Scripture Luke 2:1-20
“O Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie” begins the familiar 19th century hymn, and yet Bethlehem wasn’t quiet two thousand years ago, with crowds flocking there for the census Luke tells us about in today’s gospel lesson. It isn’t quiet now, either. I recently had the privilege of visiting Bethlehem with a group from our church. We were with over two hundred spiritual pilgrims from the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, led by our Bishop to “walk with Jesus” through the Holy Land. Of course our first days were spent in the area where scripture tells us that Jesus was born. Bethlehem is in Palestine, surrounded by border guards and fences, and on every corner and parking lot merchants hawk their wares while tour buses inch past each other on the narrow streets. The first church we visited was the Chapel of the Shepherd’s Field, built in 1953 on top of much earlier ruins and a cave. Tradition says this is the site where angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. The current church is cleverly designed with a dome that resembles a nomad’s tent. Outside, a fountain includes a flock of stone sheep. Inside are lovely paintings depicting the events described in Luke’s gospel, but we had to navigate around many other tour groups and ongoing worship services. It was difficult to imagine a quiet night, or angels’ songs, in the chapel itself. I found a quiet spot in the gardens and spent some minutes in prayer.
The Church of the Nativity sits in Manger Square, not far away. In the second century, the Roman Emperor Hadrian had a pagan temple built there, over top of caves that early Christians were already revering as the site of Jesus’ birth. When Constantine made Christianity the religion of the Empire in the fourth century, he sent his mother to the Holy Land to find the places and relics important to the gospel stories. Ironically, it’s the pagan temple that marked the spot for Helena to find it, and there have been Christian churches there continuously since 339 CE. It is one of the most crowded tourist attractions in the Holy Land, and there’s a long wait to go down narrow steps to a grotto marked with a silver star. A cleric stands nearby, constantly asking people not to linger, but somehow we all do, for just a minute’s whispered prayer. Is this really the place where God’s son was born? I don’t actually know, but I recognize that two thousand years of prayer and devotion have made it sacred. I certainly felt the Spirit there. At the same time, it was noisy, crowded, touristy in a lot of ways, not at all like the images from Christmas hymns.
During our Advent study this year, we’ve been using James W. Moore’s Finding Bethlehem in the Midst of Bedlam. One of the main teachings of this study is that God always comes to us in the midst of our crowded, busy, messy lives. There’s always bedlam, but it’s also always possible to encounter God and feel the love and peace that were promised on this Holy Night, so long ago. The Roman Empire couldn’t stop people from worship, and actually saved the memory of a sacred location by trying to stamp out Christianity in its early days. The crowds in Bethlehem, when Mary and Joseph journeyed there, and the crowds that are there now, have no power to prevent the greatest gift of all, the presence of the Holy One in our midst. My prayer for you this evening is that you find Bethlehem in your heart, and are revived and renewed. Merry, holy Christmas.
Rev. Terry Deane
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