Bethlehem

Today’s blessing was the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The location has been treasured since the earliest days of our faith. The Empress Helena built a basilica over the site in AD 322. It survived the Persian invasion in the early seventh century because of the images of the Magi. It lasted through the first Muslim era. It might have lasted until this day except that ironically the first crusader king of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, tore it down to make way for a great church in the French style which stands to this day. 

The Church is crowded and under renovation yet when we arrived in the cave where Our Lord was born knew we were on holy ground. Between the place of his birth and the pace of the manger we sang Silent Night and Dianne and I prayed for St. Mary’s and for you all. 

Bethlehem is part of the West Bank and is behind a security wall built and run by the Israeli government. Those who live in Bethlehem cannot enter Israel without special authorization and careful scrutiny. This is understandable as a defense against Palestinian attacks. However, these strictures hurt the Christians who are not responsible for that sort of action. Their life is hard as Israel regards them as Palestinians and Muslims regard them as Christians. We spent some of our day visiting with and supporting some of them. We did our souvenir shopping at a Christian owned and managed business. (When the owner found out I was a priest he gave me a chasuble – as he had done for the Roman Catholic priest. It bears the Jerusalem Cross, the sign of pilgrimage. I will use it at St. Mary’s when I return.) We enjoyed lunch at a Christian restaurant and dinner at a Christian Bedouin establishment. At dinner we enjoyed a dance ensemble performing traditional music and hosted a family to whom we gave a gift of one year’s tuition for one of their children. 

On my last pilgrimage, 19 years ago, our leader spoke of the “living stones” of the Holy Land (see 1 Peter 2:5). These are the Christians who live, work and worship here now. We explore the Church’s wonderful past but they are the Church’s present. It would be a tragedy beyond words for these “living stones” to disappear from the Holy Land so we do our best to help them. 

God bless you, the “living stones” of St. Mary’s.

Here is the link for yesterday’s video from Steve Ray.