Armageggon has a Visitors' Center?

Wednesday through Friday of this week, we took our show on the road. "Bible Tour 2009" found us in two coastal cities that are not mentioned much in the Bible, but are important for an over-all historical picture of Palestine. The first was Caesarea, Herod the Great's deep water harbor on the Mediterranean. Caesarea was the capital for Roman Palestine, especially after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. An important artifact excavated there bears a significant name in Biblical circles; that of Pontius Pilate. His name appeared on the dedication plaque of the Roman theater there. Caesarea also shows up in the story of St. Paul. Not only does he come and go from there during some of his Missionary travels, but it is there that he is brought to be tried before the Roman Governor, Felix, and from there that he sails when he appeals to the Emperor and is taken to Rome (Acts 24-27)

It is a coastal town with ruins of a number of successive ports: Herodian, Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader. Because the harbor was man-made, it was subject to a sever silting problem and had to maintained carefully. When it was not, it fell into disuse. It finally fell into complete disuse as a harbor in the Medieval period. Archaeologists have excavated beautiful private and public buildings and it is easy to see the glory of this once important city.

We also traveled further up the coast to the modern city of Akko. Historically this town was called Acre and, int he New Testament period, Ptolemais. It is mentioned int he Bible only in Acts 21:7 where it is mentioned that Paul visited there on his way to Caesarea (Hey, I've been there!) The present day city of Akko has been built around the ruins of a Crusader-era walled City. Akko was an important stronghold for European Knights who established European kingdoms in the Holy Land. One finds new houses built into medieval walls and incorporating the ruins of ancient buildings into their construction. Most of the surviving walls, and the old Citadel of the City are crusader era and look like they could be in any French, German, or English countryside. Much has been preserved, and again, like in Caesarea, one can see the former Glory of this place.

While at Akko, we also visited the third holiest Islamic site in Israel: the Al-Jazaar Mosque. Islamic art and architecture are beautiful and really come together in their places of worship. The texts of their scriptures are incorporated into every nook and cranny of the building and and he simple spaces are clearly intended to be houses of worship. This was the first active mosque I have ever been in and I feel that I gained insight into Islam from the visit.

Finally, on Friday, we went to Megiddo. The ruins of this city on a hill again give witness to a once great place that fell into disuse. If you don't recognize the name Megiddo, you will certainly recognize one of the other names by which it is called: Armageddon (Har + Megiddo = Mountain of Megiddo). One of the most ancient in the world, Megiddo sits perched on a hill at the south end of the Jezreel Valley. This valley, over the course of centuries has been the primary route for move large armies between Asia and Northeast Europe and Egypt, the Sinai, and Africa. As a major crossroads of Armies, this valley has seen its shares of epic combat. For this reason, Megiddo is imagined by John as the battleground of the final conflict between good and evil. Standing on the mound of elaborate ruins 22 layers deep, staring out at the hot valley, one might imagine such a conflict occurring. Megiddo saw its glory days in the reigns of Solomon and Jeraboam who made Megiddo an important administrative center in the north. But after 22 successive cities, Meggido mysteriously ceased to be important and was entirely abandoned, never to be populated again. The mystery surrounding this complete collapse of this once glorious place puzzles historians and archaeologists - there is simply no plausible explanation for it. Such mysteries tend to get interpreted religiously in these parts (wrath of God, plague as punishment, etc.) This may also account for Megiddo's inclusion in Christian eschatology as a place in which good and evil will have their final showdown.

Like all large archaeological sites open to the public in Israel, Megiddo is under the care of the Israeli National Parks Service. There are the Israeli equivalent of park rangers and visitors' centers with book and gift shops, coffee shops, video presentations, and souvenir stands. Kinda takes away some of that "oooooohhhhhhh!" factor associated with Armaggedon that you can by souvenirs...

Speaking of things that disappear and are given apocalyptic significance, another theme of our travels in these days has been the Prophet Elijah - who is associated with Mt. Carmel. While on the northern coast, we stayed with the sisters at Stella Maris Carmel, one of the original Carmelite monasteries. Going back into the Iron age, hermits, monks, and prophets have made their home in the Caves of Mt. Carmel. Carmelite lore traces their foundation to these realities. In the Church at Stella Maris the Sanctuary is built over the cave that is thought to have been the home of Elijah. As we go to these different places, we celebrate votive Masses associated with the place (Christmas at Bethlehem, Easter in the tomb of Jesus, etc.) There are two votive Masses celebrated at Mount Carmel: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (which we celebrated Thursday), and the Votive Mass of the Prophet Elijah, which we celebrated Friday. I was the preacher on Friday and spent some time reading up on Elijah. I was shocked to find that there is very little Biblical text about Elijah. HE appears in three chapters of 1st Kings and one of 2nd Kings. And yet this relatively obscure Biblical character has excited legend and lore for more than 28 Centuries. His mysterious exit - caught up to God in a chariot of fire - has excited the imaginations of Jewish writers (Biblical and Extra-biblical) and he has become a central figure in Jewish eschatology. Before the breaking forth of the end times, Elijah must return. This was the motivation for questions surrounding both John the Baptist as Elijah. When Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him, they responded "Some say you are Elijah..." Jesus himself identified John the Baptist with this prophet. The image of the return of Elijah is so strong in Orthodox judaism that a place is set for the expected guest at meals. Founders of many of the 20th Centuries more established cults have claimed either to be Elijah or to have been visited by Elijah (including Joseph Smith, Bab (Bahai), and Rev. Moon). In Christian literature, Elijah was one of the two men speaking with Jesus on Mt. Tabor during his transfiguration. The other was Moses - together the represented the two major categories of Hebrew Scripture: the Law and the Prophets. On Mt. Tabor, God's approval of Jesus as his Son reaffirms what John says about Jesus: he IS the Word of God. All this from a few short ancient Hebrew prophet stories.

So on Friday, given the opportunity to preach to a bunch of preachers about a great prophet, I said that there were three things about Elijah that we must be willing to imitate if our preaching is to be prophetic: 1) we must ask for the grace to be willing to preach the truth to power (Elijah got in a lot of hot water with King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel - 1 Kings 17). 2) We must trust in God's providence of all that we need to accomplish the mission he calls us to (Elijah was fed by ravens and widows), and 3) We must be open to being constantly surprised by God (When Elijah was waiting for God on Mt. Horeb, God did not appear in an earthquake, a fire, or a mighty wind: He appeared in a tiny whispering sound). Like Elijah, we must be so close to God that we recognize him no matter how, when, or where he comes. I finished my homily telling the Preachers that, like Elisha (Elijah's successor), we too must ask for a double portion of Elijah's spirit that we can be faithful to the prophetic tasks to which God calls us.

One of the great stories about Elijah is challenge that he issued to the Prophets of the Canaanite god, Baal who were given a high place in King Ahab's administration in Israel (through the intervention of Ahab's foreign wife, Jezebel. If you don't know the story, you can read it in 1 Kings 18. It ends with Elijah slaughtering (literally) the 450 prophets of Baal. The traditional site of this event is on Mt. Carmel and is the site of a Carmelite shrine. We visited there on Friday as we made our way from Stella Maris to Megiddo. There is a tiny church there that felt like it belonged in the Southwest (because of its simplicity).

Pictures from all these adventures are available at Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/frbart. I have started putting grouping the photos into smaller albums than I was doing before for the sake of ease at viewing photos from a particular event. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to leave comments here at this blog or about pictures at Picasa.