Pilgrimage Day One

Day One of the Pilgrimage
Mt. Hermon – Baptism / Mt Tabor – Transfiguration
Today we arose early at 7:30 (early because we were lacking in sleep from all of the travel) ate breakfast and boarded the bus for Mt. Hermon and a tributary of the Jordan River.
We travelled through the Golan Heights to the Syrian and Lebanese borders. On a hill overlooking the Syrian border we saw a Israeli military installation that is used to gather intelligence from the Syrian side. Across the border lies quarters of the UN force that enforces the peace between Syria and Israel. It is one of the safest borders in all of Israel.
The Goal Heights is not only a security buffer, but also a very fertile area producing world famous apples and grapes for wine production.
Hermon Stream Nature Reserve or Banias is located near Caesarea-Philippi and is the location where Jesus asked the Apostles the question, “Who do you think I am?” One might wonder what does this question have to do with this place. I Jesus’ time this was the location of various temples to Greek and Roman Gods, Pan and Zeus among them, as well as a tomb for Dancing Goats. Imagine Jesus walking through the beautiful springs of the area with his apostles and looking up at the shrines to the pagan gods and asking his question. He might as well have said, “You see all those shrines up there – what do they have to do with me, who do you think I am?” In the Gospel some said Elijah but Peter called Jesus the Messiah. Then Jesus said, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.”
Across from the pagan shrines lie the ruins of the palace of Herod Agrippa and the ruins of a Crusader barracks. Above the shrine there is a large fort built by the Crusaders called Fort Nimrod.
The water in the area comes from a tributary of the Jordan River. This is where we gathered to renew our Baptismal Vows and to be anointed to remind us that we are marked as Christ’s own forever. It was an inspirational ceremony and there were some with tears in their eyes.
From Mt. Hermon we travelled to the area of Mt. Tabor (Tavor), the sight of the Transfiguration. Before ascending the mountain we ate lunch at the Sahara Restaurant; which is owned by partners one a Christian and the other a Muslim. We feasted on chicken, rice, humus, salad, slaw and wonderful Turkish coffee.
At Mt. Tabor we drove part way up the mountain to the park office where we disembarked from the bus and took vans up to the Church of the Transfiguration on a road with many hairpin turns, no wonder the bus was not welcome up the mountain.
The Church of the Transfiguration is a relatively modern church. The Muslim army under Saladin destroyed the original medieval church in the 12th Century. The existing church is built around the ruins of the original church that can still be seen.
The church has three parts to it. One altar, in the lower part of the church, is dedicated to Jesus. It has frescoes on the sides that represent the four ways Jesus is transfigured in history and a fresco of the Biblical Transfiguration. In the rear of the Church are two chapels, one for Elijah and one for Moses. There are also two side altar one of which is for Saint Francis because the church was built and is maintained by the Franciscans.
While on the mount we celebrated the Eucharist outside in a part of the old church. Fr. Dominic’s sermon asked us to consider leaving all of our cares and worries behind and concentrate on what we are going to accomplish in Jerusalem. The Gospel was Luke’s account of the Transfiguration which is explicit about what Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about – what Jesus was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. My hope is to release some of the baggage that is following me around from my past life. I chose this because during the Epiphany the “Star Word” I picked was “release”. “Star Words” are a custom of Shelley’s sponsoring church, Saint Luke’s. They are words that are assigned randomly by the Holy Spirit for one to meditate on and decide what she is telling us through the word.

After leaving the Mountain we returned to the Pilger Haus for a happy hour and dinner and hopefully a restful night and an exciting day on Saturday.