Mount of Beatitudes - Sunday, 4/6/08

My days are starting to blur together and my brain is going into overload with new information. Jimmy and I would have liked to take longer and explore more at some of the places we've seen but our schedules keep us constantly on the go. The advantage to that is we have got to see many more sites than a more leisurely pace would allow.

We started out Sunday morning by driving north along the Sea of Galilee to the spot where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. The day was overcast, hot, and muggy. Joel joked at one point that the Golan Heights, on the other side of the sea, had been erased off the map. In American terms, you would call the Sea of Galilee a lake. You can easily see all the way across to the hills/mountains on the other side. On this daytrip however, the humidity and fog were held down all day and the view across the lake never did clear off.
As with all holy sites, there is a Catholic church built on the mount where Jesus taught. It is a beautiful building, made out of the local black basalt stone with white limestone trim. It is octagonal shaped with each side representing one of the lines of the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12)...

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Personally, I count 9, not 8, but maybe they are counting the last two as one since they kind of go together. I'm not going to argue with the Catholic church about it. Besides, the architect who designed the church is long gone.

They maintain the site in a very peaceful environment, conducive to being still and meditating on the God's Word. Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10) I was actually only going to post the first half of that verse, the part we are all so familiar with but when I went to look up the reference I took note of the second half as well. Those are the kind of thoughts that keep echoing through each of our site visits and there they are, on the pages of Scripture. But, back to topic, here are pictures of the church. Sorry, I can't get it to rotate, so turn your heads sideways...

One reason they are fairly confident this is the place of the actual sermon is that this mountain creates incredible natural acoustics. Someone speaking at the top of the mount can easily be heard by someone lower down on the mountain. The view would normally be phenomonal but I'm afraid not today. Where the world seems to end is the Sea of Galilee.