River Jordan: May 21, 2019

Here I am standing before the River Jordan, the body of water where Jesus was baptized. The river separates Israel from Jordan, which is where the church in the background is located. 

My friend Peggy in front of the Jordan

The word Jordan comes from the Hebrew Yarden, which means the one that descends. The river literally descends from the foot of Mt. Hermon down to the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below sea level and the lowest place on earth. Jesus too descends into the river and into our humanity. Perhaps his baptism symbolizes this. 

We were fortunate on our trip to have one of our pilgrims, Nancy, baptized in the Jordan. 

Father Michael prepares Nancy. 

I find it fascinating to speculate about the relationship that Jesus had with John the Baptist. Luke's gospel records John leaping in his mother's womb, when Mary visits Elizabeth. In scripture, they don't meet again until John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan. But they were relatives, each with a special call. They likely would have seen each other throughout their lives. Their vocations may have given them a special bond. 

Not many get to experience baptism by immersion in this holy river. 

"To know the date of our baptism is to know a blessed day. . . . We must reawaken the memory of our baptism." Pope Francis

Water plays such an important role in our lives, biologically and sacramentally. It's where life started. Our bodies are made of a large amount of it. It's sustaining, cleansing, refreshing. It can also be the cause of death as with floods and storms. Perhaps our baptism is one reason we are attracted to the water. In baptism, through the Holy Spirit, we are freed from sin. Since Jesus was without sin, why would he be baptized? We don't know for certain but perhaps it is an act of fully entering into our humanity. 

A reminder of how far we have to go before "thy Kingdom come" on this earth. 

Roll Jordan, roll

Roll Jordan, roll

I want to go to heaven when I die

To hear ol' Jordan roll

Roll Jordan, roll

My brother you ought to have been there

Yes, my Lord, a-sitting in the Kingdom

To hear roll Jordan, roll

Roll Jordan, roll

To the River of Jordan, Our Savior went one day

And we read that John the Baptist met Him there

When John baptized Jesus in Jordan's rushing water

The mighty power of God filled the air

I'm on my way. . . to the River of Jordan

Gonna wade right in, in the rushing waters

I'm going down. . .  to the River of Jordan

To let the cool waters cleanse my soul.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the beloved with whom I am well pleased."  Matthew 3:13-17

Mount of Temptation, May 21, 2019

In reverse of the order that the events happened, we stopped at the Mount of Temptation on the way to the River Jordan, where Jesus was baptized. 

The Mount of Temptation is also known as Mount Quarantania, which comes from the Latin word meaning 40--the number of days and nights Jesus spent fasting. This time that Jesus spent in the desert and mountain fasting and being tempted by the devil prefigures our own Lenten retreat. 

The story of Jesus' temptation appears in Matthew, Luke and in a briefer way Mark. As there were no witnesses, it was a story that Jesus would have had to relate to his followers. I've always been fascinated by Jesus' pre-ministry encounter with temptation and the devil. I feel like I exist in a perpetual state of temptation. 

The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written:

                             'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word
                              that comes from the mouth of God.'

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

                             'He will command his angels concerning you, and with their hands
                              they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'

Jesus answered hm, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God to the test'" Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written:

                              'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Here are some paraphrased observations from Fr. James Martin in Jesus: A Pilgrimage. In many temptations there is an element of good. For example, the first temptation, turning stones to bread is about our physical need for food. Taking care of our body is good. But our physical well being shouldn't come before anything else. Fr. Richard Rohr says, our false selves usually press for the satisfaction of our immediate wants. Jesus also never does a miracle for himself. Often the voice of the devil, the voice of temptation is the voice of the Hinderer, who tells us false stories about ourselves and that we are unworthy of God's love, that nothing will change and all is hopeless. The voice keeps us from being who God wants us to be.

On the Mount of Temptation is a Greek orthodox monastery.

Our stay near the Mount of Temptation was brief but one of the things we got to do was ride a camel.

These poor beasts of burden.

Through the Desert to Jericho May 21, 2019

"Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jericho," sang Val on our bus as we made our way through the Judean desert to this ancient place, the oldest, continually inhabited city in the world. Since 8,000 BC people have made their home in Jericho. A spring has created an oasis in the desert, allowing for habitation.

It was in these sands as a man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, as we are, that the story of the Good Samaritan unfolded.

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to rest him and said, "Teacher, what much I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. " He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by the opposite side. Likewise, a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

                                                                                              Luke 10:25-37

In Jericho, we had Mass at the courtyard of the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Fr. Michael, Betsy, Val, Kathleen, Molly, and Geralyn present a dramatization of Luke's gospel story of Zacchaeus, who lived in Jericho. Zacchaeus was a hated tax collector, who likely extorted more from the people than was owed and was rich.

Peacocks, an early Christian symbol of the Resurrection, strutted around the courtyard.

Children at recess.

After Mass, we drove by a sycamore tradition says Zacchaeus' Tree. It was likely not alive in the time of Jesus. In the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus was passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem for the last time.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 

He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 

All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 

Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

                                                                                                                                    Luke 19:1-10

Bethlehem Today, May 20, 2019

Bethlehem is in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory. The political situation between Israel and the Palestinian territories is complicated and people on different sides of the issues would describe it in different ways. Despite the above photo, the Palestinian portions of the Holy Land do not appear as economically developed as the Israeli portions.

After we finished visiting the sites in Bethlehem, we visited a store run by Palestinian Christians. The owner above is describing how his grandfather discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Above is one of the jars in which Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

I bought a Jerusalem cross, a shirt, a little camel, and some other items. As Peggy said, "It's strange to have these holy, holy experiences and then go shopping."

Above is a Jerusalem cross. The cross has symbolized, Christ and the four Evangelists; the Five Wounds of Christ; Christ and the four corners of the world.

After we finished shopping, we went out to board our bus and found these gentlemen giving us one last opportunity to buy. Fr. Michael invited them to display their wares to us. Their items were much cheaper than those in the shops.

Walls separate some of the Palestinian-controlled territories from the Israeli sections. They remind me of the Berlin Wall, complete with the graffiti.

"If you want peace, work for justice." Pope Paul VI

Beautiful butterfly. Prayers for transformation.

Milk Grotto in Bethlehem, May 20,2020

Today we went to Bethlehem and visited the Milk Grotto, a place I had never heard of. The story goes that the Holy Family lived here for a short while after Jesus was born. They hid in this place before their flight to Egypt, when Herod was ordering all of the boys two and under to be killed. While Mary was nursing Jesus, some drops of milk fell on the stone, turning it white.

The cynical part of me can imagine the Crusaders dreaming up the milk grotto as a marketing ploy to lure pilgrims.

But regardless, Mary would have nursed Jesus. Such an intimate act between mother and child, Mary using her body to feed Jesus, as he would do for everyone.

Mary nursing Jesus is one of the hidden parts of his life, along with so many others. I sat in the Milk Grotto and meditated on this. Here is a little back story I came up with for Jesus's birth.

Mary knew from being around other babies in Nazareth that many of them were fussy. Jesus was not and eagerly attached to her. For this she was grateful. It had been a hard delivery in that cave with only straw to cushion the birth and only Joseph to attend. He was calm, that husband of hers, another blessing. Now she was fully healed from the birth.

Some other people seemed to know something of Gabriel's visit to Mary, that her child was blessed, a baby among babies. They would stop and look in on her with awe in their eyes, the shepherds among them. They would come in and bow to the baby. One day some shepherds brought a gift of a lamb to the family. Another day, three fancily dressed men from places unknown brought exotic and valuable gifts. The gold would finance their safe passage to Egypt. These kind but strange-looking men didn't speak Aramaic. But they pointed up, many times. to the darkened sky with the new brilliant star that Mary had grown fond of. It was a beacon of heavenly protection. At least for now.

Shepherds Field: May 20, 2019

After the Church of the Nativity, our next stop was Shepherds' Field, an area of caves where the shepherds kept their sheep.

Shepherd's Field wasn't far from the Church of the Nativity. 

The angel first announced the Good News of Jesus' birth to shepherds, the lowliest of the low.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them., "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born. You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:8-12 

Two to four shepherds would keep their sheep in the same cave. The shepherds would call to their sheep by a special whistle. The sheep knew their shepherd's whistle and would follow them. Jesus incorporated shepherds into his teachings. "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10:14. We had Mass in one of the caves. Here Val performs a vignette of a midwife who attended Mary.

Betsey performs a dance, "Let Me Be Your Bethlehem."

At the end of Mass, Fr. Michael, holding up the red prayer bag, led us in a guided meditation, asking us to imagine holding the Baby Jesus. I later wrote down what I thought about, as I held the chubby, happy baby Jesus. 

Little baby, I know what is in store for you. Rest and play easily in my arms, and I will help your mom and dad care for you.

Pilgrims, Stop Yourself before the Infant

The shepherds were the first to see this "tent," to receive the news of Jesus' birth. They were the first because they were among the last, the outcast. And they were the first because they were awake, keeping watch in the night, guarding their flocks. The pilgrim is bound by duty to keep watch and the shepherds did just that. Together with them, let us thank the Lord for having given Jesus to us, and with them let us raise from the depths of our hearts the praises of his fidelity: We bless you, Lord God most high, who lowered yourself for our sake. You are immense, and you made yourself small; you are rich and you made yourself poor; you are all-powerful and you made yourself vulnerable.