Daily Devotion for July 10, 2006

Day 15

 

Bethlehem

 

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."    Micah 5:2

 

Manager Square at the center of Bethlehem is crowed with cars, buses and tourists.  Local guides are especially industrious in leading the never-ending stream of visitors into the numerous shops.  Here anyone can find great supplies of olive-wood carvings and some rather bizarre items made from mother-of-pearl.

 

But who can be surprised at the commercialism in Bethlehem?  Don’t we think that the Byzantine and Crusader visitors wanted mementos of this town to carry home to their friends and relatives?  This is, after all, the town where every day seems to be Christmas. 

 

We enter this great fortress of a church through a very low entrance with a fascinating background.  Centuries ago, the low doorway was built to keep out the Mamelukes on horseback.  Once through the door, we see the monumental beauty of one of the most ancient churches in the world.

 

The basilica was built in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian at the request of the ninety-year-old Saint Sabas who journeyed to Constantinople in 530 with his petition.  It rests on an even earlier church built by Constantine in 325.  Parts of the Constantine mosaic pavement can still be seen under some trap doors in the nave.  That a well preserved sixth-century church still stands in the ever-embattled Holy Land must be considered as something of a miracle.

 

The main altar is hidden by a Greek Orthodox icon stand.  However, it is the grotto beneath this altar that really interests us.  At the side of the sanctuary steps lead down to a humble place honored as the birthplace of Jesus since AD 200.  Under a Greek Orthodox altar is a star with the inscription in Latin: “Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.”  Nearby and a bit lower is the Roman Catholic Altar of the Manger where the Mass of Christmas is offered each morning.

 

How many pilgrims have come to pray in this stable-cave and to wonder at God’s love for humankind!  St. Jerome especially loved this place and made Bethlehem his home in the fourth century.  Here, he translated the Bible into Latin in a cave reached through the Franciscan Church of St. Catherine.  Today, Bethlehem’s pilgrims view these places thinking of the ancient census of Emperor Augustus that brought Mary and Joseph to this city of David (Luke 2:1-10).

 

Prayer
Jesus, you were born here in poverty and cold – a tiny baby, weak and dependent.  In these few moments that we spend here, may we be deeply moved by your love and your example.  O Emmanuel, “God who is with us,” the babies of the poor and oppressed remind us of you.  Those who struggle to provide for their families make us think of Mary and Joseph.  May we leave this stable cave with greater sensitivity and compassion for the least of your brothers and sisters.  Amen

 

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While in the Middle East for a Biblical Study Journey with fellow Word Among Us Students, a 5-person crew is filming and taking pictures of the various sites. This vibrant photographic material will be incorporated into next year's Word Among Us classes.

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