been to the mountaintop...

3/1
Before returning into the West Bank from Jordan, we stopped at Mount Nebo. This is the place from where, as the story in Deuteronomy goes, at the very end of his life, God shows Moses the Promised Land, but is told he will never reach it (and dies shortly after seeing it). From the top of Mount Nebo, the view was impressive; we could see Jericho, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River Valley, and more.

This visit, and this view, also reminded us of the final speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the night before he was assassinated. In that speech, he recalled the story of Moses when, near the end, Dr. King said:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen… the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

I find these words, in their context, to be powerful and moving. Also in that speech, Dr. King references the story of the Good Samaritan in relation to the situation of the striking Memphis sanitation workers. He says that Jesus is asking us to consider… that rather than being worried about our own hide as we ask ourselves, “what will happen to me if I stop to care for my neighbor?” the question we should be asking ourselves is, “what will happen to my neighbor if I do not stop to care for him?” 

A member of our group likened Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to care for (and speak up for) the sanitation workers of his day to our situation and the call many of us now feel to care for (and speak up for) the Palestinians.

We descended Nebo through the desert mountains, passing Bedouin encampments, sheep, goats and camels, and finally crossed the valley to arrive at Jericho.

Entering back into Israel through the borders, we spent some time in Jericho. Recalling the stories of the Bible that took place in this town, we remembered blind Bartamaeus, Joshua (who fit the battle), the wilderness in which Jesus encountered 2 of 3 temptations, and even the story of Zacchaeus. On this trip,  we made a stop at the venerated sycamore tree, that Zacchaeus is said to have climbed up to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). Our new favorite interpretation of the story is whether Zacchaeus was the “wee little man,” or maybe it was Jesus who was the short one—read it again and you tell us!

We made a quick stop at the remains of Herod’s Winter Palace and scouted out the terrain. It was not nearly as excavated as Herod’s Summer Palace in Herodian.

There, we were greeted by two young boys, Musa and his brother Musamad who pointed out that we were overlooking their home, farm, and donkey!

There’s a great shirt sold at all the tourist stops that has a picture of the local fish found in the Mediterranean Sea, another one from the Sea of Galilee, and then an empty outline of a fish titled, “Dead Sea fish.” That’s right. The saline content in the Dead Sea is so high, that no living thing can survive in it…yet, we found a bunch of clergy just floating around (and taking in a mud bath!—Allison wouldn’t be caught DEAD swimming in that!)

It was so salty they were floating-- pushed up to the surface-- to Andy it felt like he was on a raft.