Saturday, December 24, 2016

Reflections on Christmas: The Sea of Galilee

There is so much to love about Galilee.  The sea, or should I say lake, is a jewel shining in the midst of an unforgiving desert.  I will never forget the beauty and power of the things I saw and heard there.  Like the life-giving sea, Jesus gives living water to each of us in the deserts of our lives. 

Some of my favorite scripture stories happened near the Sea of Galilee: Jesus calling His Disciples, Jesus healing the sick, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus walking on the Water, Jesus rescuing Peter who also walked on water, Jesus calming the sea.  

I have always loved the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  A large number of people had gathered to hear Jesus.  It was nearly time for passover and there was no place to get food.  The disciples seemed stressed.  An unnamed boy had brought a little food.  It seems he was the only one.  Five barley loaves and two small fishes, may have been enough to satisfy a hungry boy, but certainly could not feed this army of people.  Or could they?

We can only guess at the size of the loaves.  Perhaps they were the size of a biscuit.  The size is irrelevant in comparison to the number of people who were fed.

Jesus offered a prayer and the disciples distributed the food.  5,000 people ate and were filled and 12 baskets of fragments remained. 

I love that the Lord can take what we have and make it enough.  He can do it with food.  He can do it with money.  He can even do it with time.  No matter how limited our resources may be, the God of miracles can make it more.

There is so much more I love about Galilee, but I will save it for another day.



Reluctant Goodbye at Galilee

One last look at the Galilee
That ancient life-giving scriptural sea
The scenes of stories held dear to me
Where Jesus’s footsteps feel near to me
Revealed doctrines grow more clear to me
As Son-light sparkles and shines for me
On the sacred sea of Galilee.






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