Holy Moments in Biram, then “Running where Jesus Walked”

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Toomi Magzal and Jerry Gray, Biram Church

27 October

We ate our lunch at shady picnic tables near the church at Biram after our local guide, Toomi Magzal, had graciously and movingly shared historic photos and copies of documents and then shown us around the ruins of his childhood village.  Meanwhile, Joan let us know that we needed to make changes in the itinerary to accommodate the extra time we had taken at Biram. The Church of Loaves and Fishes would not be possible and our trip out onto the Sea of Galilee would be saved to last instead of first thing in the afternoon.  In this way, we stayed flexible…and practiced “running where Jesus walked”. It also reminded me that while we have had the privilege of going into places that few are allowed to see and experience, we must balance it with having to not see some places many people go. It is the paradox of pilgrimage, capturing the eternal truths in a limited space with limited time.

Sarah, Tim, lovely Mar Elias student Yara Khoury who spent the day with us, Grace

On our approach to Primacy of Peter, we were reminded of Jesus asking Peter “Who do you say I am?” and of a later triple command to “Feed my sheep” as a way to show he had been forgiven for his earlier denials before the crucifixion. Joan let us know about an attack on the Church of the Loaves and Fishes that took place a couple of years ago, a “price tag” attack by settlers, repaired, in part, by donation by a Jewish rabbi. She continued with a story about a visit by George W.Bush to the Church of the Beatitudes where Abuna Chacour persuaded security personnel to allow him to guide the president through this site. He observed that though the president could recite the Beatitudes, he had yet to put them into action. Again, the pressure is there to put the pieces together and discern our identity in Christ and the urgency of the message to get up and get our hands dirty with the work of peace and reconciliation.

The level of the Sea of Galilee was alarmingly low to those who had visited as recently as May, with the three heart shaped stepping stones from the seventh century a far distance from the edge of the water. Nevertheless, it was blessed moment to be on the shore of Galilee, walking down to the water and touching it and seeing an egret in the distance while a group of pilgrims arrived in blue tee shirts to stand in the water while their leader led them in prayer. The dark volcanic rock of both old and new structures are distinct from the white limestone structures of Jerusalem. The Primacy of Peter Church with it’s simple interior soon ran together with the ruins of Capernaum and a church there that we could not enter because mass was going on, and we were on to a very crowded Church of the Beatitudes with some parts accessible and others not.

With Galilee Sailing, David our skipper

Time was the master and our appointment with David and the boat was swiftly approaching. Space on the boat was limited, so Joan and George stayed on shore. Again, with 45 minutes and two thirds of Jesus’ ministry contained in our outstretched arms as we faced the places we had just visited, we were reminded of places we had not seen, such as Mount Gherizim where Jesus healed a man possessed by demons and afflicted a nearby herd of pigs. We listened to Tim read from Matthew, relaxed a little as David talked about Peter hooking a fish and then proceeded to catch, even to his astonishment, a Damascus barbel within moments of telling the story.  Finally with a lively Fairouz piece cued up Costy invited Sara to dance and this joyful moment is captured on video. See Pilgrims of Ibillin’s FaceBook page to watch the dance and share our enjoyment of a special time in a place still alive with memories and meaning.

~ Debbie Abbott