GALILEE
I’ll never forget the first time I beheld the Sea of Galilee with my own eyes. Driving East from Mount Carmel and the Mediterranean Coastline, and having already passed through Nazareth, the horizon before us suddenly dropped to reveal a deep expanse, lush and green with mountains rising beyond, and a glistening body of water filling the valley below, perfectly mirroring the blue sky above.
It felt like a celebrity-sighting! It felt like home, like I’d been there a thousand times before. It felt impossible that this place actually existed, and that only yesterday I was home in my own bed. It was also a little overwhelming. I thought of Job when he said, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” (Granted, I was witnessing creation, not the Creator.) Still, I didn’t know whether to cheer with hands raised or remain in dumbfounded silence. If I recall, I simply stared in awe and whispered, “There it is.”
Near the northern end of the Great Rift Valley, the Kinneret (Galilee) sits at 700 feet below sea level. - photo David Kiern
I’d spent my entire life reading about Jesus’ exploits on and around this body of water. I’d studied the colorful maps in the back of my Bible since childhood, and had even seen a film or two pretending to take place here. But none of those prepared me for actually seeing the very water on which the Son of God tread.
Two years after my first visit to the region where so much of Jesus’ earthly ministry took place, I joined my friend Joshua Aaron on a wooden boat in the middle of the lake, where we performed a song we’d recently written:
The One Who calms the raging storm…
The One Who walks upon the Sea...
Suddenly, the gravity of our lyrics hit me: This IS the very Sea upon which Jesus walked!
The same waters He calmed with the simple words, “PEACE, BE STILL!”
Joshua and I singing None Like You on a “Jesus boat” in the middle of the Galilee.
I learned from my wife Sarah that the Greek word used to describe Jesus’ command to be still in Mark 4, literally means be muzzled. Like muzzling an animal to keep its teeth from causing damage. Jesus, through Whom all things were created, spoke to the water like it were one of His created beings. He commanded its submission, muzzling it with the sound of His voice!
Many times now, I’ve sung God’s praises on those waters. I’ve even walked on them…albeit on a standup paddleboard…
With Joshua Aaron in 2022
Getting ready to “walk on water!”
But my favorite memory on the Sea of Galilee was in late 2018. Four days in a row, just before dawn, I would grab a towel, and meander my way down to the shore for a morning swim. I may have been guilty of creating the first ripples of the day. Tropical birds danced and darted overhead, catching the first rays of morning light before the rest of us. And as the clouds changed from pink to orange, I pondered whether Peter, Andrew, John, or even Jesus Himself ever started their days like this. In this exact place. With this exact view.
It’s hard to imagine they could resist.
Galilee at Dawn - photo by David Kiern
On the Galilee with Nick in 2019
Sharing this experience with my son is something I cannot adequately describe. But it was precious. He can’t wait to go back in 2024!
