Galilee, the Logos, and Moses

Much has happened since my last post. I hope to catch everyone up with what has been going on in the Holy Lands during these past days. A bit ago we went to the Sea of Galilee for a long weekend as a part of class. Spending time in the beautiful area where Christ spent so much of his life and ministry was an awesome experience. We went to the various places where Jesus taught and ministered and it was neat to see where he actually was! The first night we spent in the Galilee I went out and sat on the shore thinking about the great things that once happened there. As I sat out looking at the water thinking about the amazing fact that Jesus Christ walked on those very waters and spent much time with his disciples on and around the lake, I began thinking about the Apostle Peter. He was really an interesting fellow and indeed an immensely important character with faith stronger than I will ever attain. Peter seems to have been the kind of guy who didn’t really think before acting and, as recorded in the Gospels, he sort of did and said whatever came to mind. I think that is why Jesus loved him so much and called him to be a disciple. When Jesus was walking on the water towards the disciples in the boat, Peter said “Lord, if it is you then tell me to come out with you.” Who would say that?! If I was in the boat and saw a figure walking on the water, the last thing I would say is “tell me to come out!” I would sail away as fast as I could. If Jesus told me to walk on the water with him I highly doubt I would have done it. I would have been terrified! Peter does it though. Amazing. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. Peter immediately said “you are the Christ!” He knew! He didn’t even have to think about it. He said exactly what he was thinking. Peter knew Jesus was the Christ and he loved him for it. That is why Jesus blessed Peter and told him that he would be the rock he would build his church upon. Later, during the humiliation of Christ, Peter followed him for a fairly long time. After the Lord’s betrayal Peter followed him into Pilate’s palace and watched Christ suffer terribly. Granted, Peter still betrayed Jesus three times (as Christ said he would) but he followed him farther and longer than any of the other disciples. That took guts because he could have been killed any time. If someone in the crowd found out Peter was one of his disciples he would have been beaten and killed on the spot. Eventually, Peter was the one to whom the risen Lord appeared to and informed him that Gentiles could now be grafted into the vine of Israel. Then Peter converted the first Gentile. Finally, Peter was martyred for his love of Christ. Tradition has it that St. Peter wouldn’t even allow his executioners to crucify him in the same manner as Christ since he didn’t deserve such an honor. So, he was crucified upside down. What a man! Throughout the weekend we went to places such as Caesarea, where the first Gentile converted to Christianity, Caesarea Philippi where Peter make his famous proclaimation of faith, Capernaum, Cana, Nazareth, and many other places where Christ worked and ministered either physically or through his disciples. It was truly a very spiritual weekend. We also visited many different Old Testmament sites, such as Dan, Megiddo, and Hazor. Visiting Megiddo was very interesting. Apparently, the word "Armeggedon" in the New Testament is this city. Therefore, many theologians think that the final battle for mankind will occur right at that very spot. I saw the whole city and it isn't very big. If a cosmological battle between heaven and hell is really going to happen at Megiddo then I am convinved that heaven and hell are not that big. Megiddo was an important city in antiquity. Whoever controlled the city controlled almost all of the Galilee region, which was a very important region. Therefore, since The Apocylypse of St. John (John the Apostle or John the Elder?) is Jewish Apocylyptic literature, which is a strongly metaphorical type of literature, perhaps the author (whichever John it was) was pointing to the fact that in the end of time all evil will be completely defeated and God will control all things. This would go along with Megiddo in antiquity because whoever controlled Megiddo controlled a lot of the eastern mediterranean world. I could be wrong, but regardless, spending time at Megiddo got me thinking about some things. My classes are still going well. In one class we are learning about something called "Logos Theology." In the prologue of his Gospel, St. John tells us that "the Logos took on flesh and dwelt among us." We have been studying the background of this passage looking at what exactly the Apostle was speaking of when he wrote "Logos." I am not going to go into it all here but it is a fascinating study to undertake. Basically, in the first century there was both a Jewish understanding of Logos and a Greek understanding of Logos. John, writing as bishop of Smyrna, would have most certainly had both Jews and Gentiles in mind when writing his account of the Holy Gospel. He also, being a Jew in the eastern mediterranean during the first century, would have be influenced by Greek culture. Therefore, John would have had in mind both the Jewish understanding of Logos and the Greek understanding when writing. In a nutshell the Jewish undersanding was that the Logos of God was the Word of God as in Genesis (God SAID let there be light) and also wisdom (as in Proverbs 8). The Greek understanding was that Logos was the rational mind of the wholly other Divine Deity, as sort of intermediary between God and man. Jesus, as I have learned about him and personally experienced him, is the culmination of all of these understandings of Logos! It amazes me to study these things in class. Trying to grasp the totality of the incarnation is impossible. The Logos of God, God's Word, God's Wisdom, God's Rational Mind, God's Intermediary to man, God Himself, the Mind of God...took on flesh (literally: "became enfleshed"). The Logos humbled himself and joined himself to man by taking on flesh...purely to die as an atoning sacrifice so that man might live. By Christ's incarnation man was brought back into the glory as children of God. We are once again united with God in a very physical and spiritual way. It is amazing to think about. Other than those things life is still moving along fast. Finals week is fast approaching and then the semester will be over. It is weird to think about. This past weekend some friends and I went to the Red Sea and spend time on the beach. It was quite nice. The water was clear and refreshing and it was good to get away from Jerusalem and relax on the beach.

From the Holy Land,
Jason

Just Livin' the Dream

As of recent I have been quite busy. I have been very bogged down with papers, journal entries, and other sorts of studies. Life has been busy but fun. I will give you all an update concerning what I have been up to for the past few weeks. Two weeks ago my "Physical Settings of the Bible" class went on a three day field study where we traversed around the southern desert of Israel' called the Negev, the southern coast' called the Shephelah, and the Dead Sea. My favorite part was by far the day we spent along the Dead Sea. We studied Masada, which was a fortress/winter palace of Herod the Great and later a hideout/last stand for a group of radical Jews during the Bar Kochba revolt in 70 AD. Crazy story: These Jews, in fear of the Roman advance and ultimate destruction of Jerusalem, fled to this hideout (which is HUGE by the way...way bigger than pictures). They held up there for awhile but eventually the Romans built a huge siege ramp up the side, which can still be seen today. So, after a rally speech by their leader, all of them, except 2 woman a few children killed themselves rather than getting taken by the Romans. The way they did this was by casting lots. The ten men who lost had to kill everyone else by stabbing them with swords. Then they cast lots again and one guys killed the rest. Then the last guy killed himself. Flavius Josephus tells us all of this. We also stopped at a desert Oasis called En Gedi. The whole experience there was surreal. As we walked from the sandy desert beginning of the oasis into the heart of the dense jungle that is En Gedi I thought that perhaps this is what the Garden of Eden might have looked like. I can imagine Eden looking like En Gedi, with the palm trees, waterfalls, and pools. I bet Adam and Eve had such a great time before the Fall simply living the dream in the beautiful oasis that was Eden. Too bad sin had to enter the world. However, something I have oftentimes wondered is whether humans would exist today if sin had not entered the world. For, depending on one’s interpretation of Genesis, Adam and Eve didn’t “lay” with each other in the Biblical sense of the word until after they were kicked out of the Garden. A week or so ago I was reading an interesting interpretation of the account by a 4th century theologian from Asia Minor, Gregory of Nyssa, who said that mankind as it is today would not exist at all if the Fall had not happened. He says Adam and Eve would have created more people but they wouldn’t be people in the way that people exist today. He said they would have produced more people in the same way angels create more angels; by some sort of re-generation without physical sex. Gregory believed that the first thing Adam and Eve did when the got kicked out of Eden was “lie” with each other because they were no longer immortal and now death was imminent so, in order to live eternally, they wanted descendants. I don’t know if I agree with him or not but I find his interpretation to be genius either way. We also stopped at the Qumran which was most excellent as well. It is where an ancient Jewish monastic type group lived and collected what is known today as the "Dead Sea Scrolls." I threw a rock at Cave #4. I didn't get it in because there was a large chasm between me and the cave. Other than that life has been normal but hectic. Something really cool I have gotten the chance to do since I have been here has been joining many different traditions for worship. There are quite a few monastic groups here in Jerusalem not to mention all the different denominations present as well. So, being very used to Protestant tradition and very interested in Orthodox tradition I have been joining many different groups for worship since they all worship all day everyday. A little bit ago I joined some Armenian monks and seminarians for their Liturgy. Last week I was wandering around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I stumbled into a tiny Ethiopian chapel and joined five monks for Vespers. A few days ago I went back to the chapel and decided to explore some stairs I saw. I discovered another Ethiopian chapel and some more stairs. So, I walked up those and found out that, not only can you go on the roof of the church, but you there are like 5 chapels on the roof and I think a couple monasteries. There were hardly any tourists up there so I sort of wandered around exploring the various chapels and saying hello to the monks. Also, oftentimes when I spend time in the Holy Sepulchre I join some Latin Franciscan monks in their chants and prayers. By far the most beautiful service I attended was a Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy. It was in Slavonic so I didn't understand one word except for the Kyrie Eleison (Greek for "Lord, have mercy"). The Russian church was built in the 1800's and it is huge! The inside is absolutely beautiful and the service was wonderful. I think there must be a large Russian population in Jerusalem because the church was packed and it didn't seem as if many of them were tourists. With all that said I have discovered how beautiful the Body of Christ truly is! There are so many different traditions of worship and theology and I think that makes it quite beautiful. The funny thing is that half the people I have worshipped with are technically condemned heretics. If you consider the Fourth Ecumenical Council to be valid then the Copts, Ethiopians, and Armenians are all heretical (not to mention the Syrians, Assyrian churches, and many more!). They were all kicked out of the church for their view of Christ. Some said he was more human than divine, some said more divine than human, and some said equally human and divine but that the natures fused into one will of Christ. All heretics! Well, even though I didn't understand their language it was truly an honor to worship Jesus Christ, the risen Lord with them. Perhaps I don't agree theologically with them, for I happen to think that all truly Ecumenical ("all Church") councils ought to be adhered to, but I don't think that these groups disagree on the the essentials (such as: Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus died as an atoning sacrifice out of his love for mankind, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, God is a Trinity of persons, etc.). Perhaps I am a heretic after all I just don't know it. If you really think about, all Christians are considered to be heretical by someone or some denomination. Either only one denomination is right or we are all right...which one is it? So I am a heretic to somebody. I am okay with that. Well, that is all for now. On Thursday I am going to Galilee for four days. Perhaps I will touch something Jesus touched! I sure hope so.

Radcliff Out.

The Good Samaritan

This weekend I met a decendant of the good Samaritan. Well, that is actually a lie but I did meet a Samaritan. Our class went up onto Mt. Gerazim where the Samaritans had their temple during the time of Christ. They believed themselves to be the "remnant" of Israel of whom God was still faithful to; the true Israel so to speak. The temple is no longer there but, suprisingly enough, the Samaritans are! There is a "remant" of 700 Samaritans living on Mt. Gerazim to this day. There are a self-sufficient village with schools and everything right on the mountain. They still believe themselves to be the true Israel. We talked with one fellow and he told us all about their beliefs. Supposidly they have the oldest copy of the the first five books of the Bible, which is the only part they actually adhere to. However, unfortunately for us (and probably everybody, including all the Samaritans) no one is allowed to actually see their copy. They also still do animal sacrifice. We stood on their sacrificial altar. It is a very odd place. Once a year the Samaritan high priests sacrifice a whole bunch of lambs and one small child taken from a neighboring village. Just kidding. They only sacrifice the lambs. I sort of thought civilized man was over the whole "animal sacrifice" thing. Apparently not. The whole thing was very odd. I also got the chance to see the place where the Tabernacle was semi-permanently located in Shiloh. It was neat to be there and think about what it might have looked like when it was there. It was interesting also because we discussed the set-up of the Tabernacle and it's spiritual implications. It was very similar to the Temple in Jerusalem (it was basically the pre-curser to the Temple). There was a Holy of Holies type place where God dwelt. The beautiful thing is that ever since Christ's work on the Cross God no longer dwells in the Temple, Tabernacle, or the Holy of Holies because Christ was indeed the Temple (he even said so!). Now, after Christ's ascension to the right hand of the Father Christians are actually the Temple! Paul says this is his first letter to the Corinthians. Now, God actually lives in us and we, the Christian body, are the Tabernacle, Temple, and indeed in some mysterious and mystical sense Christ himself! For, as St. Theresa of Avila put it, "Christ has no hands but ours, no feet but ours, no eyes but ours, etc." God lives in us. What a beautiful thing to realize!