Homework for the Holy Land: Day 4: My Peeps

In the first Homework for the Holy Land post, I mentioned that I was a bit concerned about being part of a tour group.  All such concerns have dissipated.  Clearly I am blessed to be with the right group of people with whom to share this experience.  Two of today's events solidified that.

 I jumped into this trip primarily because I would be traveling not only with My Friend Jeanie and her Spousal Unit™, Bill, but other members of St. Timothy's who I have come to know over the years.  Going to your faith cradle is a pretty big deal.  Going with people you trust to stand along side you during that journey is an even bigger deal.  I believed that the St. Tim's group would see this as a way to expand their commitment to being the hands, feet and voice of Christ in the world.  

 This morning we started at the River Jordan.  Evangelical Christians requested from the state of Israel a secure, peaceful place to conduct baptisms on the river; the request was granted.  Yardenit is a beautiful spot and no, it is not where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.  That could have happened anywhere on the Jordan, a meandering river that flows for over 150 miles from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.  I had been thinking about this, and as we entered the site, I pulled My Friend Jeanie™, the Deacon, aside and asked if she would give me a blessing with water from the River Jordan.  

 The other part of our tour group is 10 people from St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, NY.  They all decided to renew their baptismal vows in the River Jordan, and the St. Tim's contingent shared in their ceremony.  We stood along the banks of the river, renewed our baptismal vows, then responded with a resounding, "AMEN" when each of the St. Paul's group agreed to honor their baptismal promise in the River Jordan.  Below are some photos.  

The St. Paul congregants line up.  

Some stood in the shallows and received a sprinkle.


Others went for complete immersion.  Those standing on the banks of the River Jordan were heard to holler, "Dunk!  Dunk!  Dunk!"

There are multiple plaques around the site; this was my absolute favorite.

My Friend Jeanie™ blessed me.  It was and will be one of the most significant moments of my life.

From there we went to 
Bet She'an, settled in 6000-5000 BCE

There just is way too much to put into this blog so I'll refer you to the Wikipedia page, if you're so inclined.  Some photo documentation of the site:
The Amphitheatre.  There also was a Coliseum where gladiators dueled.

An earthquake destroyed much of the site in 749 AD.  The excavators left much of the site as it was following the quake, including these columns that came down still supporting arches,

The Roman baths.  A floor was built over these pillars.  Hot steam was injected into the room, the steam rose and voila!  A steam bath.

I've mentioned that our tour guide, Lorne, was an archeologist.  He worked on this dig 30 years ago and uncovered a room that led the experts to believe it was in a building used as a brothel.  Way to go, Lorne!  

He is also a historian and this brings mean, (the long, LONG way, I know) to the second of today's occurrences which solidified I am with the right people for this experience.  That is Lorne.  Our group repeatedly stands, sits back, etc. in awe and appreciation for what he brings not only to the sites we visit, but what he shares while we ride between locations.  Today we had a 2 hour ride from the Galilee area to Bethlehem.  As we drove, Lorne provided the history behind the many conflicts Israel has been involved in since its creation in 1948.  (Actually Israel has always been in conflict but you'll have to do the research on that yourself.  I would recommend James Michener's outstanding novel, The Source. )  His timing was particularly poignant because the road we were on bordered with Jordan; Bethlehem is located in Palestine.  You read about the West Bank; you hear about it on the news; now you're in it.  Just...wow.
Look closely.  That's a Jordanian flag, marking their territory.  As seen from our bus.

Final stops of the day were at the Basilica of the Nativity, three churches--Roman Catholic, Armenian and Greek Orthodox--that commemorate the birthplace of Jesus.  Given that the site was identified by Constantine the Great's mother, Helena, in 325 AD, it's not entirely unreasonable to consider that this exact location could be considered a long shot.  That doesn't diminish the magnitude of this site nor the way your beliefs (and mine) wrap around it.

We'll be in Jerusalem now until the end of the trip.  More to come... but I'll leave you with this sign, found at Yardenit this morning on Flip Flop Friday™.

Comments

  1. MardyJanuary 24, 2020 at 2:42 PM

    Wow, what a powerful trip you are on!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PraisethelorneFebruary 6, 2020 at 5:47 AM

    I didn't realize you posted every day so I am just now reading all the entries. You're very kind. It was my privilege to guide your group.

    ReplyDelete

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