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Yea, Though I Walk Through the Valley

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Today was our last morning in Bethlehem, and we began our journey North toward Jesus’ childhood home of Nazareth. I must first say how glorious the weather has been! Even in mid-winter, the temperature is a very comfortable 20°C, with the sun shining and not a cloud to be seen. It has been perfect touring weather, and it seems that this will continue for the rest of the week. Our first stop was the Judean Desert , on the road to Jericho, where the story of the Good Samaritan takes place. This is also where Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness , resisting the temptations of the Devil, the story which provides the basis for our present-day “giving something up for Lent”. On reflection, I think that this was the first desert I’ve ever seen in real life, and this goes beyond anything I’ve ever imagined. The uniform, stark cream undulation extends to the horizon in every direction; the terrain lunar and lifeless. It is not difficult to imagine travellers falling victim to the
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As Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

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This morning we started our tour proper: following the story of Jesus through the Holy Land. Of course, this took us through the streets of Bethlehem and to the Shepherds' Field , where it is supposed that the Angel visited the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus. (ed: Almost every religious location in the Holy Land is an approximation, and has been chosen as the spot based on a best-guess estimate after piecing together evidence from various historical documents. Even though the sites aren't pinpoint accurate, they have been chosen to symbolise where these significant events took place.) We had a service in a cave that the shepherds would have used for shelter, and then went for a little bit of an explore in some other nearby caves. Like most significant sites in the Holy Land, the Jews, Byzantines, Muslims, Turks and Christians have all, in turn, built places of worship upon the ruins of predecessors' buildings, creating a rich history of rubble beneath the soil.
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All good stories start in Bethlehem

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For the eight-and-a-half-hour middle-seat adventure to Hong Kong, I had "thimble-bladder" next to me against the window, which at least forced me to stretch my legs every hour or so. T his nuisance was well off-set by her gluten intolerance, which allowed me to inherit half of every "gluten-free" meal she couldn't eat. The relationship with my other neighbour was equally as balanced: repeated requests for technological assistance were paid for with the entirety of the meal(s) that she didn't touch. Winning. I was hoping to slip into a food coma and get so me rest, but instead was too captivated by Battle of the Sexes  (Emma Stone, Steve Carrell, about the story of Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs). It's great, and you should watch it. We stayed in Hong Kong for a few hours, with our next flight taking off from Gate 71, right at the end of one of the terminals. To kill time, I made it my mission to find Gate 1 and get there and back. Hopefully the 600
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In the footsteps of Jesus

Hello World! I am embarking on yet another Middle Eastern adventure! This time a pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine, following the life of Jesus, with a group organised by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and my Vicar, Dianne. The tour group is a collection of parishioners and clergy from parishes across Melbourne, some international friends who have been on previous tours with us and want to go another round, and also some aspirants and students from the theological colleges; 41 in all. Our trip will start in Tel Aviv, and take us to Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, north to Caesarea Philippi, and then back to Jerusalem. We are using the life of Jesus as a framework for our trip, but there will be plenty of sightseeing and shopping along the way as well. I will try to post as regularly as possible. I'm not sure how much energy I will have for the first few days, and wifi may be spotty, but this is the best way to record what's happening, so I'll do my be
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