Blessed Are the Political Consultants, For We Really Need It

Once Tom and Aaron were groggily on the bus, we head back across the Jordan River North to the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and the area of the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.

The Mount of Beatitudes was marginally disappointing to me. It's the site of the Sermon on the Mount, but there is a church, a gift shop, and some other buildings on the site. I was envisioning a quiet hill with grass and rocks (like in the time of Jesus). Certainly all around the Sea of Galilee, including the hills on either side, there are beautiful hills that are more evocative of the time He was alive and preaching.

However, the next two stops on the Jesus Day were much more moving. We went to Capernaum, also known as the town of Jesus (there are numerous references to Jesus preaching and spending time in Capernaum). We saw the remains of the town, including Peter's house and two of the earliest Christian Churches (built on top of each other).We toured the town’s synagogue. Ian weaved together history, archaeology, and religion in a non-judgmental, fair way. He talked about the miracles of Jesus without debating whether or not they happened. His perspective is that history and archaeology go hand-in-glove when learning about religion. Miracles he ascribes to a matter of faith.

From there, we went to a seaside location where it is believed that the miracle of the loaves and fishes occured along the Sea of Galilee -- with a beautiful small church built around a rock that Jesus may have used during the miracle. We then went down to the water, took off our shoes, and rolled up our pants and waded into the Sea of Galilee. We filled bottles up with water from the Sea of Galilee. No other groups/people were there yet, so it was a very peaceful moment.

Oh, and then Jim saw a dead catfish in the reeds, so he went and picked it up. Tom Sawicki was cautioning not to pick it up, but Tom doesn't understand the life of a Louisiana media consultant. Jim posed for photos. The catfish? It didn't make it onto the lunch menu.