Morning: Day 10

I am the first one awake this morning here in Arad, Israel. Well, the birds and I. Lots and lots of tweeting, whistling, cawwing, screaming birds are awake too. Which is why I'm the first one awake here in Arad, Israel. I can't post photos of it, but yesterday, we did some hiking in the Judah Hill Country south of Jersualem. Our prof said it was a place where the natural habitat was similar to the way it would have been in ancient times. The thing that caught my attention, both literally and figuratively were the thorns. I would not have wanted to wander these hillsides without a trail. We stopped at a couple of archaelogical sites including the traditional area where David and Goliath battled. We moved on to the city of Ashkelon (an ancient Philistine and Cannanite city). Ashkelon is right on the Mediterranean and hosts the oldest gate in the world: the Cannanite city gate. We were standing beside a structure that dated from 1850 BC. During the time of Jacob, the city of Ashkelon boasted 150,000 ocupants. During the time of Jacob! We finished the day with a much needed dip into the Mediterranean Sea. The day was consistely over 100 degrees, so the cool water was welcome reprieve.

A I sit outside this morning, I look over the panorama of Arad in the photo below. Yesterday, as we went from site to site, the oppressive heat (105ish) made everything a struggle. We drove about an hour south of Ashkelon for our stay tonight and our professsor said we can expect 10-15 degrees hotter today. Even the coldest water from these taps flows warm. I would not have liked to wander in these climes. But today as we head out, I am reminded of a Fransiscan prayer I had read:

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
The shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand and comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindess to all our children and the poor.

Amen and amen.Read more