Mount Nebo

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.  (Deuteronomy 34:1-5)

 

Today, we had the privilege of traveling to the Kingdom of Jordan and going atop Mount Nebo and seeing the Holy Land.  Although there were a few clouds in the sky and we couldn’t see all the way to the Mediterranean, the view of the promised land was none the less breathtaking.  From the top of the mountain, we could see the Dead Sea, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and into the Galilee.  Moses could see everything from desert to green, lush vegetation, as well as a lake and a great sea. What an amazing land God was giving to the children of Israel!

Yet, God did not allow Moses to enter into the promised land.  Deuteronomy ends with Moses having to make an act of faith, faith that God would continue to provide for his people after they crossed the Jordan River.  Moses gave his entire life to leading the people of God, and he himself would not enter into the land promised to them.

After celebrating Mass honoring the memory of Moses, and how everything promised through him was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, we proceeded to the ancient church in Madaba, home of the world’s oldest map of the Holy Land.   This map from the sixth century was the floor of the original church.  It showed accurately the location of a number of holy pilgrimage sites, many of which had been lost until this mosaic was discovered.

It was just amazing to be standing in the presence of such history.  1400 years ago, pilgrims came to this very church and pointed to the mosaic to places they wanted to go.  And here we were, continuing in their footsteps.

May God give us the grace to continue to follow in the footsteps of all who have gone before us – both the Israelites who first came into the land, and the pilgrims who have come to worship before us.