You recall that twelve members of our church visited the Holy Land last spring. It has been just about one year since we returned from that wonderful trip. It is fair to say we embarked on our journey with a religious and spiritual curiosity. We were regarded as pilgrims. It is said that the tourist passes through the place, while the place passes through the pilgrim. That was so very true for us. Yes, it was a religious and spiritual experience, but it also became an archeological, historical and political adventure. Each of us formed our individual opinions from those experiences.

We embarked our flights to Tel Aviv with much excitement and eager anticipation. Though we were tired from the long flights, we were wide-eyed on the bus journey to Jerusalem. We didn't want to miss anything. We had read and heard about Jerusalem all our lives, and we were about to be really there. We learned immediately we were not the only pilgrims on our mission. There were hundreds if not thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem from all over the world. Like us, they were also attempting to walk in the steps made by Jesus more than 2,000 years ago.

Oh, Jerusalem. The famous city is a fascinating mix of warm humanity, political reality and hope that persons of different faiths can get along. We loved exploring ancient Jerusalem's mysterious, crowded and uproarious Muslim Quarter; it's quiet, orderly Christian Quarter; it's prosperous if not stylish Jewish Quarter; and it's gracious, friendly Armenian Quarter. Every evening in the city, over our glasses of wine, we regaled each other, our dear friends, with stories of our wonderful discoveries.

However, our pilgrimage extended far beyond the walls of the ancient city. It was during our excursions miles from our Jerusalem base that we began to realize that the familiar biblical stories that were based on "tradition" and handed down through the centuries were open to interpretation. And, not being biblical scholars ourselves, we tended to believe what we were taught to believe. Here is an example. At Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, the Silver Star of Bethlehem in the floor of the grotto is said by tradition to be the site of Jesus' birth. This has been reported since at least the 2nd century, and like the other pilgrims, I waited in line

to go to my knees to kiss the famous Silver Star. Yet, since my childhood Sunday school days, it has been reported that Jesus was born in a manger in a stable, not in a cave. This is so interesting to think about.

Here is another example. It is tradition that Jesus spent considerable time in the area of Galilee, inspiring, teaching and healing. It is tradition that he even lived there for a time in a village named Capernaum. At Kibbutz Ginosar, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, not far from Capernaum, in a special museum there is an amazingly preserved first-century fisherman's boat discovered in the mud-flats a few decades ago. Probably for commercial purposes, this wonderful boat is called the "Jesus Boat." You can even Google it at www.Jesusboat.com. It is tradition that Jesus befriended the fishermen of Galilee. And, it is tradition that from one of their fishing boats he rebuked the Sea's fierce winds and waves. Was that fishing boat similar if not the same as the "Jesus Boat" salvaged from the sea and preserved at Kibbutz Ginosar? We would like to believe it, wouldn't we? Again, so very interesting to think about.

A final but very prominent example takes us back to Jerusalem to the most famous Christian church in the world, the Church of the Resurrection and Holy Sepulchre. By tradition, this church is built around and over Jesus' tomb. Indeed, is this the site where Jesus died, was buried, and was raised? Was this site the notorious rock quarry with the criminals' crosses, Golgotha or Calvary? The opinions of scholars differ, but again, it is what we believe, isn't it? Again, so very, very interesting to think about.

Experiencing these traditions and comparing them to my beliefs was the total joy of this pilgrimage. Loaves and fishes, Jordan River waters, Herod's seaside residence and hanging palace, layers upon layers of civilization at Jericho, Dead Sea caves, Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, so many sites, so many traditions to think about. What a marvelous experience it was!