are not only Jews living in Israel. About twenty percent of the Israeli population are called "Arab Israelis". So, Nazareth is a town that is mainly Arab, but there are also Jews living there. And also, please remember that not all Arabs are Muslim. About two percent of the overall population in the Holy Land are Christian; made up of Catholics (Latins, Greeks, Armenians etc.), Orthodox (Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, etc.), and some hundreds of Protestants of different denominations.
When we got into town, our guide, Peter, pointed out to us the precipice of the hill where it is said that the residents tried to cast Jesus out of Nazareth. It was after he preached in the synagogue and declared that no prophet is accepted in his own place. But I should back up a bit. We had spent the whole day touring, Sunday, and finally arrived in Nazareth in the early evening. We drove past Tel Aviv, coming from the south and stopping first in Caesarea on the Mediterranean. We saw all sorts of ruins from Roman, Early Muslim, and Crusader times. That' s where I got my picture snapped with my buddy Daniel from Texas. We then went on to Haifa, in the north. Some will remember that Hezbollah rockets fell here last summer. Anyway, we had our Palestinian style lunch and then went to the Carmel of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. This place is believed to be where Elijah the prophet hid from Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings), and there was a long drought in Israel. This is where he finally saw the rain cloud, no bigger than his fist coming from the west. Over the cave is a beautiful church in honor of Mary. We were only allowed fifteen minutes, but it was enough time to enjoy the friendship of such a mother.
The next day, the highlight was going up Mt. Tabor. This is where Jesus was Transfigured before the disciples Peter, James and John. Of course, we couldn’t walk up because we get really the best of treatment wherever we go. Pilgrimage is a part of the economy here, so it was all well planned that we could take cabs up to the summit after the point that the tour bus could no longer proceed. We had much time for prayer and there had our Mass. The Franciscans have a welcome house here, and the treated us to an excellent lunch.
After we returned to Nazareth, the sisters with whom we were staying had some plans for our group. They wanted to show us their archaeological excavations beneath there convent. So after our dinner, we went down in to rooms that were really on three levels. First was a vaulted room with a cistern along side. This was identified as from the Crusader times, 12th century. Then, we were about ten feet lower in what the archaeologists thought was an early Byzantine or Judeo-Christian church. Descending further, we were in a room identified as a first century Jewish home. Even further down into the bedrock was a tomb. So, we are all intrigued of course, and the sisters wonder if they haven’t found the tomb of St. Joseph. We have no proof but these speculations that I won’t bore you with. While in the holy land, I try to give my scientific mind a break. If I let my doubts take second place than such unexpected excursions become a real adventure. Tuesday’s highlight was the Mt. of Temptation monastery built from caves halfway up a cliff face near Jericho. That's where we commemorate Jesus' temptation by the devil in the wilderness. There is just one monk in the whole place. Greek Orthodox men can go there for or a retreat, or they can be banished there.
Now I can’t leave off writing with out talking about today. Anyone who only wants to hear tourist stories please close the browser. Six of us had the opportunity to drive into the Judean Desert south of Bethlehem for a visit to the Bedouin community there. Bedouins are nomadic people who live in tent and other temporary housing. The make there living by herding and by making crafts and things that they sell. A French sister who works here let us come on her weekly trip to deliver medical assistance to the people. All along the way, we could see much more clearly how the Palestinian land is being divided and absorbed into Israel. I do not intend to be political, but only report what I saw with my own eyes. The Jews had a settlement along the way to where were headed, and it was the strangest thing. It was so isolated, maybe a community of a few hundred. They isolated themselves in the middle of the desert. They have military guard and a high security fence. And why? Perhaps because Israel military occupation allows such things. Israel clearly has long term plans for the whole area. After the settlement, we passed about 500 yards of mounded up and crushed rock. This town, in the West Bank, was destroyed by Israel and all its people forbidden to settle there. What remained standing on the opposite side of the road was only a tiny mosque whose minaret had been damaged. Also we saw a large area that was an Israeli military base now abandoned. No Palestinian can go there. There was another large restricted area, that has only begun to be built up. It will probably be another settlement. Finally, we arrived at the Bedouin camp and recognized a people so marginal and so poor. I do not condemn any Israeli but only the greed that leads such a disregard for human life.
Please all have a Merry Christmas! And may you each welcome Christ into your heart so humbly as animals welcomed him into their manger. I have written a homily for Dec. 24, but since I have no congregation nor faculties, I share it with you in the blog entry previous to this.
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