1. O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
2. For Christ is born of Mary;
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to all on earth.
3. How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
4. O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
We left the Garden of Gethsemane and took a short trip to Bethlehem, which is about 6 miles from Jerusalem. Bethlehem means “house of bread”.
Bethlehem, which is actually located in Palestine on the West Bank, is surrounded by a 3-story concrete wall topped with razor wire. Israeli soldiers armed with assault rifles stand guard at the wall. According to the Israeli government, the wall was put up to keep terrorists away from Jerusalem.
The following picture, taken from the Internet, gives an idea of the height of the wall:
We were told that no Palestinian is permitted to enter Israel. In fact if a Palestinian wants to leave the area the only way to do so is to go through Jordan.
We entered Palestine without question. When we leaft Bethlehem an armed Israeli soldier boarded the bus and quickly glanced at our passports. People in the cars and trucks ahead of us are thoroughly checked as the drivers exit their vehicle and have the trunk and underside of their car/truck closely scrutinized as the guards check for possibile bombs.
Once we passed through the check point we went to a local restuarant for lunch. The choice ws a turkey sandwich from the rotisseri or falafel - both served inside pita bread. Pita bread wherever we have stopped has been really, really good. Wish I could box it up and take it home.
Some people have asked me what falafel is. Falafel is a Middle Eastern specialty consisting of small, deep-fried CROQUETTES or balls made of ground CHICKPEAS. Some can be quite spicy. They're generally tucked inside PITA bread, sandwich-style, but can also be served as appetizers. A yogurt- or tahini -based sauce is often served with falafel. Falafel is OK, not my favorite. I ate the turkey sandwich.
After lunch we went to the Church of the Nativity, a major attraction in Bethlehem, built in the 4th century by Emperor Constantine that marks the traditional spot where Jesus was born.
The entrance to this famous church in Bethlehem is remarkably unimpressive. The large courtyard is perfect for priests, pilgrims or tourists, but most noticeable are the vendors. Palestinian police now patrol the area.
The entrance to the Church of the Nativity is through the door of Humility. The door was reduced to its present small size (which requires adults to stoop upon entering) in the Ottoman period, to prevent horses and carts being driven through for the purposes of looting. As the name indicates, many believe this to be appropriate to the sacred site, as no one can enter it standing tall.
The birth of Jesus is narrated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Matthew gives the impression that Mary and Joseph were from Bethlehem and later moved to Nazareth because of Herod's decree, while Luke indicates that Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem while they were in town for a special census. Scholars tend to see these two stories as irreconcilable and believe Matthew to be more reliable because of historical problems with Luke's version.
But both accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. According to Luke 2:7 (in the traditional translation), Mary "laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." But the Greek can also be rendered, "she laid him in a manger because they had no space in the room" — we should perhaps imagine Jesus being born in a quiet back room of an overflowing one-room house.
The gospel accounts don't mention a cave, but less than a century later, both Justin Martyr and the Protoevangelium of James say Jesus was born in a cave. This is reasonable, as many houses in the area are still built in front of a cave. The cave part would have been used for stabling and storage - thus the manger.
After entering the door of Humility we entered a spacious room. Underneath the present floor are beautiful mosaics of the earlier church. The church built at the direction of Constantine's mother was octagonal in shape, typical of Byzantine memorial churches.
The Grotto of the Nativity, a rectangular cavern beneath the church, is the Church of the Nativity's focal point. Entered by a flight of steps by the church altar, this is the cave that has been honored as the site of Christ's birth since at least the 2nd century.
According to tradition, Mary gave birth to Jesus at the place of where the star is located on the floor. The tradition that the birth was in a cave is one of the oldest Christian traditions. Justin Martyr mentions it in the mid-2nd century, as does the Protoevangelium of James (also 2nd c.). Origen notes that the cave of Jesus' birth was pointed out in his day and no doubt this was the same place where the Byzantine church was erected.
The silver star in the floor marks the very spot where Christ is believed to have been born. The star's Latin inscription reads, "Here of the Virgin Mary Jesus Christ was born — 1717." The floor is paved in marble, and 15 lamps hang above the star (six belong to the Greeks, five to the Armenians and four to the Latins).
Tradition indicates the manger was here:
The Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic areas of the church that are quite ornate. A few pictures from inside the church follow.
Outside the church are minurets and crosses reflecting the presence of Christianity and Islam.
As we walked around outside the church, Christmas lights twinkled in some of the trees. As we drove through Bethlehem there were signs of Christmas everywhere, include a Santa hanging in the window of one of the stores - I found seeing Santa posted in one of the holiest of cities to be irreverent and disgusting.
And now onto the Shepherd's Field - the next entry.
Not only is the Santa a bit shocking but so too the oranteness of everything surrounding the birthplace. The gold star and marble would not have been what I would have expected. Is there meaning to th 15 lamps? And also to the number associate with the Greeks, etc. Also, in the last picture the symbol at the top of the tower appears to be a reversed 'c' for late of better description. What is the meaning?
ReplyDeleteHerb
Another great question - not sure why six lamps belong to the Greeks, five to the Armenians and four to the Latins. We asked the same question - no one seemed to know exactly why - only that the site reflects the influence of the Greeks, Armenians, and the Latins. Here's a little bit more information I got off the Internet:
ReplyDeleteThe main altar at the east end and the one on the south (Altar of the Circumcision) are the property of the Greek Orthodox Church. The main altar includes an Orthodox iconostasis, which is crowned with gilded angels, icons, gilded chandeliers and lamps.
On the north side of the high altar is the Armenian Altar of the Three Kings, dedicated to the Magi who tied up their horses nearby, and in the north apse is an Armenian altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
An octagonal baptismal font in the south aisle dates from the 6th-century church of Justinian; it originally stood near the high altar. The inscription reads, “For remembrance, rest and remission of sins of those whose names the Lord knows.”
Archaeologists have discovered an octagonal bed of exactly the same dimensions over a cistern near the altar which provided the required water. After the font was moved in the Crusader renovation, it became the focus of various colorful legends: it was the well into which the star of the Magi fell; the well where the Magi watered their horses; or the well to which David’s three heroes came.
Steps away from the birthplace shrine is the Chapel of the Manger, owned by the Roman Catholics. Fragments of 12th-century wall mosaics and capitals around the manger survive. Back in the upper church, a door in the north apse leads to the Catholic Church of St. Catherine.
Re the reversed "c" - this is the crescent moon on a minaret, a symbol often times associated with Islam. Throughoout the Holy Land are symbols representing Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.