THE HOLY LAND: CAPERNAUM, CHRIST & SAINT PETER

It's one thing to follow in His footsteps via the written word; that's been a life-long struggle, humbling at best, downright crushing in moments apparently necessary for personal growth, particularly given my propensity for stubbornness. That’s the least of my failings, but the only one I’m prepared to share publicly.

It’s quite another story to really follow in His footsteps, as in walk the Via Dolorosa; stand on Mount Olive; sail the Sea of Galilee; visit Capernaum. 

I see that question mark hovering from your side of the World Wide Web.  Capernaum? 

Biblical scholars and fans of St. Peter undoubtedly know Capernaum well.  If you’re like me, I remember the big picture; it’s the details that are fuzzy.  Gotta get back to the Old Testament!  My latest field trip really helped when it came to my lack of bedside reading.  Yes, teachers often make the worst students (particularly in other disciplines), just like doctors make the worst patients.

As we wandered the ruins of this once wealthy Jewish city at the northwest end of Israel's Sea of Galilee, I learned this fish-market and frontier post was once the   

The Sea of Galilee is Israel's main source of water; I've heard the fishing is good there, too.

home of Christ (Matthew 4:12-17). Jesus worshipped and taught in the synagogue (Mark 1:21-28) that served as a foundation for the fourth or fifth century Byzantine ruins in which we were now standing sixteen centuries later. 

Then.

Now.

Wow!  Where did the time go?!  

This is the oldest synagogue discovered in Israel. I think it's older than dirt.

Yep, beneath that large rectangular columned basilica are the remains of a first  

Capernaum declined and was resettled several times over, essentially remaining undiscovered until 1838.

century synagogue in which it is believed Jesus worshipped, preached, and promised the Eucharist in his "I am the bread of life" discourse. "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:22-59)

The reliefs and carvings that did remain included classic Jewish motifs such as a shofar (ram’s horn);

Can you see the ram's curly horn near the top of this column?

the menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum);

No, that's not a stick-figure person with extra arms and a tail.

and a mobile Ark of the Covenant resembling a Hellenistic temple on wheels. 

Bottom of the frame, very close to six o'clock.

The white limestone of the fourth or fifth century synagogue, undoubtedly carted in from a distant quarry, contrasts considerably with the local black basalt of the synagogue built during the time of Christ by a Roman centurion (the same centurion who had his servant healed by Jesus after a declaration of faith (Luke 7:1-10). 

Certainly makes the Bible come alive!

Capernaum was also the home of the first disciples Jesus called - the tax collector, Matthew, Andrew, James, John, and the fisherman, Peter. 

I found Peter, also known as Simon, sitting quietly apart from the tour groups making the rounds of the ruins in Capernaum.  St. Peter looked to have the best seat in the house, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, although no house to call his own in the twenty-first century. 

I couldn't get Peter to part with the keys to heaven. I need all the help I can get.

An ultra-modern Catholic Church now straddled what had once originally been the home of St. Peter in Capernaum, discovered during excavations between 1968 and 1986. The modern Franciscan Memorial was built in the same shape as the original octagonal church over this ancient, venerated room and dedicated on June 29, 1990.     

The shape certainly appealed to my mathematical side.

Looks a bit like my basement.

Inside the church the ancient foundation can be seen.

I wish we could have been there for a worship service.

Having emerged as the leader of the earliest church following the Resurrection meant the Apostle Peter’s house was recognized as a place of worship.  By the second half of the fourth century, one special room of St. Peter’s house had officially become a Domus Ecclesia, i.e. was used for religious gatherings.  Christian pilgrims left many inscriptions in Greek, Aramaic, Syriac and Latin on the walls of the St. Peter’s home; walls that are still standing today. 

Holy mother of all things revered!  Still standing twenty centuries later!!  

They don’t call this the Holy Land for nothing! 

Back home in Illinois, before we dig, we have to call JULIE – Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators – to avoid running into any underground utilities.  In Israel, any digging requires calling the Antiquities Authority.  But I digress. 

The real deal; home, sweet home, for St. Peter.

In the second half of the fifth century an octagonal church was erected on a raised level within the perimeter of those walls that had once enclosed Peter’s house.  An anonymous pilgrim of Placenza passing through Capharnaurn (as it was written then) around 560-570 AD, wrote, “And so we came on to Capharnaum to the house of Saint Peter, which is now a basilica.” 

That octagonal church was destroyed, probably during the Persian Invasion in the early seventh century.  Several Middle Age structures were built in the area of the abandoned church; the church essentially served as a foundation for those structures.

I’m not sure if it was the heat or all the history, or both, but I was exhausted after yet another full day of touring and exploring the Holy Land, although I rallied for a picture with Jimmy, coming in on a wing and a prayer!  

Modern day pilgrims walking the talk in the Holy Land.

By the end of our Capernaum pilgrimage I was looking for a modern-day miracle (Jesus performed a number of miracles while living in Capernaum; this is where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever; where he brought a child back to life; where he healed a leper, healed the aforementioned centurion’s servant, and where “he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick”) to reduce my suffering. 

That miracle proved to be air-conditioning, bottled water, and a foot rest to go with my cramped quarters on the bus.       

Thank you, sweet Jesus!