December 30

Rain and a change of plans.

The day was rainy, so we scuttled the plans to go to the Dead Sea and headed to the Mediterranean coast. First however, we visited Shepherd’s Fields, an area near Bethlehem which commemorates the announcement of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. We sang in the chapel and again in one of the caves the shepherds had used. We did see sheep about ¼ mile away. The rain held off during our visit
We left there on a long journey to the Mediterranean Sea. There we stopped in Joppa, an ancient sea port, over 4,000 years old. It is just south of Tel Aviv, which is only 100 years old and now boasting a population of 1,000,000. Joppa is found in numerous places in the bible, notables Jonah 1, 2 Chronicles, and Acts 9 and Acts 10, where Simon Peter performed several miracles and also had the vision that led to declaring all foods clean. We visited the home of Simon the Tanner (Acts 9 and Acts 10) and St. Peter’s Church. We were in some serious rain. There was no desire to try a walk along the Mediterranean.
There we went north along the coast to Caesarea, a city built by Herod the Great, (d. 4 b.c.), the same Herod who ordered the slaughter of the innocents around Bethlehem. It has a theater that sat nearly 5,000 people, had a chariot race arena, a palace, roman baths and many other amenities. Later it was a significant site for the Crusaders. Today it is the home of the wealthy. It sports Israel’s only golf course.
We ate lunch at Megiddo, an astonishing archaeological site that we were unable to visit, but we received an understanding of the geographical importance of the city over the years. Twenty levels of civilization have been unearthed there. The valley of Megiddo, ar Megiddo, or Armageddon, has been the site of many history changing battles.
I’ve had a few computer challenges --- using up my computer battery, not being able to recharge it quickly, and also a lack of wifi in this otherwise very nice hotel, Caesar’s in Tiberius. But to finish the day (writing this on December 31 in the evening…. )
After this very late lunch, we went to Nazareth. We didn’t have a great deal of time here, but had Mass at 4:00 at St. Joseph’s Church, adjacent to the Basilica of the Annunciation. After Mass we had a quick explanation of some of the historical finds beneath that church, and went to the Basilica of the Annunciation, which is built over the home of Mary. It was here that the Annunciation took place, and with Mary’s assent, the Word became flesh immediately in the womb of Mary. This basilica is adorned with dozens of images of Mary from countries all over the globe. On the outside of the basilica, there are many writings and images. The doors are particularly impressive. There is also a labyrinth and other opportunities for devotion. We stayed until 6:00 so we could pass by the home of Mary. It was about 6:30 when we got back on the bus, and after 7:00 before we checked in. A sumptuous supper awaited us, and we also learned that we had free access to the health room and the mineral springs pool. Several took advantage of that before retiring.
It was a long day, lots of travel, and raining or threatening to rain almost all day. We were glad to not have an early morning option of visiting sites. We all want to sleep.