Tiberias and points south...

This morning we are headed up the western side of the Sea of Galilee toward Capernaum. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining brightly, and the haze isn't too bad. Capernaum was the "home town" of Jesus. We are passing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee - Mt. Hermon is visible in the distance, snow-capped and majestic. Between us are the Golan heights. Until just a few years ago the Syrians occupied those heights and looked down on Tiberias. Our guide, David (= "beloved" in Hebrew) described them as "our greatesst enemy." Not really, though they certainly continue to present a physical threat.

We will arrive at the Mt. of Beatitudes soon - central to what our guide calls the "Jesus Triangle," which is Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin - the three towns where Jesus did the majority of his teaching in Galilee.

Sitting here on the north shore of the Sea, I spot a lonely fishing boat far out on the water. I can't even see the people in it - just a dot in the middle of that watery expanse. I think of the Gadarene Demoniac (Mark 5) sitting up in the tombs near Sennabris, gazing out on that same water, seeing the boats pass back and forth. One of them held the Man who would rescue him one day - the man who would break the spiritual shackles that bound him to a dark world haunted by very real demons. And yet, from that distance, that perspective, Jesus would have seemed like any other fisherman. It isn't until Jesus lands on his shore that he can see the difference. It isn't until he bows before him and experiences the grace that can only come through a personal encounter with the living Christ that his life is changed forever for the better.

It's the same with me. The same with all of us. Take a moment today to welcome Him to your shores. Consider his offer to set you free from the chains that bind you. You don't have to be living among the tombs to feel estranged from God. You don't have to be filled with demons to sense your spiritual alienation. He is not small and far away. He is near you - closer than your next thought. Trust Him to deliver you. He will. And He will fill you up to overflowing with His life.

Mimesis Report - Joppa, Israel

Mimesis Report - Joppa, Israel

First, why "Mimesis"? The word mimesis means an imitation or reflection on aspects of the sensible world. My postings will reflect my consderation of the interaction between God, the natural world, and the world of the art, with an emphasis on the literature of the Bible and on the dramatic arts.

It's fitting that I log my first blog from Joppa in Israel. Joppa was a gateway to points west and a kind of bridge city in ancient times. Joppa is prominent in two biblical stories: in the story of Jonah, the prophet runs to Joppa to take a ship that will, he hopes, deliver him from his responsibility to carry God's message to a gentile audience. Jonah despised the gentiles (the people of Nineveh, in this case) and didn't want to take the chance that God might forgive them of their sins if he obeyed God's command to go to them and preach that they should repent of their sins. So, he ran to Nineveh to escape. Of course, things didn't work out the way Jonah had planned. He winds up going to Nineveh, preaching to the gentiles, and sulking while God does indeed forgive them after they repented. Joppa - Jonah used it as a gateway of escape, while the Lord used it as a gateway to the gentiles.

Joppa is also prominent in another biblical story - the record of the Apostle Peter in Acts, chapter 10. There, we find Peter is staying in Joppa in the home of a man named Simon, who was a tanner. Peter receives a vision from the Lord that he is to carry the good news of the risen Christ to the gentiles, beginning with one man - a Roman, no less - who is living nearby. Once again, the Lord uses Joppa as a gateway to the gentiles. In fact he sends Peter to the very people who were occupying Israel at the time. God's grace extended to the gentiles in the time of the unwilling prophet, Jonah, almost 800 years before Christ came as Messiah, and to the gentiles in the time of Peter during the earliest days of the church. In both instances, Joppa was the jumping off point, the beginning of an adventurous journey, where God's messengers were afforded the opportunity to carry His message of grace to those who had not heard.

How ironic that Joppa has become for me, a gateway to adventure as well - only in my case, Joppa is a port of entry to Israel, rather than a port of access to the gentiles. I have the privilege of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with many of God's chosen people, the Jews. I am traveling with Dr. Chuck Swindoll and around 600 friends of Insight for Living on a tour of Israel. My job is to perform seven different characters over the course of the next days. My first character is the Apostle Peter. I perform him tonight here in Tel Aviv, which is walking distance down the beach from Joppa. If you read this blog, I would appreciate your prayers for our safety and for God's blessing on our adventure. I'll keep you posted as time and internet access allow.