Baptism of Our Lord

Many of you will be celebrating Epiphany today but in our Holyland liturgical calendar, today is the feast of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River near Jericho. There's a solemn procession in Qasr el Yehud - the traditional site of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. I think almost everyone is there today. It's still a military zone with landmines on both sides of the path, and ruined churches still stand as silent witnesses to the dreadful wars that pummeled this area. But people may now visit the site and protected by Israeli soldiers. I guess today is an occasion for us to evaluate our call and mission as Christians as demanded by our own baptism.

As usual, it's Sunday and I accompanied Fr Buscemi on his 5 km walk around the New City and back. It was a slow walk as my slipped disc and ingrown toenail made walking very painful. But the sun was shining and its 15 degrees. A very cold wind was blowing though. Those guys in Jericho for the Baptism feast are sure lucky ... it's alot warmer down there.

The margaritas (I think you call them daisies. I can only remember the italian name) in the park were all flowering. Beautiful. Spring will be early I guess. So is the Chinese New Year. As we walked through the park, as usual we passed by the cave of the martyrs. That's where the bodies of countless Christians killed by the Persians in the 7th century were buried. It's actually a catacomb and there was a church built over or near it but all was destroyed by the muslim conquest. I guess it was a fitting moment today on the feast of the Baptism to remember these thousands of Christians martyred for their faith. They lived their baptism to the end.