Bet you didn't know that White Memorial was a seminary academy, did you? Neither did we until we got to Israel. Our group really liked this sign unti I declared that there would be a test at the end of the week.
All kidding asdide, we were greeted by this sign in the window of our bus in Israel where Tony and Majdid picked us up.
Tonight we sleep at the Ein-Gedi Kibbutz Hotel. We are at the lowest point on the earth's surface, along the banks of the Dead Sea, in the heart of the Rift Valley. We are 1200 feet below sea level. Surrounded by desert the Kibbutz is a shear act of will and land management. It looks like a Spring blooming in the desert because it is.
Animals roam freely. Plants from all over the world grow in every imaginable manner. It is incredible. Especially considering everything around it is a moonscape. Desert. In every direction.
There is so little alive around here (including the sea), that the life-spring of the Kibbutz is enchanting; I find myself drawn into it. My heart seemed to beat a little lighter as our driver turned into it, taking us from the desert and into something green, cool, life-supporting. More on this later.
Most of the day was spent simply moving around from place to place. We can say now that we walked into Israel. Literally. The bus dropped us off in Jordan. We walked 100 or so yards through a severely fenced area, and, after more than 90 minutes in security and passport control for the 19 people in our group (there were only 4 others in line with us when we first arrived) we were able to enter Israel. I have no pictures of this as cameras and security officers did not seem to be all that compatible. It was a simple, but painstaking experience. A good reminder of the complexity of this part of the world. I can only say that from the travelers perspective the people in Jordan could not have been more pleasant or kind. And, the Israeli's we have met so far are just as welcoming. Kindness on both sides of the border. Go figure. And the painstaking security, most bags handchecked, every passport scrutinized, questions asked of each of us is a good reminder of the complexity of situation on both sides of the border. And let's face it -- within a matter of miles of the Israeli city of Eliat, the nations of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel all converge upon the Red Sea. And that makes it complicated. The kind of complication one cannot just wish away.
On the lighter side, we did get to "swim" in the Dead Sea. It was the strangest sensation I think I have ever had. The bottom is pure salt: as if salt had turned to smoothish rock. And the water simply will not allow a person to sink.
Tomorrow we head out to Massada, before heading on Northa to Jericho and then Galilee (that is a slight schedule adjustment -security took 1 hour longer than expected).
It is truly a full blessing in every sense to be here. One experience builds into the next. One thought leads to many, many more. One insight to more insights... Were Sodom and Gomorrah near Mt. Lot, on the southern end of the Dead Sea? How much did Jesus know of the tensions surrounding Massada - would he know what would happen there and how it would come to be a psychological and national symbol for the Hebrew people? What will we feel as we journey to Galilee to the Mount of Beatitudes? How close were we today to the spot where the Israelites walked over and through the Red Sea?
All around us the Biblical story unfolds and the metaphors of the Bible - water, life, well, strength, sheep, shepherd -- they come to life. One cannot help but wonder how green plants and life will return tomorrow when we start north and get beyond the Dead Sea and nearer the Jordan River. It is little wonder that John and Jesus shared Baptism there, really. From where they were there was desert all around, the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) to the South -- reminders of the fragile nature of life. And in the place of convergence -- where outflows from two mountain ranges converge in the Jordan River -- where all the water and life gathers to sings songs of praise to God, that is where Jesus began his ministry.
Here at Eid-Gedi, we are closer that we have yet been. I'll confess -- for my own part, I am excited about that.
"God - grant to us now the wonder of new eyes. For faith. For perspective. For deep seeded feeling. Help us to see that, though far removed, the stories of your gospel migh preserve us yet. Here in the land of your covenants and your promise, help us to know our own past more clearly, that we might, through your light see clearly into a future through which we might serve you with greater clarity: loving you and our neighbors as ourselves. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we pray these things. Amen."
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