3: On Jesus’ stage

The advent of Jesus’ public ministry arguably was his baptism by his relative John, the itinerant preacher of a new spiritual order, the man who set the scene for the emergence of the Christ. So it was apt that our second day, after our rushed arrival in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, would begin with a visit to the Jordan River  and that our first full day on Jesus’ trail would end in Cana, the site of his first recorded miracle.

Clearly Jesus had already exhibited his miraculous powers to the Virgin Mary (and perhaps even to his companions, whose astonishment at their friend’s uncanny ability of turning water into wine seemed rather understated). “Do what he tells you to do” is not the instruction of a mother unsure of her boy’s capacities. “Do what he tells you to do”, as any good homilist would agree, is good advice for all of us.

But first to the Jordan river. The probable site of Jesus’ baptism by John has been identified. It’s called Qasr El-Yahud. Alas, it is on the Jordanian side of the border and therefore inaccessible (the Southern Cross pilgrimage in 2001 visited the site while in Jordan). Qasr El-Yahud has the Vatican’s approval. Others may point to the Greek Orthodox monastery of St Gerasimus, near Jericho.

Archaelogy and surviving manuscripts of pilgrims in the first millennium provide many clues towards the authenticity of a holy site. If there is evidence that the early, local Christians venerated a particular site, then chances are good that the location is reasonably accurate. So it is with Qasr El-Yahud.

Instead of Qasr El-Yahud, we had to make do with the official Jordan River park at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, called Yardenit. Yardenit is designed primarily to cater for the pentecostal brand of Christianity that tends to opt for full immersion. It has the air of a tourist destination, rather than a place of prayer. But, depending where one looks, it is also has a serene beauty. One of our group celebrated what she saw as a spiritual rebirth by immersing herself in the Jordan, as the ancient pilgrims did in imitatio Christi.

From the Jordan we travelled along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret, as it is locally known, or Lake Genneseret, as Jesus knew it) to visit the church of the Beatitudes, a lovely, symmetric church in a peaceful setting overlooking the lake Our Lord and his disciples knew so well. The octagonal church  for the eight beatitudes  was designed by the famous Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi (who died in 1960 in the Holy Land) and financed by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini when it was built in 1937.

A plaque was set in the floor near the church’s entrance to record Il Duce’s largesse. After the fall and disgrace of Mussolini it became a source of embarrassment for the Church  and of mirth to tour guides, who for a cheap laugh would lift the rug the custodians had placed over the plaque. Wisely, the marker was eventually removed. By rights, the church shouldn’t be at the top of the rather hyperbolically termed mount (likewise, calling the lake at the bluff’s foot a “sea” is poetic licence liberally taken).

The revolutionary sermon of Matthew 5:1-12 was most likely preached on the hill’s gradient. The 4th century pilgrim Egeria described a cave which local tradition identified as Jesus’ pulpit, with his large audience below him, perhaps stretching to the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

We descended the mount by foot, a walk of about half an hour, in search of the cave. Once we reached it, our spiritual director, Mgr Clifford Stokes, remained there while the rest of us gathered at the foot of the bluff. From there we listened to his delivery of the beatitudes. Despite the considerable distance, every word was audible.

A stone’s throw away is the church of St Peter’s Primacy, the spot where the risen Jesus fixed the disciples a surprise breakfast (hence its alternative name, Mensa Christi, or “Christ’s Table”) and where he pushed Simon Peter’s volatile temper before entrusting the faithful into his spiritual care. Here we had an outdoor Mass, with the gentle waves of the Sea of Galilee only metres away providing a suitably serene soundtrack.

It was good to see the water levels of the lake back to normal, after it had receded alarmingly the last time The Southern Cross visited the Holy Land, in 2001.