Day II: Truth by blatant assertion

 

I honest to God don't even know how to begin to describe this day. 

So, let me just start with the obvious: geography. Egypt is part of the northwest continent of Africa, but it is also part of the Middle East and it is also part of the Arabic Nation. 

The people here count themselves as part of the descendants of "Poor Old Aunt Hagar" and her son Ishmael. One of our tour guides proudly said, "We are descendants of Ishmael". I said, "Really, so tell me: With whom did God make a promise?"

He stopped for a moment, his mouth dropped and his eyes got as wide as a 6th grader being confronted by his teacher with a pop quiz, and said, "Well, he made the covenant with Ishmael but he told it to Hagar. So, we are descendants of Ishmael."

"But, " I said, "God promised Hagar that her son would raise up a great nation of his own, right? The first time the promise came through an angel when Hagar ran away from her tormenting mistress, Sarai. The angel told Hagar to return home and have her child, saying,  'I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.'"

Then, after Sarai became Sara and had Isaac, she became jealous of the potential conflict over who would become Abraham's heir - his FIRST BORN son (Ishmael) or his "LEGITIMATE" son (Issac).  So Sara convinced her husband Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael to the desert where they would surely die.

This time, God spoke directly to Hagar as her son was near death. God repeated the promise to Hagar that the descendants of Ishmael would increase so "that they will be too numerous to count."

Twice the promise was made to Hagar. Once thorough an angel and once directly from God.

"I mean," I continued, "Hagar even named God, 'El Roi', "The God who sees me," because God saw the suffering of Hagar and Ishmael. Indeed, Hagar is one of a very few and select people to actually talk with God, and the second woman, Eve having been the first."

"Yes," he said, straightening his back and clenching his jaw, "so we are descendants of Ishmael, the first born son of the issue of Father Abraham - may his name always be praised - and, despite what you Christians and the Jews say,  rightly inheritors of the mantle of Abraham." 

Clearly, he was not having it. At. All.  Having grown up Roman Catholic, I can recognize the dynamic of "truth by blatant assertion" at 20 paces.

Once you start there, well, it's an incredible down-hill ride.  

So, Matthew asserts - without even one shred of evidence (I mean, after the 'virgin birth' and the whole entire concept of the incarnation, why start now?) - that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and that he had better leave Bethlehem and be safe for a while in Egypt.

Well, what good is a sacred story like that without a way to tell it "from generation to generation"? Especially one that secures the position of the prophetic leadership of Jesus with the prophetic position of Moses?

So, we followed the flight of the Holy Family today, and visited the shrine which, it is "believed" (because no one can actually prove it), that this is the "cavern" where the Holy Family lived several months of the two years they were in Egypt. (Or, was it four? But, it might have been twelve, if you read the scholars who inspired Ann Rice).

We stood over the well from which the Holy Family drew their drinking water, and visited the room where they had their meals, which is now used by the Orthodox Priests as the place where they consecrate the bread in private - away from the uninformed eyes and minds of the laity - before they bring it into the church for distribution.

Because, sure, that's exactly the way Jesus and his parents would have wanted it. (Sarcasm fully intended)

That was actually at the cave of the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, known as Abu Serga. I've posted a picture of the "hanging church" of St. Mary which was built on top of the cavern where the Holy Family is believed to have lived. 

I do have to point out that right across the street from all this deep spirituality and religious belief and cultural history and myth and legend and scripture is a very modern subway stop. 

There are people going to and from work and doctor's appointments and visits with their relatives and just the every day events of life. They seem totally nonplussed by the deep, rich significance of what is just across the street. Well, I guess, if it's been there since long before you were born and, PS&OBTW, it has nothing to do with your faith and belief as a Muslim, well, I guess it makes sense to be nonplussed and just be about your business. 

So, if that wasn't ancient enough history, we then spent some time learning about the Pharaohs and Egyptian culture as a prelude for learning about the application of the religious beliefs - like resurrection - which shaped and formed so much of their culture and society and cosmology.  That's where we'll pick up with Sr. Joan tomorrow out on the Nile. 

I've got stuff to say about Sr. Joan in a minute but I just want to share this with you. The Egyptians, of course have a story to tell because they wrote so much of it down on papyrus - thick paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant. 

Here's what I learned about papyrus. I always thought papyrus was the Egyptian word for paper which is, in fact, the word from which we derive our word 'paper'. 

 Not so.  papyrus is really a combination of three words - pap (way) py (knowledge) ra (God). So the word papyrus means 'the way to knowledge is God'. 

Think about that for half a red hot second. Now, think about the story of the Garden of Eden. And, think about how the Pharaohs thought of themselves as Gods. And, remember that the Pyramids were built as invitations to the Gods to come and relax and bring their cosmic energy to earth. And remember that oral history is not as reliable as written history and that the victor gets to write the story. 

See also: Truth by blatant assertion. 

Now, back to Sr. Joan, who is anything but "truth by blatant assertion". She is the real deal. Smart. Sharp. Quick witted as an Irish ditty. Has no tolerance for institutional arrogance and oppressive tendencies. Makes no friends with blind obedience, thoughtless compliance, or appeasement. 

Our day ended with an absolutely delightful dinner with Sister Joan who held court with "stories from the life of and extraordinary nun". No, she'd never say that and she'd slap my hand if she knew I wrote that but, you know, that's really what it was.  

We talked about vocation and corruption and abuse and love and relationships and bureaucracy and community and salvation and resurrection and still managed to eat supper and drink wine and not get one twinge of dyspepsia. 

Her meditations start tomorrow on the boat. I can't hardly wait. 

So, we're up tomorrow morning at 5 AM. Breakfast is at 5:30. We leave for the airport at 6:15. Our plane leaves for Aswan at 8 where we'll catch our boat on the Nile which will be our home until next Tuesday. 

I'm not sure about the WiFi connections on the Nile but I'm told I can use our Guide Essam's 'hot spot'. Fingers crossed. I'll still blog but I may not be able to publish them until next Tuesday. I'll try to keep up on Factbook. 

Be well. And, if you really want to walk like an Egyptian, here's a tip from the Pharaoh's that I learned today. If you look at their statues, every single one of them leads with his left foot. That's because Egyptians believed you stepped with the left foot to trod out evil so the heart could proceed.   

I've decided that I'm going to try to be more mindful of walking like an Egyptian from now on.

I don't know if its true that you can trod out evil, but heck, nothing else has seemed to work, so it's worth a try. Anyway, I'll assert it blatantly - six times before breakfast - until proven otherwise.