Letter from Jordan: Land of the sunrise of Christianity

Hadrian's Gate at Jerash. Image: CJ

Colette Joyce, Justice and Peace co-ordinator with Westminster Diocese is currently on a pilgrimage to Jordan with Friends of the Holy Land. The visit has been hosted by the Jordanian Tourist Board who are keen to show that Jordan is still a country of peace and safety, despite the regional conflicts raging all around its borders.

Colette writes:

If there is one word that springs to mind after my first few days in the country it is 'hospitable'. Every where we go people call out, 'Where you from?' 'London, UK.' Ah, welcome to Jordan!' We have been extraordinarily well looked after by the hotel, restaurants, shops and site staff who want to show us the best that Jordan has to offer.

As we travel, we can see a country just getting on with life. It is hard to believe, at times, that there is so much turmoil just a few miles from here. While we've been here there have been attacks in Lebanon with pagers and walkie-talkies connected to Hezbollah exploding in streets and homes, killing dozens and injuring thousands more. Rockets have been fired at Israel, bombings continue in Gaza, arbitrary arrests take place in the West Bank and hostages from Israel still languish in Palestinian bunkers. Peace negotiations have faltered, as the risk of escalation rises, and it is hard to know how peace can possibly be restored.

For me, a strong motivation for making the trip was to show solidarity with the people of Jordan who are suffering from the effects of conflict in the region and also with all those in the Holy Land who are desperate to see an end to the fighting. Now that I am here, it is clear that they need that solidarity more than ever.

Before 7th October, Jordan would receive 7,000-8,000 tourists a day to its historic sites at Jerash and Petra. The sites are still open in all their glory but the visitors can now be counted in dozens. I have been stunned by their historic significance and beauty and hope very much to return to spend longer learning about them, hopefully with others, in the near future.

For Christians there is the added significance that these are Biblical lands and we have visited sites connected to Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Most deeply moving of all is the Baptism site, where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist 'on the far side of the Jordan' which was only identified in 1995 when excavations became possible following reduced military operations. It has been endorsed by Pope John Paul II and visited by Pope Francis in 2016.

Here, between the river and the desert, I felt for myself a deep sense of connection to what Bashar Twal, our guide and Biblical scholar, called 'the sunrise of Christianity.' Here is located the origin of Christian baptism that I experienced at six weeks old and which I have witnessed many hundreds of times since, most recently at Farm Street Church last Sunday. Priests from the new Catholic church rising above the shores of the , ordan poured water over our heads from a font beside the river to 'Remember your baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.' From the actions of John and Jesus sprang a faith tradition that now connects two billion people around the world and across two thousand years of time.

For Rustom Mkhjian, the Armenian Christian Director of the Baptism Site Commission who showed us round, one of the most remarkable aspects of the restoration of the Baptism Site is that it has been sponsored by the Muslim royal family who deeply understand the significance of the site for Christians and why they should protect it and make it accessible to pilgrims. "This," he said, "is how it should be everywhere in the world." Relations between Christians and Muslims are good here and there are deep lessons for peace to be learnt from the Jordanian approach to welcome and hospitality.

LINK

Friends of the Holy Land: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/