So we stared the morning devotion with Genesis 21:1-14, the story of Sarah and Hagar. Sue Forsyth led. She told us the story, then I read the Scripture, and she ended it with a poem by Ann Weems (not related to Renita). We are headed to Sinai. First we’ll go to the Suez Canal, then we’ll take a tunnel under it, and then we’ll be in the Sinai Peninsula. Travel from here to Suez is called the Eastern Desert. Sahara is the Arabic word for desert. On the west of Egypt is the Sahara desert (yes, the desert desert), and in the East is the Eastern Desert. Wonder if we could call it the Eastern Sahara?
We’ve talked about several points of contact between the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt. We talked about them yesterday, but want to highlight: - the idea that political leaders are intimately related to the deities (this is also reflected in the names of the gods. For instance, Ramses means Child of the god Ra). In ancient Egyption, “mses” means “Child,” Moses meant Child; Ramses meant Child of God. It was widely understood that political rulers were related to gods like children were related to parents. This concept continued on at least through the time of Napoleon.
We Christians understand Jesus to be the son of God, but in Ancient Egypt, the meaning would be that he was a Political Ruler. The Bible IS Political. Jesus WAS Political. “Son of God” was a political label. As we’ve studied, we’ve seen the texts and theology of the Scriptures showed that they reflected the cultures around them.
We’re now heading East. We’ll make one stop before the Suez Canal, then after the Suez we’ll head south into Sinai, then East again. Our stop will be at Ain Musa, the Springs of Moses, where Moses sweetened the water for the people of Israel. (Ex. 15:22-25). We’ll also go to Wadi Feiran(?), where Aaron held up Moses’ arms while they fought the Amalakits.
Ex comes from the Greek Out, while Odos comes from the Greek for Road, so the book of Exodus is about a WAY OUT. The burning bush is associated with St. Catherine’s monastery, where we’re going. Whether supported with independently verifiable archaeological data or not, the Exodus story helps give a group identification to the people called “Israelites. “ It’s important to remember that Israel was a PEOPLE, and not a PLACE.
Some of us Christians believe that Jesus will return after all Jewish people return to Israel (identification with place), but there is a whole ‘nother line of thinking that identifies being Jewish as being in Diaspora. To be Jewish is to be in Exile for some; for others, to be Jewish is to return to Israel. Our definition of Jewish has evolved in diaspora.
Tomorrow we’ll climb Mt. Sinai. The desert plays a prominent place in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Desert Spirituality is where our focus will be (and now I’m doubly glad for all the years I spent in AZ!) Tomorrow evening, we hope to have evening vespers at the Monastery.
My notes here are all garbled cuz I was falling asleep (we were riding in a bus through the desert listening to a lecture. Either the ride or the desert or a lecture could have put me to sleep; all of them together, as much as I was interested, I didn’t have a chance), but I think Peter was saying there are three theories about the Exodus:
1) That the story is symbolic;
2) That there was not one Exodus but many exodi; or
3) That the Exodus story is a metaphor for a political and social rebellion.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t a one or the other thing, but maybe what happened was a series of events or a combination of the above. The point is that what we can independently verify does not line up completely with the Biblical texts, and as we study the texts deeper, we come to understand that the meaning is not always what appears at first reading.
Anyway. In Exodus 15:22-25, there is the story of the springs of Marah. We stopped there (like many things associated with the Bible, we stopped in one of the places it’s supposed to be), in view of the Suez Canal which is at the northernmost tip of the Red Sea.
I have to say a word here about poverty and begging. I know we’re in Africa, but it breaks my heart to see so many kids begging. They, like the vendors who try to hustle you, come with what seems to be an expectation that you’ll give them something. And while it breaks my heart to see them, I know that giving them money is not the answer because that only encourages them. It’s heart-wrenching, though. Even though you know they’re playing on your emotions, it’s heart-wrenching to see unkempt, grubby little kids come up and bat their lashes and pimp out their childhood innocence for dollars. It’s a damn shame, is what it is.
The next time I was conscious, they were in a conversation about how Israel got control of the Sinai and the Golan Heights during the 6-day war. They also got the West Bank. This offended the national pride of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. The Israelis won with American-made tanks, which had longer range than the Soviet-made Jordanian tanks.
By about three-ish, we were heading east. We’d stopped at some rest stop. Pia had gotten sick and we’d had to pull over, so we then pulled into the next rest stop. Ann Christian, I think, gave me a wet wipe, but we were surprised to find toilet paper in the stalls. I used the wet wipe to clean the toilet seat. I have reneged on my vow to never go to the bathroom outside the States again, so I’m trying to make it manageable. It’s not horrible, but it’s not home, either. So we were at sea level. We have 100 KM to go, but will climb to 1 mile high, so the trip will take about two hours. We’ll go through Wadi Feiran, where Aaron held up Moses’ arms. A wadi, btw, is just a valley or a gorge. That led to a whole conversation on flooding. I think I went back to sleep.
Then Peter read excerpts from the Precepts of the Prefect. We were looking at how it was similar to the Wisdom literature, specifically Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The point was to show how much Ancient Near Eastern Literature has similar themes, structures, and story lines, and even uses similar examples. I thought of Bernard and many first-year seminarians during this exercise.
We talked for a bit about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi writings. We talked about how they didn’t get canonized. We talked about the Nag Hammadi writings being Gnostic writings, and how Gnostic ideology presumes the physical world can erode / be at variance with the spiritual world. The Body is seen as the prison of the soul. In order to escape, the initiate has to learn special secrets. (Gnosis, or knowledge). When the prison sell is opened, the Spirit then can escape. We talked about Gnosticism as an outshoot of Platonism, and how Plato thought that only IDEAS are real.
My notes say we were in Wadi Feiran, but I don’t remember it. It’s an oasis. An Oasis is a place with an underground water supply. People dig holes to the wells instead of collecting water. It’s ideal for acacia trees (and my notes say we saw a lot of them, though I don’t remember. Hope I took pictures).
Then Peter pretty much gave our first semester Church History lectures up to the time of Constantine. Constantine’s mom, Helena, commissioned St. Catherine’s Church as well as the Church of the Holy Scepulchre in Bethlehem. We talked about Constantine not having been Christian, and having joined church and empire, having called councils, and having forced some decisions not for religious reasons but to unite his empire.
So we got to St. Catherine’s village. My room looks right onto the main plaza bazaar, and I’m too tired to even take pictures. The place is packed – every room is full – and some people will be setting out in the middle of the night to climb. We had a great buffet dinner of beef, chicken, salad, HUMMUS, fish, and a bunch of other stuff. We talked, we ate, and around 8:30 retired to our rooms. We go to climb tomorrow.
There’s SO much I’m not putting in here. If you’re Christian, Christian-curious, from any of the other Abrahamic faiths, of the African Diaspora, or just interested in peace and justice in our world and interested in what you can do to make a difference, then I’d encourage you to Google the Society for Biblical Studies, look up Peter Miano, and book yourself on one of the trips. It’ll change your life. I do hope our CME Church can get some folk together to make a pilgrimage together.
No pictures tonite; internet access is $10.00 per hour. Maybe tomorrow, after Mt. Sinai.
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