BETHLEHEM

INTRODUCTION

The title of my reflection for today is, “Bethlehem.”

Bethlehem is a Christmas word. It’s the traditional place where Jesus is born.

SOME DATA

Mathew and Luke have the so called infancy narratives and that’s where we find mention of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is also the traditional place where David was born 1000 years before Christ.

The distance between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is more or less 5.52 miles.

The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem  is 68 Miles.

Bethlehem has  been a place of pilgrimage down through the centuries.

It has been a place of looting, burning, and violence down through the centuries. Right now at this time there have been some shooting and protesting - like the burning of signs of Vice  President  Pence.

The Christian community keeps getting smaller - because of push back.

Jews, Christians and Muslims inhabit the place.

When I was there in the year 2000 the bus had to park in a big bus depot up a bit from where the so called birthplace of Jesus is.

You walk from the bus depot  a few streets and then you can  enter the so called birthplace through a low door entrance - built that way to block horses from  entering - or carts for looting. Poets would say it’s to stress humility. In fact it's called, "The Door of Humility."  Tour guides like to mention the meaning of  having to bend down - to have access to the place of Jesus’ birth.

There’s a silver star on a spot  where they say Jesus was born.  St. Jerome didn’t like it - and said the reality of the place was rich without the need for silver.

Jerome settled in Bethlehem and did some of his writings there and translations of the Bible into Latin.

Its population today is about 25 thousand people.

There are 3 big celebrations around this time: December 25 for some Christians; January 6^th, for some Christians  - the epiphany; - and January 19^th for Armenian Christians.

MEDITATION  POINTS

Make sure you meditate and pray at this holy time - by stopping at the crib in every church you enter during the Christmas season. Bring the kids to the crèche in your  church. Say a prayer and take a piece of straw.

Have a crib under your tree. I hear people complaining about others blocking Christmas crèche in city spots. I respond: it’s reality. Not everyone is a Christian. Have one in your home or front or back yard or wherever.

Have an opinion - but think first - about public messages about bringing Christmas back.  One person in the news is implying that Christmas has been disappearing and we need to bring it back.  Another person in the news, is saying, “Christmas has never gone away.”  How do you see it?

I like to meditate on the word background  of the word “Bethlehem”.   Beth is the second letter of the alphBETH. The letter B is formed in the image of a house.  In Hebrew, Bethlehem means house of Bread. Lehem is the word for bread. In Arabic, it's Beth lahem. House of meat.  Lahem means meat. So Christ is the bread  and Christ is the meat. Christ is the lamb sacrificed. Christ sits at our table - breaking bread with us - hoping to be in communion with us.