Mount of the Beatitudes

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)

If I could only go back for a few days, I would choose to go to Galilee. Not only is it lovely, but I felt closest to Jesus and his disciples there (not too surprising since this is where they hung out!). What is most surprising to me is that most of the places where Jesus taught and healed are very close to one another. In fact, you can see most of them from a boat on the sea! In this picture taken from the Mount of the Beatitudes, you can see several places. The brown church in the bottom right of the picture is the Church of the "Primacy of Peter"; to the left of that church is Tabgha (the Church of the Multiplication of the Fish and Loaves); and while you can't see it in the picture not too far to the left of Tabgha is Capernum.