Jericho and the Judean Desert

It feels good to be more or less "caught up" on this blog after this post; it has been a rich few days and I've taken a lot of pictures. But my hope is that these few I have posted along the way offer at least a glimpse into what we have seen.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we made a "loop" up to Galilee and back to Jerusalem. In other words, we traveled up by way of the west coast, through Caesarea, along the Mediterranean. Today, however, we returned from the Mount of Transfiguration by way of Jericho, the city remembered of course in the Old Testament as the place where Joshua and the Israelities brought the walls tumblin' down. In the Gospels, Jesus sees Zaccchaeus in Jericho (Luke 19:1-10) and heals Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) on his way to Jerusalem.

This is Temptation Mountain, in the midst of the Judean wilderness where Jesus spent forty days being tempted by the devil. I am not well aquainted with deserts but the limited time I've had in the American southwest doesn't really prepare one for the Judean desert. In Lent, of course, we talk about "the wilderness" a lot. But it takes on new meaning for me and I know I'll have this image above in my mind as we make the Lenten journey this year. The contrast between the hills of Galilee and this place is just amazing.

This is our "family." Our group as previously mentioned totals seventeen. There are three groups of four and our group of five--four "families" that helps in making sure all are on the bus etc so we don't leave anyone behind. Patricia and Norman are both seminarians at Virginia Theological Seminary and you all know Marty and Chris by now. Yes, I should have remembered as we got off the bus either to tuck one half of my shirt in or untuck the other, but this is the picture I got nonetheless.

This has not been a solitary pilgrimage. Obviously I came with Marty and Chris but our group has become a "community" together--beyond our "family four" to include all of us, including our hosts. I wondered early in this journey about seeing the face of Jesus: I don't say this as a cliche but as my experience renewed here: Christ is made known in not only the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup but in the people who share those gifts of Word and Sacrament together. We are "family' because we are part of Christ's ecclesia, and in spite of all it's challenges it remains a place where I do find the living Christ.

What is left for us? The Pool at Bethsaida and further conversations about the politics here, which I'll blog about soon. And the "Holy Week"--i.e. Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa, and the Road to Emmaus and Resurrection. One week from now I'll be back home with my own family and while this has been an extraordinary time, I will definitely be ready for that journey as well.