Sat. Nov. 10, 2007-Shabbat Shalom!
Today we visited Bethlehem. Quite an interesting story about getting to this city. It is not very far from Jerusalem, about 30 miles, but it is under Palestinian control. In order to visit the city, we had to change buses at the "border" and take on a Palestinian guide. Asher and Gilly, being Israeli, could not go with us. We also had to have our passports. Our guide, a beautiful young lady by the name of Eman, was very gracious and mentioned to us several times how much she enjoyed sharing the story of the birth of Christ with true believers. She took us to Beit Sahour ("house of people who watch at night"), commonly known as Shepherd's Hill. It is here that a cave, similar to one that the Savior would have been born in, has been preserved (the Shepherd's Grotto). The surrounding hills were not very pastoral, and are in fact very rocky. It did not fit my imagination of rolling green hills, similar to the ones we saw in Galilee. Our group had some private moments by the grotto, where we talked about the shepherds and the wisemen. We read the account in Luke 2 and sang beloved Christmas hymns: The First Noel, Hark! The Harold Angels Sing, Oh Come, All Ye Faithful, and O Little Town of Bethlehem. Everyone loves the story of the birth of the Savior. There is something so holy and innocent about a newborn babe. There is something so familiar and moving about a mother's intense love for a new little life, and a father's tender care of his beloved wife and baby. We left Shepherd's Hill and visited the Church of the Nativity. Again, this is the "traditional" site, but Pres. Harold B. Lee said, "...There seemed to be in this place a kind of spiritual assurance that this was indeed a hallowed spot although marred by...shall I say, unhallowed embellishments. Down in the basement is the cave hewn out of the rock that seemed to us to mark a sacred place." We had to wait in a line for about 40 minutes to be able to see this "cave" in the basement of the church.
A couple of funny notes about the Church of the Nativity. First of all, the entrance is a short little door to 1) keep the horses and animals out, 2) force all that entered to bow reverently, and 3) to keep the invading Ottoman Turks from riding their horses into the church. Also, inside the church, hanging from the fancy incense burners and chandeliers are round glass Christmas ball ornaments, similar to the kind you would buy at Kmart or Target.
We went back over the border into Jerusalem, enjoyed a quick meal and then proceeded to the Garden Tomb and Golgotha. Both of these sites seem to be a more logical choice for the events of the cruxifiction and resurrection. The hill of Golgotha (hill of the Skulls) has natural features that look like nose and eye sockets. A slew of other evidence has been uncovered to support this theory, but all I know is that this area was conducive to the crucifixion and the nearby tomb was of the type that would have belonged to a wealthy man (such as Joseph Arimathea). The area of this Garden Tomb was so lovely and peaceful. A much different feeling and experience than what we found at the Church of the Holy Seplechre. The most important thing to remember is: it does not matter what tomb, only that there was a tomb. Our faith is not dependant on places. "He is not here, for He is Risen."
Today we visited Bethlehem. Quite an interesting story about getting to this city. It is not very far from Jerusalem, about 30 miles, but it is under Palestinian control. In order to visit the city, we had to change buses at the "border" and take on a Palestinian guide. Asher and Gilly, being Israeli, could not go with us. We also had to have our passports. Our guide, a beautiful young lady by the name of Eman, was very gracious and mentioned to us several times how much she enjoyed sharing the story of the birth of Christ with true believers. She took us to Beit Sahour ("house of people who watch at night"), commonly known as Shepherd's Hill. It is here that a cave, similar to one that the Savior would have been born in, has been preserved (the Shepherd's Grotto). The surrounding hills were not very pastoral, and are in fact very rocky. It did not fit my imagination of rolling green hills, similar to the ones we saw in Galilee. Our group had some private moments by the grotto, where we talked about the shepherds and the wisemen. We read the account in Luke 2 and sang beloved Christmas hymns: The First Noel, Hark! The Harold Angels Sing, Oh Come, All Ye Faithful, and O Little Town of Bethlehem. Everyone loves the story of the birth of the Savior. There is something so holy and innocent about a newborn babe. There is something so familiar and moving about a mother's intense love for a new little life, and a father's tender care of his beloved wife and baby. We left Shepherd's Hill and visited the Church of the Nativity. Again, this is the "traditional" site, but Pres. Harold B. Lee said, "...There seemed to be in this place a kind of spiritual assurance that this was indeed a hallowed spot although marred by...shall I say, unhallowed embellishments. Down in the basement is the cave hewn out of the rock that seemed to us to mark a sacred place." We had to wait in a line for about 40 minutes to be able to see this "cave" in the basement of the church.
A couple of funny notes about the Church of the Nativity. First of all, the entrance is a short little door to 1) keep the horses and animals out, 2) force all that entered to bow reverently, and 3) to keep the invading Ottoman Turks from riding their horses into the church. Also, inside the church, hanging from the fancy incense burners and chandeliers are round glass Christmas ball ornaments, similar to the kind you would buy at Kmart or Target.
We went back over the border into Jerusalem, enjoyed a quick meal and then proceeded to the Garden Tomb and Golgotha. Both of these sites seem to be a more logical choice for the events of the cruxifiction and resurrection. The hill of Golgotha (hill of the Skulls) has natural features that look like nose and eye sockets. A slew of other evidence has been uncovered to support this theory, but all I know is that this area was conducive to the crucifixion and the nearby tomb was of the type that would have belonged to a wealthy man (such as Joseph Arimathea). The area of this Garden Tomb was so lovely and peaceful. A much different feeling and experience than what we found at the Church of the Holy Seplechre. The most important thing to remember is: it does not matter what tomb, only that there was a tomb. Our faith is not dependant on places. "He is not here, for He is Risen."
1 comment:
Holy smokes, Karen. I am so envious. I hope to be able to treat my wife to a trip like that. I have read so extensively about the area and know there is so much yet to happen there before the "winding up scene" that we will probably experience in our lifetimes. I saw your picture of Golgotha and so want to go there and see that entire area. I blogged an article about the ark of the covenant being in that area that I thought was intriguing.
Great blog!
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