Early this morning, before the crowds, we went down to the Jordan River. It is much narrower than during Jesus’ time. We had a short service to renew our baptismal covenant and then waded in. The chaplain for the course blessed each of us with water from the Jordan. I found it deeply moving, enough to move me to tears. The next time we renew our baptismal covenant at church I will be remembering standing in the Jordan River.
The area immediately at the Jordan is lush and green. The river is the boundary with Jordan and the area around the river is a military outpost. It was so strange and sad to walk through barbed wire fences and see signs warning us of land mines as we made our way to a holy place.
As Jesus was baptized and then immediately led out into the desert, so were we. We saw the Mount of Temptation but did not go up to it. Instead we went out to a rather remote part of the desert and spent time there in silence.
The Greek words for wilderness and desert are the same and somehow in my mind when I pictured Jesus being led out to the desert I saw a flat expanse of sand. That is not what the Judean desert is like. There are mountains at least as high as the Blue Ridge and very deep valleys. It is harsh and hot with no shade unless you find a cave or an oasis. At the same time the Judean wilderness is very powerful and beautiful. I found myself drawn to it – not that I would try to survive there. However Bedouins do live there and there are still some monks who live in caves.
And I had a big surprise – the lion found me in Israel! We went to visit the monastery of St Gerassimos – a location the college has not taken a group to in 15 years. Our leader decided to go. St Gerassimos pulled out a thorn from a lion’s paw and the lion remained with him. His icon has a lion on it (and you will find the icon in my office at some point.) There are statues of lions all over the grounds and a lion mosaic on the chapel floor dating from the 6th century CE. What are the odds I would be here now when they would decide to go there?! I decided it must mean I’m supposed to be here in Israel right now.
We went to the town of Jericho for lunch. They sell a lot of fruit there. We bought a lot of Medjool dates. If you have never had them, they are the sweetest dates. I paid the same for a huge box as I do for about 10 dates at home. We pay in shekels. Get change in dollars. And have no idea if the change is correct or not.
It is a steep trek from Jerusalem to Jericho. In addition once you leave Jerusalem the environment quickly changes to desert. In the first century priests walked up to Jerusalem to fulfill their duties in the temple. It is also the road in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is a steep climb. No easy stroll at all. Jericho is the lowest (in elevation) city in the world. Jerusalem is in the hills. Jericho has also had a continuous population for over 10,000 years.
And I have rocks for our labyrinth! From Bethlehem and Judean desert so far. I hope you are picking them up on your travels this summer.
All in all a rich and deeply meaningful day.
Looking Out Seeing Within 