Now the people were filled
with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.
~Gospel of Luke, Chapter 3, verses 15 - 18
Listening to the readings on this third
Sunday of Advent made my mind wander back to my recent press trip to Jordan and,
specifically, to our visit to the very site where John the Baptist baptized
Jesus on the River Jordan.
When our group of Catholic Bloggers and Journalists first arrived at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, I was surprised when our
first stop was a secluded area with wooden walkways – an active excavation site
– where the remains of a 2nd century church have been found adjacent
to hermit caves.
As our guide, preservationist Rustom
Mkhjian, explained, finding the remains of the
chapel serves as confirmation for archeologists that these are, indeed, the caves where John the Baptist and his followers lived and carried out his
mission. That is why an early Christian community developed there.
Visiting the caves made even more sense
when I saw how close the cave dwellings are to the Jordan River.
Our guide, Rustom Mkhjian, explains the site's history
 |
| No, Pope Francis was not with us -- this photo from his visit to Jordan |
 |
| Our guide Rustom Mkhjian was also Pope Francis' guide! |
A personal visit by each of our last three Popes validates
Bethany Beyond the Jordan as the place where John baptized Jesus—as much as the archaeological excavations that have taken place on this east bank over the
past two decades.
Although the Jordan River serves as the border between the
countries of Israel and Jordan, the Jordan here is maybe 20 feet wide—truly more
a creek than a river!
But for me, it is precisely the river’s dimensions—as well as
the preservation of its natural habitat, that made Bethany Beyond the Jordan a
solemn site, genuinely mystical.
That afternoon, sitting on the banks of
the Jordan River by myself during our group’s free time, it was not difficult
to imagine Jesus meeting John there… As
I prayed and listened to the stillness, the most consistent sound I heard was that of the
breeze blowing through the reeds.
With my feet dangling into the water, my
heart felt giggly with joy… which made me sing out loud for almost an hour!
I took a short video that I’d like to
share with you here. No, it’s not of me singing:
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him."
~ Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 3, verse 13
Like a sculptor
eagerly awaiting the beautiful image that wants to be birthed from the plain
slab of stone, all of us have a one-of-a-kind spirit created by God that is
waiting to burst out. God created this unique spirit inside each of us for a
reason. God needs us to live out who we are in the world in which we live. He
needs me to be me, fully me, truly me––for my family, my neighbors, my work
mates, my parish community, my city, my state. There are no coincidences, so
everything about who I am––even my past, my experiences, my family––was given
to me for a reason. And I have been placed within this reality for a reason,
too.
Living with the
heart of a pilgrim requires that I allow my spirit to be birthed into my world.
And it demands that I trust the map that God has created for the pilgrimage of
my life. My pilgrimage is not random or generic or communal, but
personal and specific. I was birthed into this moment by a Creator whose vision
for the world not only includes but requires me. I am an explicit part of his
plan!
[all photos and video © Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda --
except the Pope photos, courtesy of Jordan Tourism Board]
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