Taking Flesh and Dwelling among us

This morning started with a beautiful sunrise over the Sea of Galilee with flocks of birds flying across the lake and in from of Mount Hermon

Our day was spent in Nazareth, with the Holy Family, the child Jesus, Mary and Joseph. When began by reflecting on Paul's letter to the Galatians

When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons and daughters. The proof that you are children is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, 'Abba, Father,' and it is this that makes you a son and daughter, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you children, then he has made you heirs.
- Galatians 4:4-7

Jesus took flesh in a family with familial relationships. God's plan for our salvation not only entailed his Son, our Redeemer, Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer and Joseph the Guardian of the Redeemer. He would have called Joseph Abba, Father, and that is the name he taught us to call God, Abba. It is a name and relationship of closeness and love. By Jesus' death and resurrection we are invited into his family. With him, as sons and daughters we too call God, Abba, Father.

Arriving at Nazareth we had Mass at the Church of the Annunciation.

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favoured!  The Lord is with you.'  She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid, you have won God's favour.  Listen!  You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.'  Mary said to the angel, 'But how will this come about, since I am a virgin?'  'The Holy Spirit will come upon you,' the angel answered, 'and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow.  And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.  Know this too: Your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.'  'I am the handmaid of the Lord,' said Mary, 'let what you have said be done to me.' And the angel left her.
- Luke 1:26-38

It happened here, in this place. We might be put off by the immensity of the church or the crowds... but here in all simplicity the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary. And rather than simply say yes, Mary entered into dialogue with the angel... How can this come about? It's a great reminder that in our prayer its okay to say I don't understand, but in the end Mary, like each one of us, is invited in trust to  surrender. And so her 'I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me.' is her Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. In giving her "yes" she is in essence saying, "This is my womb, my  body, that is given for you" to her Son who gave his body for hers and our salvation.

This is the invitation to us too, in obedience to the Father and by being open to the Spirit to allow Jesus to take flesh in us.

Later as I prayed the Eucharistic Prayer and prayed over the bread and wine I reflected the same dynamic is happening... As I laid hands over the bread and wine I was conscious of the power of the Most High covering the bread and wine with its shadow as the Holy Spirit was invoked upon it so that, through the words of Jesus, it becomes Jesus' Body and Blood. The ministry of a priest is one that causes us to be awe, that God chooses lowly men to be his priests...  just as he chose a lowly woman to be the Mother and a simple carpenter to become the child's guardian. Our God asks each of us to emulate Mary's words, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to your word.

One who did was Sr Teresa Donworth who then renewed her vows as she approaches 60 years since she entered the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

Eternal Triune God,

 trusting in your faithful love,

 I, Sr Teresa Donworth , renew my vows

to live life

following Christ in chastity, poverty, obedience and zeal.

I commit myself anew

 to serve the Church in the apostolate

 entrusted to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

Grant me the grace, Lord,

 through the intercession of our Lady

 and the prayers and support of my institute,

 to live these vows faithfully

The steadfast love of our God endures forever. 

With you Sr Teresa, we rejoice at how God has loved you. 

Blessed indeed are you each of you, for trusting as Mary, 

that God’s word to you would be fulfilled. 

We confidently pray that God, who has begun this good work in you, 

will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.

We praise and thank God with you for His faithful love 

which has inspired and enabled your fidelity. 

We thank you, too, for witness of your life and your example of loving service. 

May God fill your heart with love, peace and joy. Amen.

We then went down to the lower level of the church where we visited the home of the Holy Family. Nazareth was a village of caves. After the Roman Empire became Christian under Constantine in 313 his mother Helena came to the Holy Land to secure many of the holy sites for pilgrims. This cave was recognised as the home of the Holy Family.

Inside and outside the basilica are various mosaics of Mary from various countries... these are just a few... there is none from New Zealand!

Before we left we sang Mo Maria under the Ukranian icon praying for peace 

We then visited the Synagogue Church. There has been a church on the site of the Nazareth Synagogue since the 12th century. During our visit there we reflected this is where Jesus learnt to practice his Jewish faith. It was also where he would have learnt to read. People didn't have scrolls in their homes! And it was there he returned to announce the fulfilment of the ancient prophecy... 

Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him. He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue  on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, "This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen." And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.
- Luke 4:14-22

That same Spirit of the Lord has been given to each of us in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. We too have been anointed to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.

Before leaving we prayed that we too might learn from the Divine Master in that place to love and serve after his example.

Hany, the guardian of the church was delighted to have a group from New Zealand... he has a great number of relatives in New Zealand

Our final visit was to the Church of St Joseph. The church was built in 1914 on the site of an earlier 12th century church. The caves, granaries and wells in the lower level were used by the early dwellers in Nazareth. Travellers who had visited the place in the 7th century pointed out that this been the location of the carpentry shop of Joseph. Later traditions identify the place as being the house of Joseph.

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins." Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son 
and they will call him Emmanuel, 
a name which means " God-is-with-us". 

When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord told him to do: he took his wife to his home.
- Matthew 1:18-24

The New Zealand film Nativity has a scene where Mary asks Joseph to recount his dream... She asks Joseph, "So are you afraid?" "Yes," he replied. "Are you?" Joseph wonders in the film whether he will ever be able to teach the child anything... you can see the short clip at the link here https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqrks9

This is the amazing task Mary and Joseph were entrusted with. Imagine the Son of God living in the abject simplicity and poverty of Nazareth. And Joseph, the silent man but also the decisive man, who kept listening to the angel in his dreams, taking Mary and the child to Egypt in the face of the danger that Herod posed for the child. 

For me, my favourite features of the church are its windows...

The dreaming of Joseph in the lower church

The marriage of Mary and Joseph

The Dying of Joseph

Joseph's workshop/house

A map of the caves below the church

The baptistry in the lower church

The upper church... The dreaming of Joseph

The Holy Family

The dying of Joseph

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 

And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of

our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: 

Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary...

And the Word was made Flesh: 

And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary...

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, 

that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

Do you love me? Will you give your life for me?

 

This morning, after farewelling Fadi, the most beloved of the Jordanian guides. we left the Kingdom of Jordan and journeyed into Israel through the Palestinian Territories, crossing the Jordan River as the people of Israel did so long ago... 

When the people struck camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant in front of the people.  As soon as the bearers of the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests who carried it touched the waters (the Jordan overflows the whole length of its banks throughout the harvest season) the upper waters stood still and made one heap over a wide space - from Adam to the fortress of Zarethan - while those flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea, stopped running altogether.  The people crossed opposite Jericho.  The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood still on dry ground in mid-Jordan, and all Israel continued to cross dry-shod till the whole nation had finished its crossing of the river.

- Joshua 3:13-17

Our mode of crossing wasn't quite the same... we used the King Hussein Bridge.

For the people of Israel God gave them this land and under Joshua they entered the land and conquered the land. This defining gift of the land led to the Zionist movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries." A key phrase was, "A land without a people for a people without a land." There was a problem, however, that there were a people there, the Palestinians. In 1948 the War of Independence occurred when Britain withdrew. In 1967 the Six Day War saw Israel annex the West Bank which had formerly been Jordanian. Many Christians were moved from their homes to the area around Nazareth. Many Palestinians were moved from their homes and taken to the Jordanian border.

We reflected that the loss of Palestinian land, resources, homes and language here can be paralleled in the story of Māori in Aotearoa. As the Treaty was not honoured, nor have the various International peace treaties. We reflected the concept of the Treaty, of sharing land and resources and living in harmony are the very principles that are the ways of peace. Does God give us land and resources for exclusion and impoverishment of some? Does God condone the stripping of dignity and lives.

Our prayer was for peace as we crossed the border which is an visible sign of the sad divisions in this Holy Land.

The process of checking the border is not easy. It took us about 90 minutes. The formalities in Jordan are relatively simple but in Israel we have to wait at two or three checkpoints and go through the arrivals terminal which involved two luggage screenings and three passport checks. 

We then entered Zone C of the Palestinian Territories which is under complete Israeli military control. Even though it is Palestinian Territories new Jewish settlements are being built in contravention of the international peace treaties. To the right of the highway security fences are evident with much of the land leading down to the Jordan still mined from the Six Day War. When we entered Israel proper our bus was inspected by armed Israeli soldiers... a new experience for many of our group.

The first stop was the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha, a name which means seven springs... 

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee - or of Tiberias - and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, 'Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?' He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, 'Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.' One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said, 'There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?' Jesus said to them, 'Make the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, 'Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.' So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, 'This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

- John 6:1-15

One wonders whether the small gave his lunch or maybe even in the family lunch in spirit of the moment. This small boy walks in the footsteps of the great witnesses to Jesus... Mary who gave her yes, her own "this is my body given for you"... Joseph who took Mary into his home knowing his reputation of being a good man would be lost... of shepherds who abandoned their flock and the madness of wise men who followed a star to see the child... of fishermen who left their boats. Discipleship means leaving something behind. One wonders what we ourselves need to leave behind? One wonders when we give our five loaves and two fish what the Lord will do with it?

One of the seven springs

Then we went to the Church of the Primacy of Peter, where Jesus gently dealt with Peter's threefold denial...

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, 'I'm going fishing.' They replied, 'We'll come with you.' They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.

It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, 'Have you caught anything, friends?' And when they answered, 'No', he said, 'Throw the net out to starboard and you'll find something.' So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' At these words 'It is the Lord', Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.

As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, 'Bring some of the fish you have just caught.' Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, 'Who are you?'; they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead. 

After the meal Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?' He answered, 'Yes Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs.' A second time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' He replied, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Look after my sheep.' Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'

'I tell you most solemnly,

when you were young

you put on your own belt

and walked where you liked;

but when you grow old

you will stretch out your hands,

and somebody else will put a belt round you

and take you where you would rather not go.'

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, 'Follow me.'

- John 21:1-19 

Poor old Peter... impetuous as ever jumping into the sea but then discovering that charcoal fire... the sight and smell of it would have reminded him of the charcoal fire he was warming himself by when three times he denied Jesus... Smells and sights often take us back to events from our past, often negative events.

But Jesus was more interested in restoring relationships rather than pointing the finger... Do you love me, do you really love me, do you really, really love me? It's a question we can imagine Jesus asking each of us...

Perhaps we have to break down our walls of fear and division.

But love is not enough... Peter had to be ready to suffer... Forget about the abundance of the massive catch of fish in the sea. You Peter have to 'Feed my lambs'...  'Look after my sheep'... 'Feed my sheep'... Your place is in the wilderness. And isn't that the call to the Church - to be in wilderness, seeking out the lost giving hope and meaning to an empty world. So often we want a faith that rewards us in the here and now. But a mark of discipleship to allow the Lord lead us where we would rather not go, even to the point of death, to give glory to God. 

We are staying in Tiberius for the next few days - the hotel was lovely views of the Sea of Galilee

Lord Jesus Christ...

your apostle and friend Peter

gives us hope in the midst of our failures and denials

that you never loose sight of us

but gently call us back into your love.

Give us the graces we need

to love you

to love you

to love you

and follow where you lead.

You live and reign for ever and ever

Amen. 

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,

And finally, we experienced the Dead Sea... One of the group made a comment about my 6-pack... I suggested more like 6-months!

May the graces you gave us in our baptism O Lord

Continue to flow in us like a river

and bring us more and more each day

from death into life