At Faith Connections Travel, we are on the home stretch of preparations for our next Holy Land pilgrimage. I am looking forward to so many things, and among those is our excursion out onto the Sea of Galilee. A highlight for many of our travelers and for me is the boat ride we take across the lake. It includes cruising out to the middle, shutting off the engine, and having time in the peaceful quiet to reflect, read scripture, worship, pray, and just be.
The Sea of Galilee and the towns on its shore play such a prominent role in the Gospels. The choice of this area as the home base for Jesus’ ministry was, of course, no accident. The town of Capernaum (which we’ll also visit) sat on the major international highway that came up the Mediterranean coast from Egypt, crossed the Jezreel Valley, and connected with Damascus and the rest of Mesopotamia to the north and east.
While we often associate the Galilee region with a rural simplicity far removed from the more sophisticated urban centers of Jesus’ day, we should not overlook its strategic position. Its location made it a theologically and missionally important point for the gospel.
As we bob in the Sea of Galilee, enjoying the 360-degree view of the shore and taking in the momentous spiritual and historical significance of where we are, something bubbles to the surface: From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry (and even before), God had the “ends of the earth” in mind. God placed this story purposefully to be carried abroad. It’s a powerful reminder to us all that when we leave Galilee, our mission is to take the good news of God’s grace to the world!
