For every major trip I take, I choose a theme for my Inspirational Quotes. For my trip to the Middle East, I chose “hymns that mention the River Jordan.” This is not because my trip was a religious pilgrimage–though I did see the place where the Pope said Jesus was baptized and where many folks think Moses was buried. Nor because I was listening to hymns during my trip–my trip’s theme music was Florence + The Machine’s Ceremonials (which was a Christmas gift from Matthew):
Particularly her “Only if for a night”:
I chose hymns because my earliest concept of the Middle East came from hymns I learned as a child:
Michael row your boat ashore, Hallelujah
Michael row your board ashore, Hallelujah
River Jordan is chilly and cold, Hallelujah
Chills the body but not the soul. Hallelujah
OR
We are crossing, that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
Oh we are crossing, that Jordan River
I want my crown, my golden crown
Jordan River, chilly and cold
Chills the body but not the soul
We are crossing, that Jordan River
I want my golden crown!
OR
Well I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Coming for to carry me home
I saw a band of angels coming after me
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
And I wanted to address that context head on. I wanted to be conscious of the fact that there would be moments in my trip where my childhood’s pastel-colored and religiously-narrated understanding of what the Jordan River Valley was like would be challenged by reality. By the way, this is what the Jordan looks like:
And it’s really not that chilly:
And, interestingly, on the Israeli side (yep, that place about 20 feet from the Jordanian side) the folks walking down to get mass baptized aren’t singing any hymn about the River Jordan I recognize:
Inspirational Quote:
“Show me dat stream called de river Jordan,
Dat’s de ol’ stream dat I long to cross.”
–Old Man River
