Rector native shares trip to Holy Land

(Editor's Note: This special article for the Democrat was written by Rector native Paul Seay, who now serves as a United Methodist minister in Calico Rock. He and his wife visited Israel in January.)

As a life-long Christian, I have always had the desire to go to the Holy Land to see the places where our Christian ancestors walked and lived. To see the places where Jesus lived, taught, died and was resurrected was a dream I thought would never be fulfilled.

Fortunately, through the assistance of the Bishop Charles Crutchfield, the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Calico Rock and Spring Creek United Methodist Churches, my wife, Rebecca, and I were able to take the trip of a lifetime.

We left Little Rock at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, making a connection in Newark, N.J., before flying to Tel-Aviv, Israel. We arrived at 9:15 a.m. Thursday. Everyone was tired and worn out from the trip, but we didn't waste any time in starting our tour.

We first went to Caesarea, on the Mediterranean Sea. The Apostle Paul had been taken to Caesarea to protect him from being assassinated by the Jews. He asked to be put on trial in Rome since he was a Roman citizen. Peter also met Cornelius, who became the first gentile convert, there. We also visited Nazareth, where Jesus' family lived, and Cana, where he performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at the wedding.

It seems that every place that was significant in Jesus' life has a church built on it. In late afternoon we arrived at our hotel in Tiberius, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

We left the hotel Friday refreshed and ready to continue our great adventure. We drove along the Sea of Galilee, arriving at the Valley of the Winds. The valley funnels the wind down from the mountainsides across the water causing much of the turbulence on the Sea. In 1986, an ancient boat dating from the first century was found during a time of drought when the water had receded. This boat, much like one Jesus and the disciples used, is displayed in a museum at Kibbutz Ginosar. Unlike the ancient boat, we rode a modern boat around on the Sea, where Bishop Crutchfield led a devotional.

We then visited the church at the Mount of Beatitudes, Peter's Primacy and Capernaum. Capernaum is where Jesus lived during most of his ministry. Today there are ruins of a synagogue and the house that belonged to Peter's mother-in-law, whom Jesus healed from a fever. The Church of Peter's Primacy is located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where tradition says Jesus called to the disciples to fish on the other side of the boat and, after preparing a meal for them, told Peter to feed his sheep. We also visited the church that celebrates the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes.

On Saturday, we headed to Dan in northernmost Israel on the border of Lebanon. Dan is a nature preserve with beautiful spring-fed streams and green forests. On top of the mountain there were ruins of ancient military installations situated to look toward the north into Lebanon. Dan also has archeological excavations of areas dating back to the time of Abraham. The walls of stacked stones are impressive and make one wonder how they have stood for hundreds of years.

We then went to Caesarea Philippi, where one of the largest springs in Israel is located. There is an abundance of water there and the Romans built a place of worship in honor of the god, Pan, at the entrance of a grotto. We then visited Jesus' Baptismal Site on the River Jordan, where we had a Reaffirmation of Baptism service. Our final stop Saturday was at the ruins in Bet Shean. Bet Shean was a Roman City and the ruins there are similar to those found in Rome. It is near Mt. Gilboa, where Saul committed suicide rather than be captured in defeat.

Sunday was a travel day that would take us to Jerusalem. Tsippi, our tour guide, suggested that instead of going the direct route to Jerusalem, we should take the road that goes through the Golan Heights, which borders Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. At its widest part, the Golan Heights is about 10 miles wide and at its most narrow spot is about a half-mile wide. This is a beautiful area with towering mountains and beautiful vistas. It is also where we saw soldiers on duty in the forests, a military tank base and signs warning of land mines on both sides of the road.

Our travels took us near Jericho and on to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 11 caves between 1947 and 1956. The Dead Sea Scrolls are some of the oldest copies of Old Testament texts ever found. We visited the Shepherd's Fields near Bethlehem, where it is thought the angels visited the shepherds to announce the birth of the Christ Child. In Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Nativity that is built over the manger where Jesus was born. As we were leaving Bethlehem, soldiers boarded our bus for the first time checking our passports. That was the only time we had to prove who we were until we were leaving Israel and returning to the United States.

Monday was spent sightseeing in Jerusalem. Haas Promenade offers a panoramic view of Jerusalem, including the sparkling Old city and its surrounding walls. The Mount of Olives is the hill facing Old Jerusalem where the Gospels record that Jesus had many encounters. Covered with olive trees in Jesus' time, it is now considered a holy place and hundreds of followers have been buried there. We visited the Upper Room where Jesus and his disciples shared their last meal together, and the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where Jesus was first taken after his arrest. We walked through the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray before his arrest.

We entered the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday. We saw the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man who had been lame from birth. We stood in what is thought to be the prison that Jesus was held in before the Crucifixion, which is located in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We walked the Via Dolorosa, the traditional walk along the path that Christ took as he carried his cross to Calvary.

The Cardo, which is the main street of Old Jerusalem now as it was in ancient times, could actually have been the route that Jesus walked to the cross because of the way it aligns with Caiaphas' house, Pilate's headquarters and Golgotha (Calvary). The Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, is one of the most sacred places in all of Judaism. For centuries Jews have gone there to pray for the Jewish people. Today, Christians and Jews alike go there to offer special prayers at the wall. Many bring slips of paper with prayers written on them to place in the cracks of the wall. Periodically the slips of paper are gathered and buried on the site.

The Teaching Steps are located on Mt. Mariah at the South Gate to the Old City. It was on these steps that Jesus did much of his teaching. Mount Mariah is considered to be the place cited in the Book of Genesis where Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed. Isaac was not sacrificed when God stopped Abraham and provided a goat to be sacrificed in Isaac's place. The tradition in the Islamic faith is that Abraham took his son, Ishmael, to be sacrificed there.

Wednesday was a free day, but most of our group went to tour the ancient fortress of Masada. Herod the Great built the fortress of Masada, which is 1,475 feet above the Dead Sea. After the fall of Jerusalem, Jewish survivors and zealots took refuge there, using it as a base to raid and harass the Romans. In 73 CE, the Romans laid to siege to the fortress and after two years breeched the walls. Upon arriving at the top of the fortress, the Romans discovered the Jewish families had decided they would not surrender to the Romans. Ten of the leaders systematically killed all the people, then drew lots to see which one of them would kill the other nine and then commit suicide. Today Israeli soldiers take a vow there that Masada will never fall again.

Returning to Jerusalem, we stopped in Jericho, where we saw the Zacchaeus sycamore tree and excavations around the original walls.

Our last morning in Jerusalem, we visited Ein Kerem and the Garden Tomb. Ein Kerem is traditionally thought to be the birthplace of John the Baptist. The Garden Tomb is located close to Golgotha, and many believe it is the actual tomb in which Jesus was laid after his death on the cross.

About 10 years ago, one of the largest cisterns in Jerusalem, dating back to the time of Jesus, was found there, proving there would have been enough water there for it to have been a garden at that time. The tomb, where the body was laid, was chipped out on one end, suggesting the body was taller than the person for whom the tomb had originally been built. We celebrated Holy Communion in the Garden.

We boarded our return flight to the United States Friday morning excited about going home, but tired from what seemed at times like a military "force march" through Israel. I lost count of all the churches we visited. It seemed that every place that it was thought that Jesus might have been has a church built on it today. All of the locations are subjective, for, as our guide at the Garden Tomb said, "The Gospel writers left us a wonderful history of Jesus' ministry on earth, but they didn't leave us any maps."

I'm not sure what I liked best about the trip. Certainly walking through the Garden of Gethsemane was touching, and Communion at the Garden Tomb was meaningful, but there were many other emotionally stimulating attractions. Some have asked if I would go again. I hope to return next year with another group, and I would welcome you to go along with me. It is certainly a trip of a lifetime and, I promise, you'll never read your Bible the same again.

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