Israel Travel Diary
March 1997

Mount of the Beatitudes

The parking lot at the Mount of the Beatitudes is small and crowded. Huge busses come and go all day making lots of dust, noise and congestion on the tiny one lane entrance road. The concession operator acts as the yard master, directing traffic and requiring someone to stay with the vehicle so that it can be moved when needed. Dennis stayed with the van while we went in to visit the site.

The Valley of the Discourse lies immediately to the west of the Holy Site and extends all the way down, maybe 300 yards, to the Sea of Galilee. It is a natural auditorium and was well able to provide the acoustics for Jesus to speak to those thousands that were present for the Discourse.

Mussolini was the benefactor of the building on the Mount of the Beatitudes. This simply underscores the reality of sin in the world. It also shows that those best able to pay are not always the best. I like the building and have always enjoyed praying and communing at this site. Beautiful trees, quiet shade, and peaceful prayer areas enhance this site as a place of quiet peacefulness. All the while, in the background one hears beeping horns, noisy drivers and tourists, clicking cameras and whirring video cameras. Lord, how can we get holy and live life?

Holy
Babies cry at birth, at sprains, at lack of food and at other things.
How to get Holy?
I pray for peace, for joy, for health and that God
would change others.
How to get Holy?
Some they seek a quiet place, but they are there.
How to get Holy?
Sunday comes and life goes on.
How to get Holy?
Evil reigns and answers go?
How to get Holy?
Help me Lord, I’ve bent my knee.
In you I am Holy!

Clay April 1997


- Chorazin