Easter in The Holy Land

Mosaic at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church, Madaba, Jordan

"Since once again, Lord -- though this time not in the forests of the Aisne but in the Steppes of Asia -- I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I will make the whole earth my altar and on it I will offer you all the labours and sufferings of the world."  ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

My sister sent that prayer to me after I commented on her blog post that, although we are here in the Holy Land at Easter, it doesn't seem much like Easter.  For one thing, unlike in the United States, here we are not inundated by commercial reminders of the season. There aren't endless aisles of chocolate bunnies and pre-filled, cellophane-wrapped Easter baskets. I haven't seen a single Peep!  I haven't even seen an Easter lily. There are small reminders here and there: small sections of Easter candy in remote corners of the grocery stores and a few linens decorated with bunnies and eggs in some of the linen stores. But Easter is just not "in your face" like it is in the U.S.  In addition, although there are churches here, we don't see them much; they don't stand out with tall steeples like in the U.S. and especially in Europe.

Moreover, instead of waking up on Easter morning to candy-filled Easter baskets and rushing to get ready to go to church to hear the Hallelujah Chorus, we are deep in the desert, at Wadi Rum, waking up after sleeping under the stars at a Bedouin camp.

But, I can't think of a better place to be. That prayer I quoted above seems perfect for this Easter morning. I have my iPod with my Easter playlist, which includes the "Hallelujah Chorus" and "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." I even have Starburst jelly beans (thanks to Paul's sister who is visiting from the U.S.) to get my early morning sugar rush. What more does one need to celebrate Easter in the Holy Land?!?!

I hope you have a peaceful Easter. In honor of the Day, here are few more pictures of Christian holy places:

The spot where John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, Bethany Beyond The Jordan

A baptismal fountain, decorated with a beautiful mosaic,
near the spot where John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

Sculpture at the top of Mount Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land