Holy Land Day 1 ... Dinner by the Seashore

After an 11 hour flight covering nearly 6000 miles, we gently glided back onto the ground in Tel Aviv. We then began the process of clearing customs, gathering our luggage, and boarding a bus for the two hour ride to Tiberias and our hotel. While we are all loopy from little sleep, I did have a couple of observations from today:

I was struck by the imagery of a common sign: Lost and Found. Seeing it displayed in Hebrew made me think of Jesus and the parable of the lost sheep.

“What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off,
wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search for the one that wandered off?”
Matthew 18: 12 CEB

I might add, wouldn’t it be easier if those that are lost we would just go to the Lost and Found desk and admit we were lost. It’s hard to admit you’re lost. Good to know that someone is out there looking for the lost.

Additionally, I was struck by something our tour guide said as he shared important information about the schedule for the coming week. He said, and I quote, “Tonight you will dine just above the sea shore of the Sea of Galilee.” I began to wonder how many times that was the plan as evening approached for Jesus and the disciples. It still seems strange to walk in a land that is caught between modernity and Biblical times.

BTW, after dinner we walked across the street from the hotel and walked along the shore of the Sea. It was both calming and breathtaking. It was interesting that along the shore line was a place where someone had built a small bonfire. There was some litter scattered about from a group of young people that had gathered in that place to enjoy themselves. Seemingly after 2000 years not much has changed … except I imagine the disciples didn’t leave behind empty McDonald’s cups.

Tomorrow: The Sea of Galilee and the surrounding area