Sat, May 22, 2010

Location: Ibillin, Israel (Galilee)

Today I think many of us felt the nearly contradictory nature of our trip.  The morning was full of sadness, and the afternoon/evening full of sightseeing and lots and lots of laughter.  It was therefore appropriate that our evening's discussion was our most intimate so far.

In the morning we were taken to Biram, the hometown of Father Chacour, and many other Palestinians of course.  In 1948 the invading Israeli forces told inhabitants of Biram to leave, including the boy Father Chacour, for security reasons.  The Biram townspeople returned in two weeks, as they were told by the Israeli forces, but they weren't allowed in.  When the highest court of Israel finally decided they could return, it was 1953.  The joy of success was quickly replaced by feelings too hard to describe, as the Biram townspeople approached the town and witnessed Israeli planes bomb their homes.  Today we saw the remains of the homes and the church and the synagogue, which is at least 2,000 years old.  Our tour guide was the same man who first greeted us when we first arrived at MEEI, Micha, Father Chacour's nephew.

Afterwards we drove to a drop-in diner that served turkey shawarmas and falafels (which all agreed were delicious) which gave us energy to walk around the Mount of Beatitudes, known as the location where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.  It is a beautiful place consisting of a church which displays the stages of the crucifixion, many well-kept flowers and areas to sit and pray.  Many of us agreed that, while beautiful, the abundance of tourists took away from the depth of our experience.  This helped me affirm the belief that anything and anyplace where one is spiritually moved is valuable simply because it means something to you--whether it is on soil that Jesus walked or in Wisconsin.  It was comforting for me to know that one's faith does not become any stronger or any better than someone else's because of circumstances. However, the Sea of Galilee was quite the opposite of the Mount of Beatitudes in that was very peaceful and comforting to tip-toe into the water and feel the warmth of it as we walked around. This even led to a breaking out of "I'll Fly Away" while we stood at the water's front. These experiences, along with visiting an olive grove that had 2,000 year old trees from the time of Jesus, led many members of the group to be able to lend a physicality to the Biblical stories they had heard or read.

The talk we had at the end of the night was emotional as we all shared our personal beliefs and hopes we had as we came into the land, and possible dreams we will also leave Israel with. From this, we can only hope to further our understanding in the coming days as we travel once again outside our comfort zones.

Up next, church service with the local Melkite Christian community. The IPers that have decided to go will be heading out bright and early in the morning.  Right after breakfast we'll begin our 20 minute walk to the church.  I look forward to experiencing a Catholic service.  As the church has retained many of its eastern traditions, I hope to learn more about what it means to be a member of this community.