A Simple Day

As Sunday Mass is not held until 6:00 p.m. tonight, it was very easy to take a leisurely morning. It is like a Monday for people in the U.S., so it is nice to be relaxing when the rest of the world is busy about the return to the work week. I sat outdoors in the shade near a pomegranate tree and listened to the bird, the distinctive coo of the morning doves, and the chirping of sparrow-sized birds. 

As I was in a garden, I was thinking about how gardens appear in biblical stories so often. I can see that there are such pleasures in them, and I can also see that snakes might want to hide in the stone walls. The Gardens of Good and Evil. Mostly, the bountiful food of gardens and the fragrances of abundant fruit makes it enticing.

I'm not sure I'll make it to the place, but the gardens at the Pools of Hisban that are featured in the Song of Songs is nearby. A small brook runs through it, which is cool and refreshing and must have been a place of bathing and recreation. "Her eyes are like the Pools of Hisban."

Much of the Holy Land is contained in Jordan, and many people do not associate Jordan with the Bible, but it is where much of the Old Testament happened. Of course, most of the tribes of Jacob were situated in Palestine/Israel on the west bank of the Jordan River. 

Think: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

            Moses, Joshua, the 40 years in the wilderness

            Elijah, Elisha, Tobit, the prophets, John the Baptist, the return home from exile

            Uriah the Hittite, Gilead, Isaiah, 

            Jesus of Nazareth spend time preaching, being baptized, praying in this region.

In the New Testament:

            The Baptism, Healings, Gerasene Demoniac, the early fathers after the Temple's fall.

            Sea of Galilee, the early Creed, many historical churches in the 2-4th centuries.

Anyways, it was simply a place rich with historical remembrances.

Yesterday was quite full of presence. I had an Iraqi friend and his wife from the States come for a two hour visit. It was a pleasure to hear their updates. They are on their way to Baghdad now. They have invited me, and I'll make sure I get there at some point. 

I drove to Mass in Sweifieh. The roads are the same but the markers are all different. I remember many of the places, but I could not be sure I was in the right place. There are fewer English signs that I remember, and it make the trek just a little precarious. I made it though. The roads in Amman are good; the people simply have a different way of using space than we do in the U.S. For an American who likes law and order, don't bother to come here because you might not understand the people's relationship to space and boundaries. You will become frustrated or you will learn to loosen up with your propensity to control.

Mass was filled. Just as Mass began, 20 Nigerians entered and sat in the back. They were on pilgrimage, and they wore such colorful clothing. I saw some friends from long ago, and we had many children attending mass. It was a good spirit. After mass, I had dinner at a friend's house and then came back to Jebel Hussein to attend a gathering where my original art teacher was present. It was good to spend time with him. 

When I came home, I went to my room, and by the time my head hit the pillow, I was out for the duration.