Thursday was a very busy day. It was our "Desert Day" and it lived up to that name and it far exceeded our expectations. Our first visit was to the fortress of Masada. This fortress sits some 1300 feet above the Dead Sea and was the site of a valiant, but futile standoff by the Israelites. The height of the fortress is hard to imagine, but the work that the people were able to accompish atop this mountain is nothing short of superhuman.
Next we moved to Qumran. A desert city that housed scribes and other men that were disgusted by the High Priesthood of the Jewish Religion. These men, the Essenes, packed up their lives and hiked out into a remote part of the desert to be alone with their beliefs and their books. They hid many manuscripts in the caves of the area so the Romans would not find them and destroy them. Years upon years later, a Shepherd chasing a lost sheep tossed a rock into a cave and heard a crash. He went in to find a broken jar with a piece of leather in it. He took the leather to a shoemaker in Jerusalem who recognized the writings on the leather as writings of his religious heritage and eventually, the Dead Sea Scrolls were located!
From there, it was on to the Dead Sea. The Salt Sea. 11 men bobbing up and down in the water. It was a refreshing, humorous, and revitalizing dip in the water. 11 men turned to boys as they delighted in this phenomena of the Dead Sea.
After our revitalizing dip, we ventured into an area that has been closed until very recently. We went to the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized our Lord and Savior. To say that the river called to us would seem somewhat trivial, but it would certainly be accurate. We ventured to the river's edge and stepped into the water. After that, we were lead in the prayer to renew our own Baptismal Covenants. Our moods and minds shifted gears at that point. As we said those words from the same spot God spoke about His only begotten Son as "One in whom I am well pleased," we felt God's pleasure! To put it into words fails me.
Directly after our renewal of Baptism, we headed for the desert. Catch the meaning! Directly after coming out of the Jordan and feeling God's pleasure, we headed for the desert! Thankfully, we were not being tempted, but simply being called to finish our journey for the day. Father Eric summed it up very well in his homily. What follows is what I took from his homily. My apologies, Eric, if I missed some of your message!
Are you building up a defensive, but futile stronghold in hopes that nobody can reach you? Have you packed up your things and gone into seclusion in an effort to avoid everyone and everything you find distasteful? Are you ready to become revitalized through the washing of the water and the word? Are you ready to become that new creation spoke of in God's Word?
Jesus says, "Come, follow me."
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