We drove from Capernaum a short distance around the edge of the Galilee to visit the church built on the site where it is believed that Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and 2 fish.
Before I go much further into the visit and pictures of these churches I need to talk about the complex reaction that I have to these churches built by Christians at various times to “mark the spot” where something happened.
First the good stuff: It is very meaningful to stand in a spot with generations of Christians and remember the same story and pray to the same God. Time sort of collapses in these locations because the common remembrance unites us across the centuries and connects us even to the event itself. Some of the churches are also beautiful (though not always) and that is nice too.
Second the difficult stuff: I have often felt that the church structure erected on the natural setting has obliterated the location of the original event. Feeding the 5000 happened in the wilderness where there was no food, but now, I can only stand in a building and remember the story, not standing in the wilderness on the mountainside. Also, the certainty of the location is not really the point for me. Is this the exact spot? Who cares. Somewhere around here, under centuries of dirt and the shifting of sands, Jesus stood. So, all the emphasis on the “right” location misses the point for me. Finally, these church buildings become tourist destinations and less pilgrimage sights. So rather that entering into the life of a community that worships and is a living breathing remembrance of this event in our faith story, I feel like I have to ignore the gift shop and the “tacky” stuff to get to the holiness of this place of worship.
Okay, enough kevetching, here is the church of Feeding the 5000.
I was fascinated by the mosaic tiles on the floor in this church. Also, there was a guy in the corner with a chizel tearing up tiles while we were there. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore because it seemed to me that he was destroying incredible art. A fellow traveler asked him, in Hebrew, what was he doing? He explained that many of these mosaics were restored over the centuries very poorly and he was taking up old tiles that were not done well, and replacing them with original tiles taken from another place in the church to restore the floor in the main sanctuary to its original glory. Whew! What a relief.
We reloaded the bus and drove a very short distance to the church located on the site of Jesus’ sermon on the mount – The Church of the Beatitudes.
THis building was more modern built by an admirer of Mussolini, a Franciscan monk Antonio Barluzzi in the 1930’s. He was the architect of many churches in the Holy Lands.
This church is surrounded by some beautiful gardens.
Inside of the church.
The mosaics on the floor were the seven virtues, in Latin.
Sweet Sweet Spirit 