Heptapegon (Tabgha)
Trip Start
Mar 31, 2010
1
13
38
Trip End
Apr 10, 2010
Heptapegon, Northern District, Israel
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Something happens when one visits Tabgha. It grabs you. The grounds around the simple church of the Primacy are a place of beauty and tranquillity. Birds are singing as we walk down a tree-lined path leading to a little shaded, open air amphitheater close to the lake, with a round stone altar in the middle. Such peace.
As we sit listening to Fr. Willie and the Scripture reading, I notice the Latin inscriptions on the altar:
Hic Iesus Amoris primatum Petro commendat.
And around the other side:
In Emmaus cognitus - iterum ad mare se manifestavit.
'Here Jesus entrusted the primacy of Love to Peter.'
'Known at Emmaus - again at the sea he manifested himself.'
Up to now, even though this trip so far has been absolutely amazing, something had felt out of place for me; I'd been struggling with a sort of malaise. Maybe it was physical weakness from jetlag or the busy schedule, or little disapointments (or maybe - dare I think it? - a fear of not fulfilling my expectations for this pilgrimage?)... But there was a conflict inside me. Reflecting before this altar, I feel God tugging at my heart, asking me, like Peter, "Do you love Me?" I walk to the shore to join the others who are wading into the Sea of Galilee, collecting lake water and shells to take home. The kids are exploring, the adults wander off to see one of the Heptapegon springs, and I go find a quiet place to pray. I sit on a rock facing the lake, taking in the immense calm of this moment, listening to the birds and the lapping of the waves, and contemplating God's love for me.
This is where the pilgrimage really begins for me. Tabgha is where my dialogue with Jesus has begun.
After visiting the church and seeing inside the Mensa Christi or Christ's Table, a stone where He is said to have offered breakfast to the disciples after John recognized Him (Jn 21:7), we depart for the Mount of the Beatitudes. The church is closed for Holy Saturday, but we read the Beatitudes looking down on the smooth slope, known for its acoustics, where thousands gathered to hear Jesus preach and were fed through the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
