On January third Beverley and I traveled with a group of clergy and spouses to “the Holy Land” for nine days. The trip was led by a pastor from NC and a seminary professor from Gettysburg, PA. Martin Zimmerman, the seminary professor, served in the role as pastor to our group. He chose the scripture readings that would be read (by us pastors and spouses) at each site, and then which hymn we would sing after the readings. He led our meetings to discuss things such as expectations and experiences. He was truly a pastoral presence to the group, and I am grateful for the Christian friendships that Beverley and I formed with him and with many others on our trip.
On the first evening of the trip we met in a meeting space at our hotel in Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee. Martin used a phrase that I had never heard when he called a pilgrimage to the Holy Land “the fifth gospel.” I know the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And they tell us the story of Jesus and His saving work in the world. But I had never heard of a trip to the Holy Land being the “fifth gospel.”
By the end of the trip I understood. The place, the land, the people, they in fact tell the story of Jesus. While I was in the Holy Land, here are a few of the places I stood:
Wedding at Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine
Nazareth, where the angel appeared to Mary
Mt. Precipice, where residents of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off cliff
Sea of Galilee where Jesus (after resurrection) appeared to disciples
Capernaum, Peter’s house where Jesus lived
Mount where Jesus preached sermon on mount
Place where Jesus fed 5,000 (actually a lot more) with loaves and fishes
Judean wilderness
Jericho
Jordan River (where Jesus was baptized)
Qumran (where Dead Sea Scrolls were found)
Shepherd’s Field
Nativity Church, where Jesus was born
Mount of Olives
Garden of Gethsemane
Western Wall
Upper Room
Caiaphas’s House
Via Dolorosa
Calvary
Holy Sepulcher
And these places and the people I met along the way did become a fifth gospel.
On Wednesday, January 25 at 5:45 I will show pictures and tell the story of this trip. I hope you will join us and maybe catch a glimpse of this “holy land.”