Pilgrim’s Notes #3: Just Around the River Bend

The Baptism of Jesus Christ is one of the most significant events of the life of the Historical Jesus.  This marked the start of Jesus’ public ministry.  It is so significant that it was recorded in 3 of the Gospel accounts.

Traditionally, the pilgrims visit the Israel side of the Jordan River.  It believed that because Jesus was baptized in that river, all of its waters have been blessed.  But further studies indicate that the actual baptism may have taken place in Al-Magthas (Bethany town beyond the Jordan) in the country of Jordan.  The problem, though, is that the area being described used to be a military territory, with lots of land mines… up until the signing of the Peace Treaty with Israel in 1994.

The Israel side of the Jordan River is more developed for tourists, with lots of baptismal pools, and white robes you can buy/rent for the renewal of your baptismal vows. You can even get a DVD video of your baptismal renewal for a cost of $10.

One of the attractions is the ‘Wall of New Life,’ which has the passage of Jesus’ baptism translated in different languages.

And yes, they have the Tagalog translation! 😀

We had our renewal of baptismal vows at the Al-Magthas side.  It is said that John the Baptist lived in the area for about 20 years, and they preserved the look of the site, like it did 2,000 years ago.  It takes a 30 minute trek from the parking lot to the baptismal pool, though.  And it’s a dusty trek under the heat of the sun. And by the site of the dead Olive Trees and hundreds of flies that flew around, you know the area is not very commercialized.

We got to the site around 4:45pm and it was going to close at 5:00pm.  The security detail gave us a little bit of allowance to get to the main pool and do some prayers.  It was a blessing because there weren’t many tourists around anymore so we got the place all to ourselves.

The actual baptismal pool was dry so we couldn’t do the baptism there.

We had to walk farther, and pass by a church before getting into an area that gives us access to the actual river.

When we got to the river you can clearly see the demarkation lines (marked by water planks and tubes) that divides the river between the countries of Jordan and Israel.

There we did our reading and renewal of baptismal vows, without costumes — more of the ‘come as you are’ type, just like the olden days.

As we did the readings and the renewal certain thoughts stood out:

1. John the Baptist was truly the voice crying out in the wilderness.  He was born in Jerusalem, but his mission took him far, far, away through the desert in Jordan.  Armed with Faith and Courage, he took his mission to heart and worked hard towards achieving that.  Many times, certain opportunities come into my life, and I often held back — afraid of the unknown — afraid of failing.  I wish I had John the Baptist’s faith and strength.

2. Jesus Began his Public Ministry at the approximate age of 30.  Back in those ages, women married at 16.  The age 30, would’ve been considered as ‘old’.  The fulfillment of Jesus’ mission didn’t start until He matured.  How many times did I hear from other people that it would be difficult to reinvent myself because I have come of age?  How many times did I hear that I have no hope of marriage or starting a family because I am old? How many times did I tell myself I cannot go back and try to fulfill my unfulfilled dreams from my youth because it’s ‘too late?’ What I learned is that God’s timing is always perfect.  It doesn’t matter how old you get, if God wants you to be something, He will empower you to be just that.

3. Jesus had the humility to fall in line to be baptized like every one else. Humility is really one virtue that I need to learn.  Sometimes we get to ‘achieve’ certain things that it gets into our heads.  The reality, we all have a thing or two to learn from others, regardless of their stature or yours.  We are all the same, children of God.

4. Jesus’ act of humility pleased God. The passage read: “This is my Son, with whom I am very pleased.” Since I am a baptized Catholic, I share in Christ’s baptism.  But how many times in my life did I do things that did not/does not PLEASE GOD.  Along with the Grace of Baptism comes the responsibility of making our God proud.

And so what I take with me from the experience are these: to be keen to God’s instructions, and take courage to pursue that (despite my age), as well as the humility to allow myself to be helped by others along the way.  And in the pursuit and fulfillment of that mission, I must always strive to do things in a way that pleases God. 😀