A letter from Doug Dicks in Jordan
July 9, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
When one thinks of the Holy Land, immediately the names of specific places come to mind: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho.
For us as Western Christians, our sense of place relevant to our faith is found rooted in the Bible. The names of these specific places evoke memories of biblical stories and pictures from our Sunday school years.
For Middle Eastern Christians, however, these places are very real. They not only read about these places in the Bible, but many Arab Christians continue to live in the cities and towns and in close proximity to where events of the Bible took place. They are the descendants of the Christian witness that has been “in the land” since Pentecost (Acts 2:11).
Here in Jordan, as in Israel and the Palestinian Territories to the west, every stone seems to embrace some historical significance of one kind or another. If you have ever visited the Holy Land, you are well aware of the presence of stones and rocks on just about every hillside. Is it any wonder that Christ told the Pharisees on his entry into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday that “if they (the crowd) were silent, the very stones would cry out”! (Luke 19:40).
His Grace Bishop Suheil Dawani officiating at the Eucharist by the Jordan River.
One such “place” is the Jordan River, which runs down the length of the great Rift Valley given the same name, and empties into the Dead Sea at the lowest spot on earth — 1,286 feet below sea level. The literal name of Jordan means “comes down from” or “comes down from Dan,” referring to the ruins of a Canaanite city-state that would later become known as Dan and lies in what is today the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Gospel of John refers to “Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing” (John 1:28), and to Jesus going ldquo;across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing” (John 10:40).
Jordanian Arab Anglican Christians making their way down to the River Jordan.
On January 23, 2009, I joined the Anglican (Episcopal) communities from all over Jordan and went “down to the river” Jordan for a worship service right by the water’s edge. Local Anglican Arab Christians from the various cities throughout Jordan — Amman, Husun, Irbid, Marka, Salt and Zarka — came by the busloads down to the river. His Grace Bishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, presided over the service, as did clergy from the various Anglican churches throughout Jordan. Students from the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, led by Brother Andrew de Carpentier, “signed” a song in Arabic, as part of the worship service. Worship concluded with a Communion service and the sprinkling of water from the River Jordan on congregants, using olive branches.
I couldn’t help but think of the words to the song “Down to the River to Pray,” as I watched several hundred persons make their way “down” to the River Jordan on that day.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way.Oh sinners, let’s go down,
Let’s go down, come on down,
Oh sinners, let’s go down,
Down in the river to pray.
In 2008, His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan bequeathed to the various church denominations two acres of land each, upon which they are allowed to build a church and a guest house. The only stipulation was that construction had to begin within two years; otherwise, the land reverts to the Hashemite Kingdom. Already, many of the denominations have broken ground, and the beginnings of churches and guest houses are rising on the shores of the Jordan River.
Sites and stones are, perhaps, all very important in our understanding of and appreciation for the roots of our Christian faith. Yet, if our faith was to remain embedded only in the sites and stones of ancient history, no matter how rich that might seem, it would be a very sad commentary on the life of the church and on our own lives as believers in the Risen Christ.
I am often disappointed by the large number of tourists and travelers to the Holy Land who never engage with the living, breathing church of today. Traversing from one archaeological or “holy” site to another, many often forfeit, unaware, authentic encounters with the “living stones” of Christianity today.
In her booklet “Companions of God: Praying for Peace in the Holy Land,” Janet Morley reminds us that “we are accustomed to praying with our eyes shut,” but that “pilgrimage prayer requires us, by contrast, to keep our eyes open. This means noticing not only the sites we have come to see, but what is going on currently for the people who live there.”
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East, through its ministries of education, health care and social services for the mentally and physically handicapped and the elderly, continues to serve as a living beacon of hope and Christian witness in a part of the world where the light of hope is often dimmed by warfare, strife and political realities.
Jordanian Christians constitute approximately 3 percent of Jordan’s population of nearly 6 million and are allocated 10 percent of the seats in the Jordanian Parliament. Most Arab Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox church (called "Ruum Urthudux" in Arabic). The rest are Roman Catholics (called "Lateen"), Eastern Catholics who are Melkites (called “Ruum Katoleek” to distinguish them from “Western Catholics”) and various Protestant communities.
Doug
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.349
