By Dr. Randall Smith
Courtesy of Christian Travel Study Program, Ltd.
Towering above the Sea of Galilee and offering the country?s most magnificent view of that shimmering blue lake, the Mount of Beatitudes is a favorite site for today?s Christian pilgrim. In an area overlooking the Sea, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. “Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth?blessed are the peacemakers – for they shall be called the children of God'” [Matthew 5:1-9].
Some late traditions of Christianity place this mountain on the area in which Jesus picked his 12 apostles.
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor” [Luke 6:12-16].
In the late 1930?s architect Antonio Barluzzi built a graceful gray-and-white stone sanctuary on the mountaintop. Its octagonal walls commemorate the Eight Beatitudes; each graced with the first words of one of the eight verses. Lovely grounds provide a pastoral atmosphere in which it seems only natural to meditate, pray or sing.
© Christian Travel Study Program, Ltd.
