Hikoi of Faith: The sound of deep calling on deep calling us to cross over

The crossing of the Jordan is significant in the Judaeo-Christian story.

The Jordan River was seen as barrier. Today it is an international border with armed guards and just a couple of crossing points.

The River Jordan... to the right the Jordanian side, to the left the West Bank occupied by Israel

Some 3500 years ago Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land. As the Israelites approached the Jordan River, (which is thought to have been four times its current size), it was in flood and had overflowed its banks. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant and as they put their feet into the waters of the Jordan River, it dried up. The waters piled up and the people of Israel were able to cross on dry land.

In the life of Jesus when he entered the waters of the Jordan to receive John's baptism for the forgiveness of sins, a crossing was made... As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.

But there was another biblical crossing... This is what happened when the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in the whirlwind: Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal Elijah said, 'Elisha, please stay here, the Lord is only sending me to the Jordan.' But he replied, 'As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!' And they went on together.

Fifty of the brotherhood of prophets followed them, halting some distance away as the two of them beside the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water; and the water divided to left and right, and the two of them crossed over dry-shod.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Make your request. What can I do for you before I am taken from you?' Elisha answered, 'Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.' 'Your request is a difficult one' Elijah said. 'If you see me while I am being taken from you, it shall be as you ask; if not, it will not be so.'

Now as they walked on, talking as they went, a chariot of fire appeared and horses of fire, coming between the two of them; and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw it and shouted, 'My Father! My Father! Chariot of Israel and its chargers!' Then he lost sight of him, and taking hold of his clothes he tore them in half. He picked up the cloak of Elijah which had fallen, and went back and stood on the banks of the Jordan. He took the cloak of Elijah and struck the water. 'Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?' he cried. He struck the water, and it divided to right and left, and Elisha crossed over.
- 2 Kings 2:1,6-14

When we were baptised, people of every nationality, we too share in Christ's baptism, the baptism of his death and resurrection. We too are anointed with the Holy Spirit... Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: 'The truth I have now come to realise' he said 'is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him. 'It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ - but Jesus Christ is Lord of all. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.'
- Acts 10:34-38

And this is how Jesus came to be baptised... Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. 'It is I who need baptism from you,' he said, 'and yet you come to me!' But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.' At this, John gave in to him.

As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.'

This is the anointing that is given to us. For at our baptism too the crossing between heaven and earth is opened and we receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Each one of us become a beloved son or daughter in the Son and God's favour does indeed rest on us. By baptism I received the pledge of eternal life. That is the gift of Baptism.

In Aotearoa New Zealand we might say...

Tuhua toku maunga... Tuhua is my mountain

Hokitika toku awa... Hokitika is my river

Ko Hata Maria toku whare karakia... St Mary's is my church

Ko Stephen Lowe ahau... I am Stephen Lowe

But we can equally say

Calvary toku maunga... Calvary is my mountain

The Jordan toku awa... The Jordan is my river

Ko Karaiti toku whare karakia... Christ is my Temple from whose side flows the waters of baptism and the blood of the Eucharist

Ko Stephen Lowe ahau... I am Stephen Lowe, a beloved son of God.

Of course that is the gift... There is a task, a work.

The Aboriginal elder Miriam Rose Ungunmerr speaks of Dadirri but which can equally be related to the life of all the baptised. She says,

To know me is to breathe with me

To breathe with me is to listen deeply

To listen deeply is to connect

It’s the sound

the sound of deep calling on deep

We are river people

We cannot hurry the river

We need to move with the current and understand its ways

We wait for the rain to fill our rivers

and water our thirsty earth

The time for rebirth is now

For we are called to blossom and grow

(Please check out the amazing video clip Dadirri - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pahz_WBSSdA

It is such life that all the baptised are called to... to breathe with Christ, to listen deeply to Him, to connect with Him in the depths of our being. We are a river people, and we should see our baptism not just as a moment, an event, but rather a river flowing through our lives, whose graces, if we are open to them, will allow us to blossom and grow as we move with the current of the Spirit and understand the Spirit's ways.

It was with such thoughts that Deacon Rawiri led us in the renewal of our baptismal promises as we stepped into the waters of the Jordan in our Eucharist today...

Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s children? I do

Do you reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin? I do

Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness? I do

Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth? I do

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? I do

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? I do

Deacon : God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.

From there we went to the ancient baptismal site where Jesus is believed to have been baptised at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan. The river has changed its meandering course but there have been ancient churches there from the 5th century. as seen in the photo of the archaeological site. There is also a spring whose waters would have joined the Jordan here and it was flowing.

St Paul tells us, When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's glory, we too might live a new life. If in union with Christ we have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his resurrection - Romans 6:3-5.

And so we see the steps going into the baptismal font in the shape of the cross. The priest would say I baptise you in the name of the Father, dunk under the water, and the Son, dunk under the water, and of the Holy Spirit, dunk under the water again. We then rise from the baptismal path as a child of God sharing everlasting life.

After Jesus' baptism by John he went into the wilderness for 40 days...

Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was very hungry, and the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves.' But he replied, 'Scripture says:

We do not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'

The devil then took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down; for scripture says:

He will put you in his angels' charge,
and they will support you on their hands
in case you hurt your foot against a stone.'

Jesus said to him, 'Scripture also says:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.'

Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 'I will give you all these', he said, 'if you fall at my feet and worship me.' Then Jesus replied, 'Be off, Satan! For scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.'

Then the devil left him, and angels appeared and looked after him.
- Matthew 4:1-11

So we too sat alone in the silence and uncomfortableness of the wilderness in prayer and reflection,