A DAY IN CAPERNAUM,  

A DAY  TO  REMEMBER   

INTRODUCTION

In January - it might even be this very day in January - but it was the year 2000 - I was in a bus with about 25 other priests and we went to Capernaum for a day.   We left our Palestinian Hotel in Tiberias - and headed to a place called Capernaum.

It was a day to remember.

In fact all the days on that 2 week tour of the Holy Land and Holy Places - 18 years ago - were days to remember.

The bus pulled into a space on the right - next to a building - in the shade - and then we went through a gate into Capernaum. The place wasn’t too big - but still the space had a grab to it.

Two buildings stood out - both of which are mentioned in today’s gospel.

One has a round roof - the other no roof.

The first was the Synagogue in Capernaum.  It wasn’t the actual one Jesus was in. That’s up for historical speculation and study. 

Architectural historians say the building there today  was built on top of  the remains of a synagogue built on top of an older synagogue.

All in all, in the time of Jesus - there was a synagogue here - somewhat like the one we walked over to - that morning.

Father Steven Doyle our retreat master and guide read today’s gospel - probably beginning with yesterday’s gospel. It tells of Jesus going into the synagogue in Capernaum with his disciples.  Then Stephen mentioned  other gospel stories that took place in this synagogue.

Then he gave us an hour to pray and reflect on the scene. So we sat down on the stone benches along the sides of the old synagogue - and prayed and reflected on the moment - where we were present. The synagogue had no roof - just some side walls, pillars and stone benches.

Then - after about spending an hour there - we walked over to Peter’s Mother-in-law home. This building was unique. There was a Christian Church here a few times. Like the synagogue, earlier buildings were here and crumbled in time.  

Peter’s mother-in-law’s house could be seen down below through a glass floor. There was an ancient building under this small church.

Once more, hearing the gospel read on the spot - after getting into that church -  we were able to picture the gospel story better.

Then we went out and walked about the whole village. It wasn’t that big, but it was a spiritual experience.

At the other end of the property, we could see the red roof of another church. Steven Doyle pointed out all the lumps and earth bumps in the big field that led the way to the  Greek Orthodox church - some 500 yards away.  Stephen Doyle said that digs in the future will show  a lot more than what we know right now.

So those two buildings and the red roofed Orthodox church in the distance were the 3 main places I can still picture to this day.

CAPERNAUM

So that place and that day in Capernaum that we visited in January of 2000 still holds some good memories for me.

Capernaum was central for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Capernaum was central for Jesus as well.  The gospels tell us that Jesus centered himself here as then he started his public ministry.

The Lake was not too far away.

Nazareth was only 25 miles away.

Questions kept hitting me - and thoughts kept hitting me.

Whatever happened to Peter’s wife as well as his mother-in-law?

What house here did Jesus stay in? Do they have any markers anywhere?  

Was Joseph still around when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum?

It was here that the centurion’s servant was healed - as well as the man with the shakes. I never used the word "palsy".

CONCLUSION

I don’t know how to end this - other than saying, “Some days are different than other days."

Next I came up with a question. If every day was loaded down with all kinds of unique and specific places to visit or people to experience, could our RAM - our Random Access Memory - hold onto all these specific days - like I did for just “A Day in Capernaum” - or would our memories be like a crowded subway car in rush hour?