We enter the manicured grounds of the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. Here, on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, we remember Peter's restoration.
Jesus trail report, 2017
Thirteen explorers from five U.S. states met at the opening of 2017 to walk the Jesus Trail. The Trail is a blazed course that passes through urban and rural regions of northern Israel-Palestine. Many sites of significance were encountered by the group; these give testimony to the deep and diverse history of the area known as Galilee.
Mysteries and moses' mentor
On the left edge
Listen now: A clackin'
Houghing and uh-oh-ing
A frontier tabernacle
Sunday schoolers and Raiders of the Lost Ark fans know that the presence of God was once associated with the Tabernacle. According to the biblical text, this frame and fabric structure was constructed in a special moment in time. Israel was moving to a new frontier. As the people packed or pitched their tents, so too, their God.
Sheep goats of the sky
Given the prominence of the phrase "sheep and goat" in the Bible, the propensity of contemporary herders to run "sheep and goat" together in the biblical heartland, it is striking to find "sheep and goat" together at the top of the Rocky Mountains. However, one must be cautious in carrying the analogy too far.
No dear, it's a large world after all (with apologies to esdras)
The garden fountain
Sodom apples
Imagining Ecce Homo
How Christmas Trumped Realpolitik--Part II
Eb wanders in the room looking a little disheveled. His hands are in his pockets.
“Where have you been, Mr Milk Groootto?” I smirk.
He rolls his eyes. “Nowhere.”
After the whole Divine Indiscretion fiasco, I wasn’t sure when I would see Eb again. But I’m glad he’s here and I know just what he needs. I produce a plate of sugar cookies. He perks up when he sees all the colored frosting. We sit at at the table, munch, and talk texts. It is Epiphany after all, the 12th day of Christmas. Wise-men day.
A Cold War at Christmas
I hold Josephus by the hand and squint into the wind.
Our view is good, but Herod’s was better. I sit with students on the stump of a tower (or “keep”) estimated to have been 120 feet tall. Herod could climb the stairs of this structure (now tumbled downslope) and scan the horizon from a lofty perch. Looking north along the Judean backbone, he could pick out the Mount of Olives. It cast a shadow over Jerusalem every morning. Looking south, he could see, or almost feel, really, the opening up of a vast desert.