Cold!!!!!

Wed 22nd Feb the day seemed to get colder and colder. Had my second experience of eating at a Cambridge College. This time Selwyn. One of the older colleges in Cambridge. A huge big dining area, if you've seen any of the Harry Potter movies, that's the picture. Always a top table for the fellows. What are the fellows? Odd Fellows, mainly. Academics who live in a different world to the rest of the world.

If you've gone to a College, which Will, who I've been hanging out with has, then you're always welcome. Just don't walk on the manicured grass quadrangle! It makes me laugh when I remember what we used to do in the same piece of turf at Moore College. Cricket being the only mentionable one here!

After dinner we went to see Cambridge University play a Welsh side called Spoona.

Anyone know any decent Spoonerisms? Add them in the comments.

Went with Will, and an American bloke called Eric who is here doing study on the Theology of Sport. Interesting. He previously has done one the Theology of Humour.

The Jewish people are good at humour, but not so big on sport, especially golf. There is only one golf course in the whole of Israel. Many reading this will sympathize with their attitude towards this noble game. A ruin of a good walk!

The bloke on the PA apologized for the weather. I didn't know God had an English accent, though it didn't surprise me that he was at the rugby!

Thur 23rd Feb pay dirt! Or should I say snow. It's snowing! There is some consolation for the cold in snow. It snowed most of the morning. Which added to the excitement of the bike ride into Cambridge. Snow blinded. Not by the reflection of the sun of the snow, flakes getting in the eyes. Extra traffic and the English, well they say Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, which I'm sure is true, but they also go out early in the morning, in the snow, with less on than in the rain! Ladies riding to work, in tartan skirts, no beanies and apparently oblivious to the fact that it is cold, very cold and snowing!

Progressing well on Pontius Pilate.

Fri 24th of Feb I have been able to 'wash my hands of PP' this morning. That's Pontius Pilate for any who were beginning to wondering about the last time you shook my hand and whether I washed my hands previously to today...

Hoping to take half a day off and go to Stratford -Upon- Avon. Catch up with Will and his whereabouts, catch the Arthur Miller play 'The Crucible' and see a bit o the ol' Dart like. Hope you all have good weekends. See you on Monday.

The English

The English are ever so polite, have been shown such hospitality from Richard and Helen Powell and their two boys, Jack and Tom, who are the most well behaved children. They've been away so really it was only on Monday that we had our first meal together. I was offering around the last of the veggies before finishing them off, asked the older boy Jack if he wanted any more. He said he wanted the carrots. The last two baby carrots went onto Jack's plate. When I asked Tom if he wanted any more, he said carrots, of which there were now none. So without being asked Jack gave his little brother one of the carrots!

A growing lad and his food are not easily parted.

Friday 18th another day in the library. Knocked over the first set of assignments on key sights in Israel, Megiddo, Caesarea Maritima and Capernaum and there significance for understanding the gospel.

Sat 19th was a fine day. Went riding along the River Cam, which is where Cam Bridge got it’s name. The place where the bridge was across the Cam. The usually reserved English were screaming up and down the river, there was a College rowing regatta on. Rode to Fen Ditton, Horningsea across to Stow cum Quy (which means the high place with cows) and onto an old milling town called Lode.

Sun 20th went to church at St Andrews the Great, (there is also a St. Andrews the Less, but who’d want to go there!) Then caught the train to Hitchin to meet up with some new found South African friends who had previously offered me a bed if accommodation fell through in Cambridge. Went for a English Pub traditional roast. All around are these quaint pubs.

Mon 21 and Tues 22nd the work has bogged down. Have been working on Archelaus, Herod the Great’s son who is mentioned in Matthew 2:22. It’s been hard work plowing through all the primary sources. An interesting piece of contempry history seems to be behind the parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19:11-27. Behind these particular verses;

12“A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return…14“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’15 “When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that…27 these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”,

It seems was the story of Archelaus, who went to Rome to receive the kingdom from Caesar after the death of Herod the Great. The Jews at home revolted against his rule. They sent a delegation of fifty Pharisees to Rome to petition Caesar Augustus. On return from Rome, Archelaus had them all killed.

Had tea last night with Amelia and David Hohne who were in my year at college. David is here doing a PhD in theology on the Holy Spirit. There are so many high powered people here. I feel like I’m doing a school project!

Wed 22nd has brought an end to Archelaus. Yeah. Tomorrow Pontius Pilate through the eyes of Josephus, Philo, and Tacitus.

Riding in the Cold, Cambridge Chicks & Chesterton

When I was an apprentice my mate and I, Shane rode to work from Merrylands to Clyde. In the middle of winter we would be rugged up with beanies and scarves and gloves and still freezing our frijoles. There used to be this old Pommy bloke who in the dead of winter would be riding to ComEng in Clyde with shorts, long socks and sandals and smoking a pipe, no joke! It always bemused us how he could do such a feat. Now I know! England is so cold, and it is normal. People riding around on their treadly’s like it was a sunny summers day, rain, sleet & slush.

Today Thur 16th was colder. Even with the cold am still enjoying riding across Cambridge to Tyndale House. I ride past Kings and Queens Colleges. And all these private schools. I commented today to one of the fellowship researchers (that's all he does researches and writes, every day for the last 20 years) who has befriended me (more for his amusement than anything else) that the women in Cambridge all seem to be beautiful. His reply was this is as good as it gets. The cream of England come to study at Cambridge, the brightest, richest silver spoon suckers are all here. Quiet distracting really. I'm glad my window faces into the garden and not onto the street. Today I finished assignment number 2 Caesarea Maritima.

Found the name of the funky cafe in Jerusalem, if you happen to be there soon, or want to look it up on the web: Tmol Shilshom taken from the name of a book by Israel's Poet Laureate Shmuel Yoset Agnon. Also for those who enjoy a browse look up www.liveplasma.com and www.punchaceleb.com for a couple of interesting sites.

For Chesterton fans (David), have found an interesting link from one of his essays called 'The Slavery of Free Verse' and Michael Franti's song 'What I be' off Everyone Deserves Music "If I were the words, then everything that everybody said would rhyme" more on it next time.

Sunny Downtown England

Friday 10th - Zurich to London Farewelled most of the Israeli Crew at Zurich who flew back to Oz via hong Kong on what will amount to a 33 hour flight. We do live on the otherside of the world! Trish a lady from London & I had the same flight from Zurich to London. Waited for a delayed flight watching Egypt play Ivory Coast in the Afircan Cup Final. Egypt won after extra time by penatly shoot out, which I always feel is a bad way to decide a game of football. Eventually got into London Central Youth Hostel at midnight, walking past Christopher Wrens St. Paul's Catherdral was an experience at that time of night. It is massive. Great youth hostel!

Saturday 11th - London to Cambridge Met an Irish artisan in London for an exhibtion. Had a great chat about life and Christian things over breakfast. Had a walk around that part of London on a brisk sunny Saturday morning. Nothing open but Starbucks. Visited Dr Johnson's house two doors down from a Starbucks of Fleet Street; incongruous. All these names from the Monopoly board seem somehow fantastic in real life. Trish met in town to take my surf board and store it at their house saving me carting it to Cambridge. A great help, drove aournd London for a couple of hours for a whirlwind sight seeing tour. Happened upon the changing of the guard and Buckingham Palace. Apparently 'she' was home cause the flag was up. Wondered what she did in there all day, whether she ever gets out into the garden or anything...

Settled into the youth hostel in Cambridge, hired a bike. A bike is almost mandatory in Cambridge. It is one of the distinguishing features of the place, a peloton of people riding bikes. It is one of the many things I love about Cambridge.

Sunday 12th of Febuary Rainy, wet, miserable day. I asked the lady at the youth hostel whether it was worth stepping out on a day outing. Her comment clinched the decision when she said "If the English didn't go out when it was raining, they'd never go out". Decided to step out in the wet. Planned a ride to Ely, the place of Eels about 15 mile north after church. Went to Holy Trinity and heard Bishop John Taylor give an excellent, but ever so British talk from John 12. During the talk he made reference and read from John's Gospel that spoke of places that we had been in Israel. It was the first time that the trip to Israel had impacted me in an emotional way. Images of the beach where it was thought that Jesus met the boys after the resurrection and cooked them fish for breakfast came flooding into my mind. Peter's reinstatement in John 21 after betraying Jesus so badly. A place of grace. We skimmed stones on the beach there and had a bible reading and talk from Paul Barnett, in verse 15 Jesus says to Peter 'do you love me more than these' meaning the boats and nets and fishing that the boys had gone back to out of a loss of the messianic plans to over throw the Romans now that Messiah had died. And the grace which Jesus showed Peter after what Peter had down. Betrayal, is the worst act anyone can do. Peter is no better than Judas at that point only grace saved Peter, Judas atoned for his own betrayal by taking his own life.

Ironically in this place of grace were signs everywhere prohibiting, shorts, picnicing, etc. Had a photo taken of me wearing shorts and telling them they were short long pants so as I could get in. I don't think the Bishop was impressed. Anyway I digress, met a fellow after church who is studying at Tyndale and told me heaps of good information including the church that friends David and Amelia Hohne go to. Planned to visit that evening to meet up with them.

Rode to Ely along the busy A10 which was excitment in itself. Massive cathedral at Ely and Oliver Cromwell's house for ten years. 'The Protector of the Faith' and 'the Lord of the Fens' whose house is now a tacky souvenir shop and tourist bureau. Rode home in the wet and arrived at church late (and after I bang on about how bad it is for people to arrive late to church). I'm sure looking dishevelled and like something the cat drag in (nothing new there!) sat down the front. I felt the stares of people behind me but put it aside. After church I over heard them introducing themselves as visitors from Sydney, I wheeled around to come face to face with one of my lectures from Moore College and his wife, Barry & Alison Webb. Barry is on study leave writing a commentary on Judges for NICOT commentary series (it's the sort of thing you do in Cambridge). They took me out for tea at Burger King which was a treat, more so for the familiar faces than the food.

Monday 13th of Feb brought a change in fortune, met up with David Hohne (who I missed at church), he assured me of good prospects for accomodation. Was able to organise a des at the library and access as a reader. That night I had a terrible nights sleep at the youth hostel. An older Scotchman was sleeping in the bed above me. He came in late, fell immediatly into a deep sleep and brewers snore that should have lifted the roof tiles and then proceeded to get up three times during the night to unload the ale he had taken on board earlier in the evening. Then he wokf at 5.30 to go, I presume to work.

Tuesday 14th of Feb So the news that greeted me on Tuesday morning over morning tea from Dave Hohne that he had arranged accomdation with a young Christian family was an added relief after a restless, sleepless night. Met Richard Powell for lunch, the Music Director at StAG (St Andrews the Great - there's a Less in the town as well!). He and his family were willing to put me up for a month! Thank God, He is good! The house is to the north of the city centre, and I have my own room. God is good. Thanks for all who prayed. God has answered more than enough.

Wed 15th Feb First full day of work. Knocked over an assigment on Megiddo and half way through one on Caesarea Maritima. It has been so good to assimilate some of the information that we got in Israel. It was so overwhelming while we were there it is only now that it is coming together.

Dramas at Tel Aviv

Where am I up to? I think the last entry was Wed the 8th... so Thursday saw us checking out the supposed birth place of John the Baptist on a rainy, cold day which it was forecast to snow. Like many of the sites JB's birth place is speculative and marked with an Italian designed church. The passage out of Luke I think it is the "Magnificant" was written out on tiles in 59 different languages, which was pretty cool. From there we went to a park which overlooked the city of Jerusalem from the west. Then onto another site which some say is the crucifixion and burial site of Jesus called the Garden Tomb. This has a skull face in the rock, close to the walls of the modern city (but not the ancient which probably rules it out) and a tomb like you might have in you imagination. The afternoon was spent in the most harrowing way waling through the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. It was way, way too much. We finished the day more relaxed walking from the Jaffa Gate through the old city where all the bizarres are and out through the Damascus gates. It was great, haggling and hanging out mainly in the Arab quarter. It was all pretty quiet, not many tourists as the next day was an Isalmic holy day and trouble was brewing. A few of us went out to the arty part of Jerusalem to Ben Yuhda Street for coffee in a great little cafe, used book shop named after the Poet Laruate whose name I'll remember for the next posting. If you are ever in Jerusalem... We had a funny incident with a young fellow who approached us cautiously in the street, almost like he was wanting to sell us drugs or evangelise us, nervous and not confident, as it turned out he wanted to invite us to listen to a jazz band that he was in at a locla cafe.

Friday 10th came around way too quick. The time proporation seemed exponential. Starting slow and speeding up more and more as we approached the end. Spent the last morning at the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls amongst other things are kept. Housed in a bomb shelter it is the Israel's great ticket into Palestien as it shows they were in there in the BC era, historical evidence. Also a great model of the Old Jerusalem is almost complete for others who might travel to Israel. Drove to the airport with about 3 hours to spare, which as it turned out we needed every minute. Security at the airport was extreme. And there was the issue with my surfboard...

Well it started with a friend who was going to take it straight to Spain on El Al Air. They wanted $450 US dollars for extra baggage. I took it back, which had it's own complications with the ultra strict security that the Israel's have. Anyway Swiss Air wanted to charge me $200 US which is about as much as the boards worth. At that point I was thinking about dumping it or giving it to the young security officer who surfed. anyway after parying and a bit of talking, first asking the girl to pretend it was a snow board as they don't incur any extra baggage, she took me to her supervisor, Moses who performed a miralce with a phone call and wavered to extra baggage. However there might be more dramas to come as I'm flying home with Swiss air and might be pushing it to get it on for free again. Moses and Noah ( the girl at the desk are champions!)

Tomb Stoning

The trip has a bit more of an edge to it with the unrest here increasing. We've had some great experiences including causing a ruckus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre while trying to get a picture lying down on the tomb of Jesus. Apprently you're not allowed to do that. Today the Bishop got ripped off by some Beduion and our tour guide took them to task. She's one tough women. All in all things are going well

Sunday 5th of February, last day in Galilee. Spectacular sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. Went up north to Sepphoris (the jewel of Galilee), then to Banias which is in Caesarea Philippi. Banias was an old Roman pagan god temple, dedicated to the god Pan. The place of the dancing goats. It is the beginning of the Jordan River. One of three springs which join to feed into Lake Galilee. From there went up to the Golan Heights. Saw Mt Hermon snow covered top. A possible sight of the Mt of Transfiguration. From there we went back to Tiberias. A great place to hang out for a while.
Monday 6th of February, Started the day at the ruins of Beth Shean. A wonderfully reconstructed metropolis. From there began the drive south heading towards Jerusalem. Stopped off at Qumran and saw the cave where they found the complete scroll of Isaiah. Took the slow climb up from 200 metres below sea level to 100 metres to Jerusalem. Visited the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Old olive trees over two thousand years old.
Tuesday 7th of February – Jerusalem. Started the day with a look at the old wall which surrounds the city. Then to the pools of Bethesda at St Anne’s church where Jesus healed the cripple in John 5. They are deep, 20 metres or so, the troubling of the waters probably comes from under water aquifers. Walked through the old city to the church of the Holy Sepulcher. The place of Jesus crucifixion and entombment. Nearly got kicked out for trying to take a picture lying down on the tomb. Afterwards we went to the Palatial Mansions most probably the site of the High Priests house and possibly where Jesus was taken after being arrested in the garden. Visited Mt Zion the upper room where Jesus had the last supper.
Wednesday, 8th of February – Dead Sea and Masada. Went out of Jerusalem down the road to Jericho where the Good Samaritan traveled and Jesus. Went down to the Dead Sea and floated, tried to swim but the salt was so strong. Then went from there to one of Herod’s Winter palace at the fortress of Masada.

Further Adventures of the French in Israel

Sat 4th of Feb – Shabbat

Started the day with a visit to the Kibbutz where the Galilean fishing boat that was discovered in 1986 has been restored and stored in the museum. A major, meticulous job of digging out the boat from the mud, transporting it to the kibbutz and then preserving the wood, before mounting it for display.

Then went to the Mt of the Beatitudes, on the hill looking across the lake to Tiberius. On the slope of the hill where Jesus would have taught, field poppies, bright red grow. Jesus may have seen the flowers in the field and the city on the hill and referred to them in the Sermon on the Mount.

Following this we went to Tabgo which was the most probably site of Peter’s lead in returning to the fishing trade after the death of Jesus. Here Jesus waited for them to return from an unfruitful night of fishing and having sent them back to cast their nets on the other side of the boat prepares fish for breakfast and questions and commands Peter three times to feed his sheep if he really does love Jesus. Tabgo means “Seven Springs” and was a popular fishing spot. Now you are not to picnic, not allowed to wear shorts, not allowed to swim etc. etc. a place of grace as long as you keep the laws.

Mesar Christo is “Christ’s Table and is the rock which Jesus laid the five loaves and two fish on in the Feeding Miracle. Like many of these sites churches stand not so much to provide places where people can gather, but to venerate the spot. The positive side of this is the spot can be reasonably authenticated because of this annoying habit.

Capernaum was our next port of call. A fishing village, port and major industrial village. Their specialty was olive presses made from the black basalt rock common to the area. This is the site of Simon Peter’s mothers place. The Catholics have built a ‘flying saucer’ church above the site. Rather congruous.

We drove across the Jordan River to the north of the Sea of Galilee. We stopped off to look at a Byzantine church at Kosi which is supposed to be the place of the exorcism of the demoniac. Lunch at Ein Gav Kibbutz where most of us dined on St Peter’s Fish which proved the tax for the boys. Then we drove up to the Golan Heights for an amazing view of the whole of the Sea of Galilee, the greatest inland expanse of water in the Middle East. Drove back down the other side around the lake stopping off at the southern end of the Jordan where it leaves Lake Galilee.

Napoleonic Adventures in Israel

First day in Israel was a whirlwind. From Joppa where Napoleon contracted some weird disease and went hope to die, to Caesarea Maritima which was amazing to Mt Carmel & Meggido then onto Nazareth and Cana. It was all a bit much to assimilate in one day. Caesarea was fascinating as the gateway for the gospel into the Gentile world. Stood where Paul appealed to Caesar and eventually ended up in Rome. More later on...