The United Methodist church does not recognize the need for multiple baptisms, you are baptized once and that is all that is required. However, we do have a service of reaffirmation or remembering your baptism. So it is only fitting that at the Jordan River, at the site where tradition holds John the Baptizer baptized Jesus, that we 110 United Methodist would reaffirm our baptism. But who knew…
The day had alternated between overcast and clear. We had brief periods of rainy drizzle, but certainly nothing to compare to the downpours of the previous day. As we approached our appointed site along the Jordan we had to pass hundreds of ceramic tiles with the story of our Lord’s baptism in the various languages of Christians from all over the world, from Urdu, to Tagalong to Haitian Creole, with a special spot reserved for Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin. We passed those that were self directing their reaffirmation, and changing into white robes purchased for just that purpose. Throes of folk emerged from dressing rooms to walk across the pebbles and down in the waters. They emerged drenched and dripping and delighted. You could see it resonating on their faces.
As we listened together by the waters those words of our ritual, white birds, not doves, but white none the less, danced over the top of the water and the raindrops began to fall. As the bishop dowsed you with water from the Jordan, God dowsed us with rain from above. And we sang wade in the water, and rejoiced. What could be more complete?
God was not through with us yet. As we emerged from the building surrounding the water’s edge there in the sky over the Jordan, over Israel was a full rainbow. Covenant of the Old Testament and New converge.
This was the thinnest of places.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Dashing through the New Testament
Well not the entire New Testament, but certainly the gospels. We began today on the Mount of the Beatitudes at the Church of the Beatitudes a Franciscan church at the site of the Sermon on the Mount. The geography of the place revealed how it would have been possible to preach and teach to such a large group of people, because it was a natural bowl leading down to the Sea of Galilee. From there we went to the Sea of Galilee for a boat ride. While on the boat Bishop Hutchinson lead us my favorite Gospel narrative, the story from Mark of the storm on the waters. The story took on an entirely new meaning because as we were on the water it grew more and more calm, when we knew that the weather had churned up the waters yesterday, and actually again later in the day. So we could clearly envision a storm boiling up quickly and dissipating with equal swiftness. Of course, the view from a boat is always the best, and it was true as we sat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee (actually a lake) and watched the town of Tiberius where we are staying.
From there we walked over to an archeological site where a first century fishing boat had been recovered from the Sea of Galilee during a drought year. The film that we watched detailed the recovery efforts that went into reclaiming this boat from the Sea. The we jumped onto the bus for a brief stop at two Gospel sites, the Church of the loaves and fishes and the Church of Peter’s primacy. At the first stop the church was the location where Jesus is said to have blessed the five loaves and two fish for the feeding of the multitudes. This is the site of an ongoing construction of a Benedictine monastery. This is also the site of first century mosaics that appear on modern day liturgical garments and pottery. The second stop was a smaller church on the sea where Jesus is said to have appeared to the disciples following his resurrection. This is the place where after the bad night of fishing the disciples, following the directions of Jesus, fished on the other side, and pulled in the 153 fish. Here Peter was questioned three times of his love for Jesus.
Although noon time passed our morning was not complete. Our next location as Capernaum and we viewed an archeological site complete with a first century house church, a ruin and a fourth century synagogue built on a first century synagogue. But the most intriguing part of the visit was a chorus of “In the Sweet bye and bye” and the Battle hymn of the republic, sung by a group of Romanian Pentecost’s that were visiting at the same time.
The veil was pulled far back, this was a thin place.
From there we walked over to an archeological site where a first century fishing boat had been recovered from the Sea of Galilee during a drought year. The film that we watched detailed the recovery efforts that went into reclaiming this boat from the Sea. The we jumped onto the bus for a brief stop at two Gospel sites, the Church of the loaves and fishes and the Church of Peter’s primacy. At the first stop the church was the location where Jesus is said to have blessed the five loaves and two fish for the feeding of the multitudes. This is the site of an ongoing construction of a Benedictine monastery. This is also the site of first century mosaics that appear on modern day liturgical garments and pottery. The second stop was a smaller church on the sea where Jesus is said to have appeared to the disciples following his resurrection. This is the place where after the bad night of fishing the disciples, following the directions of Jesus, fished on the other side, and pulled in the 153 fish. Here Peter was questioned three times of his love for Jesus.
Although noon time passed our morning was not complete. Our next location as Capernaum and we viewed an archeological site complete with a first century house church, a ruin and a fourth century synagogue built on a first century synagogue. But the most intriguing part of the visit was a chorus of “In the Sweet bye and bye” and the Battle hymn of the republic, sung by a group of Romanian Pentecost’s that were visiting at the same time.
The veil was pulled far back, this was a thin place.
From the edge...
Friday was spent traveling up and down the road to visit various historic sites, very much a feeling of “if this is Friday we must be in Israel sort of day. It was cold and rainy, a day the Scots would call “drietch,” and we were excited, wet and chilled. My feet had achieved a new degree of “pruney.” So the best thing to do would be to get a hot shower, enjoy a meal and hit the bed. But no, there is a lecture on the Galilee planned for this evening, so after dinner we will be herding ourselves into a lecture hall and listening to a lecture.
This may not be the best plan.
Add to it the lecturer, a very knowledgeable speaker, hails from the South, the south of Africa. He has this delightful lilting twang, and we were in a quandary. Myself, I was hastily taking a few notes, as my seat neighbor said, this is great sermon preparation, and while note taking all the time battling nodding off. By no means was this a boring lecture, indeed, very compelling, but for the most part many of us were battling the energy of the day against the interest of his information. However, not only an informed speaker he was a wise man and finished an informationally laden presentation in 45 minutes. We could all still be in bed before Blue Bloods came on the television.
So from the edge of wakefulness, there was a thin place.
This may not be the best plan.
Add to it the lecturer, a very knowledgeable speaker, hails from the South, the south of Africa. He has this delightful lilting twang, and we were in a quandary. Myself, I was hastily taking a few notes, as my seat neighbor said, this is great sermon preparation, and while note taking all the time battling nodding off. By no means was this a boring lecture, indeed, very compelling, but for the most part many of us were battling the energy of the day against the interest of his information. However, not only an informed speaker he was a wise man and finished an informationally laden presentation in 45 minutes. We could all still be in bed before Blue Bloods came on the television.
So from the edge of wakefulness, there was a thin place.
Friday, January 13, 2012
The seasons in a day
That’s not completely true, although it makes a boastful title. We did not experience an Israeli summer yesterday, but we experienced the other three. We departed from our hotel on the edge of the Sea of Galilee and headed towards the ancient ruins of Bet She’an. It was a beautiful spring day. The bougainvilleas were in full bloom, reds, purples and even a yellow or two. We were in high adventurous spirits as we began the tour, exploring the ruins. But as we emerged from the bathhouse the clouds above were laden with rain, and it became dark and menacing. Suddenly spring had turned to fall, and fall did the rain.
But we donned our foul weather gear of various colors and effectiveness and continued on the tour. This is a chance that won’t pass this way again, so a little rain should not slow you down. The guide was kind enough to find us a sheltered place, tell us what we were about to see and what to pay attention to, and then send us on our way. He continually repeats, Chop chop and shake a leg, which ominous sounds like an accented break a leg. We would scurry through the sprinkle and downpours to the next sheltered location, and completed the tour.
From Bet She’an we proceeded to Caesarea and on the way the rain became a real frog choker. And weather turned from fall to winter, with hail that lined the roadway like snow. At Caesarea we watched a couple of interesting films about the construction of the harbor there, and the innovations in concrete usage (volcanic ash and water) to create a breakwater. All of which has been destroyed by the sea and multiple invaders. But the weather was too harsh to walk any of the ruins, so we returned to the bus. And no more than a mile down the road we had returned to fall. So we were able to get out and view a first century Roman aqueduct, right on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Fall stayed with us for the remainder of the day. We ventured to Megiddo a high plateau fortress that overlooks the valley of Jezreel or as it is commonly referred to Armageddon. From the heights of the plateau, we overlooked an original excavation by the University of Chicago that revealed elements back to 3000 B.C.E. And then we scaled the depths, and that is what it felt like, as we went down 183 steps into the spring for the fortress which is still functional.
Our next stop was to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. A beautifully constructed church housing a first century home, similar to the one Mary would have been visited by the angel Gabriel. The first floor of the church is simple, and the second housing the Catholic worship space is ornate and splendid. From this magnificent structure we visited the Greek Orthodox Church of the annunciation (no they are not the same because as Christians we can’t agree on most things). This church was much smaller but no less ornate. It housed the spring of water for the town of Nazareth and it too is still a functioning spring.
The day was filled with thin places, but none more thin that the camaraderie we shared as 40 wet, cold pilgrims.
But we donned our foul weather gear of various colors and effectiveness and continued on the tour. This is a chance that won’t pass this way again, so a little rain should not slow you down. The guide was kind enough to find us a sheltered place, tell us what we were about to see and what to pay attention to, and then send us on our way. He continually repeats, Chop chop and shake a leg, which ominous sounds like an accented break a leg. We would scurry through the sprinkle and downpours to the next sheltered location, and completed the tour.
From Bet She’an we proceeded to Caesarea and on the way the rain became a real frog choker. And weather turned from fall to winter, with hail that lined the roadway like snow. At Caesarea we watched a couple of interesting films about the construction of the harbor there, and the innovations in concrete usage (volcanic ash and water) to create a breakwater. All of which has been destroyed by the sea and multiple invaders. But the weather was too harsh to walk any of the ruins, so we returned to the bus. And no more than a mile down the road we had returned to fall. So we were able to get out and view a first century Roman aqueduct, right on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Fall stayed with us for the remainder of the day. We ventured to Megiddo a high plateau fortress that overlooks the valley of Jezreel or as it is commonly referred to Armageddon. From the heights of the plateau, we overlooked an original excavation by the University of Chicago that revealed elements back to 3000 B.C.E. And then we scaled the depths, and that is what it felt like, as we went down 183 steps into the spring for the fortress which is still functional.
Our next stop was to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. A beautifully constructed church housing a first century home, similar to the one Mary would have been visited by the angel Gabriel. The first floor of the church is simple, and the second housing the Catholic worship space is ornate and splendid. From this magnificent structure we visited the Greek Orthodox Church of the annunciation (no they are not the same because as Christians we can’t agree on most things). This church was much smaller but no less ornate. It housed the spring of water for the town of Nazareth and it too is still a functioning spring.
The day was filled with thin places, but none more thin that the camaraderie we shared as 40 wet, cold pilgrims.
All God's children
It’s an aircraft. It’s a big aircraft, with 10 seats across divided by two aisles. It is divided into sections; first, business, coach and the back of the bus. Now the designation of back of the bus is not one that the airlines recognize, but for those of us enroute to Tel Aviv there was no doubt about it – there was a difference between coach and the back of the bus. First, of all this aircraft was no outfitted with personal video in the headrest of the seat in front of you, but everyone was expected to watch the four movies selected by someone in authority in the order they had selected. Now 20 years ago this was a big screen. By today’s standards, it wasn’t even medium screen. I can’t tell you about the quality of the resolution, because in the back of the bus, the video was not operational. 10 hours no video.
Well, video is not all that important or significant. It’s only a ten hour flight (perhaps you fly to places too far away when 10 hours sounds reasonable). You could always read for some of that time. Except that in the back of the bus the overhead lights do not work. That’s not completely accurate. Through about an hour of experimentation one of my seat mates discovered that the lights did work. Our switches controlled the lights seven rows in front of us. And while that was entertaining for awhile, particularly when the people in that row couldn’t figure out what was going on; it did not have the capability of sustaining our interest. However, the lack of lights did completely eliminate the possibility of reading while in flight. 10 hours no video, no reading.
That left the options of sleeping and people watching. And while sleeping is possible on an aircraft in the back of the bus, it is by no mean comfortable. And the opportunities for people watching were endless. In the back of the bus with me was a group of young people from New York who were as a group going to Israel. They were Jewish, and many spoke fluent Hebrew. One was the chief negotiator and reshuffled people around in their seats so that they could be with loved ones, or ones they wanted to love. Several of them crisscrossed the aircraft by walking across the armrests. I think that is an activity reserved for the very light and graceful.
But the best people watching began as the sun peaked out over our horizon. First the Muslims came to the back of the bus, spread their blankets and began to pray. Then the Jews came to the rear of the aircraft and began their prayers. Women with head scarves, and bearded men with shawls, together in the back of the bus praying to their god. And this Christian watched as nothing divided us and we prayed together.
This is a thin place.
Well, video is not all that important or significant. It’s only a ten hour flight (perhaps you fly to places too far away when 10 hours sounds reasonable). You could always read for some of that time. Except that in the back of the bus the overhead lights do not work. That’s not completely accurate. Through about an hour of experimentation one of my seat mates discovered that the lights did work. Our switches controlled the lights seven rows in front of us. And while that was entertaining for awhile, particularly when the people in that row couldn’t figure out what was going on; it did not have the capability of sustaining our interest. However, the lack of lights did completely eliminate the possibility of reading while in flight. 10 hours no video, no reading.
That left the options of sleeping and people watching. And while sleeping is possible on an aircraft in the back of the bus, it is by no mean comfortable. And the opportunities for people watching were endless. In the back of the bus with me was a group of young people from New York who were as a group going to Israel. They were Jewish, and many spoke fluent Hebrew. One was the chief negotiator and reshuffled people around in their seats so that they could be with loved ones, or ones they wanted to love. Several of them crisscrossed the aircraft by walking across the armrests. I think that is an activity reserved for the very light and graceful.
But the best people watching began as the sun peaked out over our horizon. First the Muslims came to the back of the bus, spread their blankets and began to pray. Then the Jews came to the rear of the aircraft and began their prayers. Women with head scarves, and bearded men with shawls, together in the back of the bus praying to their god. And this Christian watched as nothing divided us and we prayed together.
This is a thin place.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Another search underway
The search for thin places begins anew, but this time I am visiting the Holy Land of Israel with about 110 friends. And if the seating arrangements on the plane are any indication, some of us will be much closer by the time we return.
As a reminder, Celts talk about “thin places”, places where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin that the two blend together. Thin places are locations or settings where spiritual beings find themselves drawn nearer to the spirit. For me, as a Christian, that would be the spirit of the Trinitarian God, but for others it may take different shapes or spirits. There are places that are traditionally thought to be “thin places”; the Isle of Iona off the West coast of Scotland is certainly an example. And for Christians, Jews and Muslims, this Holy place of Jerusalem and the Middle east certainly is a thin place.
Part of my quest in this search for thin places is certainly to explore those places with the tradition of “thinness,” but more importantly to seek out and locate those places that are thin but could easily be missed. What if we could all find thin places in our day to day journeys? What might our world look like then?
As a reminder, Celts talk about “thin places”, places where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin that the two blend together. Thin places are locations or settings where spiritual beings find themselves drawn nearer to the spirit. For me, as a Christian, that would be the spirit of the Trinitarian God, but for others it may take different shapes or spirits. There are places that are traditionally thought to be “thin places”; the Isle of Iona off the West coast of Scotland is certainly an example. And for Christians, Jews and Muslims, this Holy place of Jerusalem and the Middle east certainly is a thin place.
Part of my quest in this search for thin places is certainly to explore those places with the tradition of “thinness,” but more importantly to seek out and locate those places that are thin but could easily be missed. What if we could all find thin places in our day to day journeys? What might our world look like then?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Ancient temples and sweat
Today we spent the day in Angkor Wat, the largest temple complex in the world. We visited Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Angkor Phom. Angkor Phom is the place where Angelina Jolie filmed the movie tomb raider. That temple complex was in the process of being destroyed by nature when the French found it in the 12th century. Abandoned for several years by the Cambodian King, the trees had begun to uproot the foundations. Despite several centuries of restoration, and a couple of wars, the trees are still winning. What do you think that has to say about how we take care of things?
It was an all day expedition, in the heat and humidity. We were all soaked. And we are all in one combined room, preparing to depart. But it felt so good to be showered and clean. Next, on to dinner, and then the airport. Homeward bound.
this was a thin place sort of day.
It was an all day expedition, in the heat and humidity. We were all soaked. And we are all in one combined room, preparing to depart. But it felt so good to be showered and clean. Next, on to dinner, and then the airport. Homeward bound.
this was a thin place sort of day.
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