We completed our third Palestine of Jesus Course last week to a new phenomena for us--rain. Since we arrived in Jerusalem back in January there has been almost no rain in Israel, and last week it rained almost every day. I don't know how much rain fell, but the fig tree outside our window has sprouted new leaves and the grass in the garden under it seems to have grown inches. I think mother nature is saying thank you.
We took a short break this weekend to visit Tel Aviv. The contrast between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is dramatic in almost every aspect. Jerusalem is in the mountains, the climate is very dry, and religion seems to dominate life. Tel Aviv is on the Mediterranean Sea, the air is always humid, and having fun seems to dominate life. We stayed in a hotel near the beach, and saw lots of folks walking their dogs, roller-blading, jogging, playing "beach tennis," and riding their bikes. We even ate in a non-kosher restaurant that had a cheese burger!
While there we visited one of the world's oldest sea ports in Jaffa, and saw the place tradition holds to be the house of Simon the Tanner of Acts fame. We might regard Simon's house as the place where Peter received God's message that the Good News of Christ was also for the gentiles, but our walking-tour guide saw it as the place where Christianity broke with Judaism.
It felt really good to get back to Saint George's College today, and to dive back into preparations for the Christian-Muslem Interfaith Dialogue Course that starts later this week.
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