"In those days Jesus came from Nazaeth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open adn the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." - Mark 1:9-11
A few weeks ago I went with the youth group to Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, where archaeologists believe John the Baptist preached and where Jesus was baptized. Different churches [the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Church] take different Fridays to celebrate the baptism of Jesus. The Orthodox Church held a large service, where thousands of people gathered. The river is almost-stagnant and polluted, and like many pilgrimage sites*, it was hard to take in the meaning of the palace when crowds were pushing at us from all sides and guards were present to prevent people from crossing over into Israel & Palestine, which is almost within arms reach.
All that being said, it was neat to be able to be in such a historically Biblical site. And it was great to spend the day with friends from youth group. Here are some pictures from the day:
Touching the Jordan River.
*When I visited Bethlehem back in November, my roomie and I were at the Church of the Nativity. While in the lower "cave" where the exact location of where Jesus was born is said to be, women were kneeling to pray. The guard standing near by immediately started announcing, quite loudly: "There are thousands of people waiting outside. If every one stopped to pray, do you know how long it would take to get everyone through here? Keep moving! No time to pray in here, pray outside."
Oh goodness.
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