by KATHLEEN CASEY
It was exciting on the second day of our Holy Land pilgrimage to view an authentic site for the baptism of Jesus at Bethany Beyond the Jordan.*
The site on the River Jordan where Jesus was believed to have been baptised.
This sits in a perennial riverbed named the Wadi Al-Kharrar towards the southern area of the Jordan river. It is now part of a large excavation site which cannot be entered but can be viewed from both ends.
We almost had the place to ourselves: it was peaceful. But this was not always so. Until 1996 the area was a minefield on the front between Jordan and Israel, with the river as the boundary. The 1994 peace treaty opened doorways for archaeologists and Church officials.
Encouraged by the Jordanian royal family, the country has built a new road from the Dead Sea area, walkways and a visitor centre. Several new churches are being built in the wider area including a very large Catholic church, assisted by Vatican funds. Pope Francis visited there last year, asked to stand where Jesus was baptised, and did this on his own, to pray.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan was this year designated a World Heritage site.
When we walked around the site to view from the further platform, excavated remnants of three churches were visible, one with Roman flagstones, another with a section of early, highly crafted mosaic flooring. The original church has a nave with four pillars and steps to one side. The area is subject to earthquakes and floods and the latter would have destroyed much over the centuries.
Pilgrims go into the Jordan River near where Jesus was baptised by John.
Authenticating the site was assisted by writings of early Christian pilgrims travelling on a route from Jerusalem to Jericho, across the Jordan and then to Mt Nebo. As far back as AD 333 pilgrims wrote of the baptism site of Bethany Beyond the Jordan. Theodosius in the sixth century described a church built by Byzantine emperor Anastasius as square-shaped and built on high arches to allow floods to pass underneath. Archaeologists believe now they have the remains of the piers on which this church was built. Latter pilgrims spoke of a small church said to have been built “on the place where the Lord’s clothes were placed”. Some gave distances from other landmarks.
Arising as a spring in barren desert to create a small oasis, the Wadi Kharrar flows 2km east to the Jordan River. Its fresh water would have been more suitable for baptisms than the murkier Jordan, which was subject to seasonal flooding.
Between the fourth and sixth centuries a monastery with four churches developed on St Elijah Hill, just above the springs feeding the stream. Pilgrims staying in the local hostel would immerse themselves in the waters and before the 1917 revolution the site was much revered by Russian pilgrims. Many hermits lived in caves in the area, celebrating a weekly common liturgy.
In the Baptism Archaeological Park, an area of several square kilometres, the Jordanian Department of Antiquities has excavated this monastery with four churches and chapels, a prayer hall, pools and a sophisticated water reticulation system. One church appears to have been built around a cave with fresh spring water.
For our group of 29 pilgrims led by Pat and Suzie McCarthy, it was special to celebrate Mass with Fr Bernie Thomas, OFM, in the large thatched shelter nearby on the quiet banks of the river. We renewed our baptismal vows and were sprinkled with water from the Jordan, a time for memories and emotion.
Many of us paddled in the quite muddy looking and narrow river. The peace agreement gave Israel the right to 60 per cent of the water, so much is taken off for agriculture before it reaches Jordan. The opposite side is the West Bank, lost to Israel in the 1967 war.
We touched ancient and sacred history. * Not to be confused with the Bethany of Jerusalem.
The site of Jesus’ baptism in Acts 15 does not sound as if it would be a site of peace today, with the news that we have left God’s place of worship and have walked into the wilderness. But what on earth was this place of worship? There must have been water there – a considerable amount of water perhaps, enough to enable the children to bathe, or cleanse themselves – otherwise we are talking about a very hot and humid desert area, and not a temperate zone like the New Testament Bible says that the Garden of Eden was. But isn’t peace what we all aim for anyway?
When I read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John I find that the authors write about the same things about the same events without different emphasis, but the motive behind the same events does vary slightly. In the first place we are told that when Jesus went out among his disciples to greet those who were at the synagogue on the day of Passover he met with joy and praise because he was known to be a Jew. Then immediately he went back to his own home speaking great words of welcome to the people, which pleased the people so much they had joy, praise and ate the Passover foods. We must always remember that the purpose of God in our lives is not to get us into trouble, but rather to bring us to live by faith.
At that time peace was indeed enjoyed by the disciples of Jesus and they lived in perfect harmony together. But the reason that Jesus went out amongst his followers to break bread and speak great soothing words is that he wanted to bring them to eternal life with Him and his Father. He knew that God will save his people from their sin; he did not know it then, but he knew it later. And we know that God has power over sin and therefore he used his death to break the power of sin and set up his kingdom among his people thus giving us peace and freedom from the guilt of sin.