This Sabbath we had a special worship service at the traditional place where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, the Mount of the Beatitudes. There is a shrine on the hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, perhaps a mile from the shore and four hundred feet in altitude. People offered testimony of how direct contact with the Bible Lands was transforming their picture of Jesus.

Then we set out on foot to walk all the way down to the shore with the Sea before us and green fields all around us. At the shore we visited the place where Jesus is thought to have provided breakfast on the beach to His disciples and then we ate lunch in ancient Capernaum, the village that Jesus considered home during the major part of his ministry. Capernaum is the location of the house of Peter and the synagogue where Jesus preached and did some of His miracles.

But for me the highlight was probably walking through the fields on the way down to the lake. At one point you could see the four types of soils that Jesus mentions in one of His parables, the parable of the sower. There is a path that is trodden firm and would not allow seeds to penetrate the soil, leaving them vulnerable to hungry birds. There is some stony ground that may allow a seed to sprout but leaves it vulnerable to dryness. There was a patch of weeds, which might allow a see to sprout, but would then choke it out, denying the new plant the sunlight it needs to survive and grow. But finally there was really good soil, that was producing a huge harvest.

It made me wonder, what kind of soil am I? Do I have a learning, teachable spirit? Am I open to the leading of the Holy Spirit or do I like things just the way they are. People are a lot like plants. Unless they grow, they will die. But growth means change and we often hate change. So how open am I to God bringing constructive change into my life? What about you?