Jim Bishop bishopJ@emu.edu
John Tyson, an Eastern Mennonite University student, said he “had thought about it for some time and felt that the time and place were right.”
And so, early on Easter Sunday, the junior biblical studies and philosophy major from Lansdale, Pa., was baptized in the Jordan River into the community of faith.
What made the experience even more special was that Tyson was baptized by Linford L. Stutzman, associate professor of culture and mission at EMU, and the baptism was witnessed by the 29 students in his Middle East study group. Dr. Stutzman and his wife, Janet M. Stutzman, are leading the cross-cultural seminar during the university’s spring semester.
“The community I’ve experienced in this cross-cultural group and the journey we are sharing is something special,” Tyson said afterwards. “I’ve been active in the Mennonite church for several years, but traveling with this group has been the place where I’ve been most at home with God and the world.”
“John had asked about the possibility of being baptized several weeks before Easter, when our group was still in Jerusalem,” said Stutzman. “I mentioned that the Jordan River runs through the back of Kibbutz Afikim, and that we would be there over Easter. Perhaps that would be a good opportunity.”
The EMU group arrived at Kibbutz Afikim, secular Jewish agricultural commune, on Mar. 17. On Easter Sunday morning, they rose early and assembled at 5:30 for the 20-minute hike to the Kibbutz graveyard, which overlooks the Jordan. There, the students led songs and read scriptures as the sun rose over the Golan Heights.
The group then hiked down toward the Jordan.
“I recounted the journey of learning and faith that everyone is traveling on this cross-cultural, paralleling the journeys of faith in Scripture, how wilderness and water are so much a part of it, and how baptism connects to these stories–Moses and the Hebrew children crossing the Red Sea, the Hebrews wandering through the wilderness then crossing the Jordan to the promise, John baptizing in the Jordan, Jesus being baptized in the Jordan. All of these places and events have been part of the group’s travels, and all relate to the meaning of baptism,” Stutzman recalled.
Tyson then recounted his own journey of faith and why he chose to be baptized at this point in his life.
“I decided that taking this step was appropriate and the time and place and people only confirmed that,” he said. “For me, water baptism symbolized the life of God at work in the world through things we often take for granted but that create new life.”
The men waded into the middle of the Jordan, and Stutzman poured water over Tyson’s head. They then returned to shore, where students gave encouragement and blessings, and sang several songs.
Tyson has been attending Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church since age 17 and is a graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. He will serve as an intern with Franconia Conference this summer.
It is the fifth time for Linford and wife Janet, a former director of alumni/parent relations at EMU, to lead a cross-cultural program in the Middle East. The group is scheduled to return to campus Apr. 22.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.