Jericho: Oldest City in the World

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A Lesson in Time

Today we traveled to Jericho; the ancient Natufian people first settled here over 10,000 years ago, before 8,000 BC. When archaeologist Tessa Wheeler excavated Jericho in the 1950's, she discovered evidence of 23 successive settlements upon this ancient tel. Today’s visit (and much of this journey through Turkey, Greece and Israel) has reminded my-American-self, who tends to think of history in years and decades, much of the world measures history in centuries and millennia. This discussion of time enables me to share a summary of the Biblical timeline we have been studying along the way. Numbers are rough estimates.


• Setting of Genesis Patriarchs (4,000 years ago)
• Exodus Event (3,500 years ago)
• Joshua & Israelites appearance in Canaan (3,200 years ago)
• Saul, David, Solomon & 1^st Jerusalem Temple (3,000 years ago)
• Destruction of 1^st Temple & Babylonian Exile (2,600 years ago)
• Return to Jerusalem & 2^nd Jerusalem Temple (2,500 years ago)
• Hellenistic Influence Reflected in Wisdom Writings (2,300 years ago)
• Birth of Jesus (2000 years ago)
• Epistles of St. Paul, Gospels & New Testament Literature (1,900-1,800 years ago)


A Timeless Lesson

“…as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho” is how Jesus begins his Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus tells this story in response to the question, “And who is my neighbor?” Who is my neighbor continues to be a relevant question for us today. Loving our neighbor in the abstract seems quite simple, but in reality loving our neighbor is complicated by personalities, hurt feelings, politics, etc. I offer the following questions, loosely based on the corporeal works of mercy, to help us consider who our neighbor may be in today’s society:


• Is my neighbor the imprisoned immigrant longing for a visit and/or policy change?
• Is my neighbor my hungry child, who does not want what I’ve prepared for dinner?
• Is my neighbor the refugee seeking shelter from war and violence?
• Is my neighbor the homeless woman outside Starbucks thirsting for a cup of coffee?
• Is my neighbor the thrift store shopper, who could use the clothes that crowd my closet?
• Is my neighbor the sick and elderly couple from my parish yearning for a pastoral visit?
• Is my neighbor the inner city mother grieving the burial of her teenage son?


One lesson from Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan is that our neighbor may just be the person with whom we are least interested in associating. May God continue to bless us with the grace to love those whom we do not feel capable of loving.

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Photos

Ruins of Oldest Tower in the World
Pre-Pottery Neolithic Tower (8000 BC)

Clay Brick Structure
Early Bronze Age

Tree of Life Mosaic
Muslim Palace (8th Century AD)

Byzantine Era Mosaic
This and following mosaics from around Israel & Palestine have been reconstructed and displayed at the Museum of the Good Samaritan.

Synagogue Mosaic
Second Temple Period