Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: River (04/10/25)
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TITLE: Parting the Water | Previous Challenge Entry
By Noel Mitaxa
04/17/25 -
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Walls of water towered above them on either side as they and their livestock made it safely through to the other shoreline. Then the Egyptian army made its move to follow them. A fatal move, for as the last of their number stepped onto a now well-trodden sea floor, Moses again stretched out his arm. Immediately, the sea reclaimed its rightful status and engulfed every single one of them, so Israel could move on towards nationhood.
As we fast forward to 2018, let’s move north from the Red Sea, and alight from our tour bus at the eastern bank of the Jordan River near Jericho…
Clumps of tea-tree shrubs offer us minimal protection from the heat of the sun, but they allow us a choice of sandy paths between them as we make our way towards the river. As we get closer, the excited sounds of singing and laughter are getting louder from what must be quite a crowd at the water’s edge.
Finally, we reach the river, where the only humanity on our bank is an unsmiling Jordanian soldier. He is cradling his AK47 rifle, and wearing a jacket that’s encrusted with ammunition belts, so he doesn’t radiate a sense of welcome or any generosity about supplying advice to tourists.
All the excitement and energy is happening about seventy feet away across the river, at the alleged site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. And there’s no shortage of pilgrims going down into the water from the marble steps that have been set into the bank over there.
They are seeking to personally recapture this moment, and we sense their excitement. However, they have hardly any time to live with it, for there are too many people lining up behind them, all eagerly wading into the river to enjoy the experience for themselves. And with all the action being recorded on phone cameras, the memories will not be lost.
A long strip of floating styrofoam, centrally located, denotes the Israel-Jordan border, and four similar strips stretch out from the pilgrims’ steps to join it and create three sections of similar size to handle the crowds.
One of our group members asks the guide why there are three sections, while I reckon Moses might have separated the water and created them more dramatically,
The guide explains that these sections ensure that the candidates are baptized within the specific liturgies of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Non-Conformist churches.
Three separate sections, three separate liturgies, three separate doctrines and histories, but only one God and the same stretch of water for all these baptisms. I have to wonder if we will need to part the water and bunker down behind our differences in heaven - when they will all be absorbed and fulfilled within God’s overwhelming presence…
Crossing the Jordan River marked the end of Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness, but they still needed to subdue it before they could enjoy God’s promise that it would flow with milk and honey, and become the light for other nations in line as he also intended for them.
The Jordan River frequently figures as a spiritual watershed for us today, inviting us to consciously step into deeper blessing and more effective service. But just as Israel found, this step opens new struggles – and the resurgence of old struggles. Yet thanks be to God, for in him we are more than conquerors through his love and as he pours out his Holy Spirit within us and through us to people around us.
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