Reflections of God's Holy Land by Eva Marie Everson

Author:Eva Marie Everson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

Reflections

Left: A reconstructed colonnade stands tall among the ruins of the synagogue of Capernaum.

It is a city of miracles and teaching. A place where men were called and they followed. It is the town by the sea which Jesus called “home.” It is where five of the twelve disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew—lived, were called, and chose to follow. This is where the sick and desperate sought him out. This is where those who were hungry in spirit came to feast on words spoken by the One who claimed to be the “Bread of Life” and where Jesus spoke a word that has reverberated through the centuries: Believe.

It is also a most remarkable place, a place bursting with life among the stone ruins and the blue shimmer of the ancient sea. Brilliantly colored flowers spill over crumbling walls and decorate a preserved olive press along the walkway leading to the synagogue, which boasts a section of first-century flooring flanked by elaborately carved limestone columns. Here, it is believed, Jesus taught and amazed the people who came to hear this ordinary carpenter from Galilee; a man who spoke as one with authority. Here, it is supposed, a demon-possessed man cried out, “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us?”

Standing here today in the shade of old buildings and trees thick with foliage, I hear my heart as it cries out nearly those very same words. Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with me? it inquires as though from the very core of my being.

I want you to believe, his Spirit whispers back.

Here in Capernaum, believing is easy. Even the entrance gate boasts a sign that reads: The Town of Jesus.

The evidence of God is everywhere from the racks of tourists’ books near the entryway, to the gentle (though sometimes fierce) lapping of waves from the Sea of Galilee, and back to the Franciscan octagonal Byzantine church that rests above the home of Peter. Dipping my head to look beneath it, I see Jesus with my mind’s eye.

He is touching Peter’s mother-in-law and commanding, “Be well.” And she was, in that moment, healed.

But did she, I wonder, believe before she was healed?

Here, in Capernaum, I hear another question, an even more difficult one. Not from my heart to me, but from my heart to God. What do you want with me? Beyond belief . . . beyond believing . . .

Between the synagogue and the Byzantine church is the olive press boasting black asphalt millstones undestroyed by time. I step over to the rose-colored wrought iron gate around them and, gripping the iron, lean in to study them. As they gleam in the sun’s light, they bring to mind words Jesus spoke here: If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large [mill]stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea.

Standing here now, I determine that—like an unquestioning child—I want to believe.

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