This icon is from a church in Galilee. A friend visited there recently and this picture was among those she took there. She also brought me a small copy of this icon - 2 inches X 3 inches, written with what looks like an eyelash! It is stunning, the faces very clear and the colors much like the one pictured here.
The scene is Jesus with Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It pictures the disciples in a rolling sea behind them with the Galilean hills reaching up around the sea. But it is clearly the post-resurrection event where Jesus cooks breakfast for the disciples. In that event Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" He asks him three times and each time Peter professes his love for Jesus. There is much that can be learned from this encounter, and it is clear that Jesus is "dealing" with Peter - he is taking him to a new place of ministry. He is enabling Peter's pastoral minstry by shepherding him through the rocky ground of his own betrayal. From this moment on Peter's love for those who come seeking will reflect this moment when Jesus loved him in spite of his failures.
I just finished "The Lemon Tree," by Sandy Tolan. It is the true story of two families - Palestinian and Israeli - who live in the same house in Ramla. Before Israel gained its independence in 1948, the house was owned by the Palestinian family of Bashir. As the Palestinians are relocated, the house is inhabited by a Jewish family whose daughter, Dalia, struggles to come to terms with her identity. Tolan follows Dalia and Bashir's difficult friendship and their struggle to understand and honor their different histories in the land of Palestine. I found it a helpful book for understanding the history of Middle East conflict and the enormous cultural difficulties that prevent healing and reconciliation. Are cultural differences a barrier to reconciliation happening?
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