Christmas in May

So yesterday we went to Bethlehem. It was an amazing experience with very mixed emotions. Many of you might not know, but Bethlehem is really close to Jerusalem. Like 15 min south of the Old City by car. We left the Center at around 2pm and drove over there. The crazy thing is that as Israel and Palestine are working toward a solution to the conflict, the Israelis have built a huge retaining wall called the Separation Wall which defines the borders of the West Bank and making it close to impossible for people living in those areas to leave and come to Jerusalem. The Wall was built beginning in 2003 and there were several people who worked on the other side who lost their jobs and had to change their occupation because they can’t leave the West Bank, our Islam teacher, Adnan, works at the Bethlehem University and about two weeks ago, he couldn’t get out to come and teach our class, so it was canceled. Intense, is the only word I can think to use when I try to describe the atmosphere around the Wall.
As we approach the checkpoint, we see the huge wall: about three feet thick and 25 feet high, there are little lookouts every few hundred feet. As we enter the checkpoint, that allows us to pass into Bethlehem, we see this sign that says that it is absolutely illegal for anyone with an Israeli citizenship to enter. We continue toward the gate and are stopped as some guards check for passports and ask what we’re planning on doing in Bethlehem. On our way in they didn’t even get on the bus to check, but the way out the Israeli Military Police got on and just walked though the bus, looking at us (the girl guard smiled at us :) ). After the checkpoint, we proceed through the wall. I can’t quite describe what I felt as I passed through this wall. An immediate sense of oppression. I could instantly feel that I was entering a place where pain, passion, despair, and anger were a huge part of their lives. The wall coming from Jerusalem was clean, no graffiti, but immediately after we passed into Bethlehem you could see graffiti, statements of defiance, and pictures of faces on the wall. It made me so sorrowful for the whole situation. The municipal of Bethlehem had so many plans for the year 2000 and around the city as we drove in we could see remnants of those plans to enlarge their tourist base. But the conflict and the wall snubbed those dreams and aspirations indefinitely. I continued to feel that way for a few hours. I went into the tourist center and bought a few postcards of the wall that were very poignant in what they conveyed to me. As I was buying the cards, I asked the clerk if I could ask her a question about it. I told her how I was feeling and asked her what she felt about the wall. She said, “We feel like prisoners. It changed a lot of things for us here in Bethlehem. It makes it much more difficult to travel, even in the West Bank. It is a very hard thing.” I believe her. The more I learn about the conflict, the more I see of its complexities, the more I feel like the only possible solution is for Christ to come and establish His Kingdom. There will have to be a lot of unselfishness on both sides for any solution to work.

But we had another interesting time when we got to Nativity Square. You can see that three different churches or denominations that have contributed to the church that is over the grotto where the traditional site of the birth of Jesus is. Helena, mother of Constantine, is said to have discovered several sacred sites, including the church of the holy sepulcher when she was here in 325AD. To enter the church, the gate was once huge, but at sometime (I can't remember when) they filled in the gate and made it smaller than the height of a person so that when anyone enters, they have to bow down to do so which had cool symbolism in it. Once we got in we got in to this huge line that would lead us to the entrance into the grotto. The throng of people made it really loud and the group behind us was pushing so much. We have really learned how to "block the gap." In the church the walls are completely covered with icons and images of kings, priests, virgins, I don't even know what. When we finally walked down the 14 steps into the grotto you see on your right the star that marks the birthplace of Jesus and then down below the stone manger where he was laid. We took pictures and then left the grotto. It was interesting to see these older women behind us who had traveled far to visit this place and were crying and so emotional over it. I wished I could feel the same way, but because of all the drapes and pictures and lamps and just visual noise, it made it really hard. We left the church and once back in Nativity Square we had time to shop. We went into this Tourist museum and they had this floor that had a ton of Nativities from all over the world! mom, you would have gone nutz! We took a few pics an then left and walked around. I wasn't planning on buying anything but we went into an olive wood shop and I ended up buying a nativity for a pretty decent price too. I also got a cool bone box that is going to be one of my wiseman boxes.

We left Bethlehem the separation wall and the West Bank all at once, and went over a mile or so to the Shepherd's Fields. We had a sack dinner and then had a really cool christmas program as a class. We had Joseph, Mary, Angels, Shepherds, and Wisemen all tell us about their experiences and lots of musical numbers. It was so special. The feelings I had there were completely different from those in the church in Bethlehem. Sitting in the field, looking over Bethlehem and through rows and rows of olive trees I was able to picture a Christmas in Judea. It was so special. Every Christmas I'll be able to thing of the Christmas Eve celebration we had as a class in Shepherds Fields. The faith of all involved for all people involved is so amazing. My feelings changed from sadness to contemplation to joy just in the few hours of the field trip. Joy to the World! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! Merry Christmas from the Holy Land!