Okowa And The Essence Of Religious Pilgrimage To Israel (II)

By FIDELIS EGUGBO

"When the sun went down, the people brought their sick friends to Jesus. They had many different kinds of sicknesses. Jesus laid his hands on each sick person and healed them all." Luke 4:38-40

We were at the Synagogue which was not far from Simon Peter's house. Capharnaun can be described as a city that is currently solely inhabited by Monks who keeps the ruins of the old city.

Just few days of leaving our beloved country, Nigeria, many people were longing to be back, so, it was a surprise to hear gospel songs of Nigerian origin blaring from loud speakers in a boat we entered in the Sea of Galilee. We sang along and danced as the boat cruised. Though it did not last more than 30 minutes, from the spontaneous reaction, it was evident that North or South, there is no place like home. Though, it was on this Sea that Jesus walked (levitated) on water, none of us dared to test if we had faith that was as little as the mustard seed, despite the fact that most of us had bought mustard seeds and seen how tiny they were.

There is no way one will fail to recall the visit to Jordan River where Jesus was baptised. The environment was not different from what we have back home with trees and birds. Of course, who would skip the opportunity of splashing the water from the river on his or her body?

We were in Tabgha where "Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse. His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan." Mathew 15: 32-39

We visited a lot of holy sites, including where Jesus turned water into wine at Cana in Galilee, birth place of Virgin Mary, place Joseph lived with Mary and Jesus; place where the Pool of Bethsaida was - it has dried up; the Wailing Wall which was said to be the closest place to where the Ark of the Convenant was kept, among several others.

We met pilgrims from Lagos, Imo, Enugu and Akwa Ibom States and we all gathered at Ramada Hotel, Jerusalem to pray for Nigeria.

Israel certainly is not as endowed with resources as Delta alone, but seeing the achievements they have recorded in all spheres, that prayer became very necessary as we were asking where we got it wrong as a nation.

We called on God that assisted the people of Israel to intervene in the affairs of Nigeria and Delta in particular.

While in Israel, a colleague put a poser, does the trip worth the cost? Every minute, people from different parts of the world visit sites in Israel; it was just like the saying, "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out," Luke 19: 40 in action. In short, Jesus is doing more in Israel now than in the past. You just have to tune yourself to nature to feel the aura in certain places and more people are eager to visit.

We never doubted His existence before the pilgrimage but, most of us were so enlightened about the activities that took place in the Old Testament during the visit. Again, one may feel that all that Jesus did were in an area not bigger than Delta North Senatorial District.

Apart from the rich spiritual exercise, there were other lessons learnt; the fact that once you turn 18 years, you must join their military gave room for mutual respect as everyone that is more than 18 years old is experienced in handling weapons and trained on self defence and above all, their loyalty to the state of Israel can never be in dispute bearing in mind that they are surrounded by perceived and real enemies. We were at the Dead Sea described as the lowest point on earth (423 meters below sea level). The Dead Sea alone has its numerous visitors daily as it is reputed for a lot of things, including healing.

While commending the Governor of Delta State, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa for encouraging Deltans to deepen their belief in God through pilgrimage, my humble wish is for the number of persons that goes on pilgrimage be increased; the Federal Government and well-to-do individuals, including religious organisations should be involved in such sponsorship because, the exposure yields positive results in different ways.

One cannot forget the roles played by the Commissioner, Bureau for Special Duties, Mr Mofe Pirah, Chaplain, the Ugoani of Okpanam, HRM Michael Mbanefo; Chaplain, Government House Chaplaincy, Venerable Charles Osemenem, Hon. Aneke Ifemeni, Mrs Joy Obiosa, Comrade Pere Botu and several others to make the pilgrimage really eventful.

Like the journey of the Magi, moving to the sites could be difficult but if you recall that Jesus climbed those mountains wearing only sandals or on bare foot and you are making use of Cable Cars and in other comforts, a lot of things will certainly go through your mind. There are still areas I will like to explore, questions I will like to ask if I have the opportunity to visit Israel again because, there are still so many secrets to unravel, so many mysteries to pray about and there is still much more on my mind, especially the fact that I almost forgot that two persons bagged political appointments while the pilgrimage was still on.

(As published on page 10 of The Pointer Newspaper of today, Sunday, January 5, 2020. The first part of this material was published last Sunday. Thanks.)