Shepherds Field: May 20, 2019

After the Church of the Nativity, our next stop was Shepherds' Field, an area of caves where the shepherds kept their sheep.

Shepherd's Field wasn't far from the Church of the Nativity. 

The angel first announced the Good News of Jesus' birth to shepherds, the lowliest of the low.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them., "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born. You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:8-12 

Two to four shepherds would keep their sheep in the same cave. The shepherds would call to their sheep by a special whistle. The sheep knew their shepherd's whistle and would follow them. Jesus incorporated shepherds into his teachings. "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10:14. We had Mass in one of the caves. Here Val performs a vignette of a midwife who attended Mary.

Betsey performs a dance, "Let Me Be Your Bethlehem."

At the end of Mass, Fr. Michael, holding up the red prayer bag, led us in a guided meditation, asking us to imagine holding the Baby Jesus. I later wrote down what I thought about, as I held the chubby, happy baby Jesus. 

Little baby, I know what is in store for you. Rest and play easily in my arms, and I will help your mom and dad care for you.

Pilgrims, Stop Yourself before the Infant

The shepherds were the first to see this "tent," to receive the news of Jesus' birth. They were the first because they were among the last, the outcast. And they were the first because they were awake, keeping watch in the night, guarding their flocks. The pilgrim is bound by duty to keep watch and the shepherds did just that. Together with them, let us thank the Lord for having given Jesus to us, and with them let us raise from the depths of our hearts the praises of his fidelity: We bless you, Lord God most high, who lowered yourself for our sake. You are immense, and you made yourself small; you are rich and you made yourself poor; you are all-powerful and you made yourself vulnerable.

May 20, 2019: Bethlehem: Church of the Nativity

We made a short drive to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, which tradition says was built over the place where Jesus was born. The history of these churches built over holy sites is incredibly complex, with many different incarnations through the centuries. The great builder and mother of Emperor Constatine, St. Helena, commissioned the first church on this spot in the 4th century. Some of what is there now dates to the 6th century. 

We had to duck through a three-foot high entranceway to enter the church, the Door of Humility.

Where we waited in a long line for about and hour and a half to get to the birth area.

Crusader-era painting of saints on the pillars.



Between the line and the somewhat garish interior, I didn't find the Church of the Nativity to be particularly edifying. It is so unlike the place described in the gospel stories of Jesus's birth. A few years ago, I read Jesus: A Pilgrimage by Fr. James Martin. It was the book that made me want to visit the Holy Land. Fr. Martin had the same reaction to the Church of the Nativity as I did. It was, he said, "a spiritual challenge to maintain a reverent attitude" among the crowds.

Underneath the altar is the place--the Nativity Grotto--where tradition says Jesus was born.

Here is a postcard photo of the same spot as the previous picture, without the crowd.

Underneath the altar where. . .

. . . the star marks the birth spot of Jesus, fully human, fully divine, which was likely in a cave.

Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace: 

we bless you for the gift of your great light.

May all the world rejoice in your coming, O Savior and Lord,

who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Geri, a fellow pilgrim, prays over the star.

The Nativity Grotto without the crowd.

Pilgrims, Stop Yourselves before the Infant

The grace which was revealed in our world is Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, true man and true God. He has entered our history; he has shared our journey. He came to free us from darkness and to grant us light. In him was revealed the grace, the mercy, and the tender love of the Father: Jesus is Love incarnate. He is not simply a teacher of wisdom, he is not an ideal for which we strive while knowing that we are hopelessly distant from it. He is the meaning of life and history, who has pitched his tent in our midst.

                                                         Pope Francis

Up in the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity.

For many of us, the most moving part of our visit to the Church of the Nativity was singing Silent Night in the Nativity Grotto. 

May 19, 2019 Onward to Samaria, Jacob's Well, and Jerusalem

Above is a map of the Holy Land. We flew into Tel Aviv and took a bus to Tiberias, where we stayed the past several days as we explored Galilee. We are now making our way south through Samaria to Jerusalem in Judea. The orange portions of the map are Arab-controlled sections of Israel.

A common observation: the Arab portions of Israel appear much less developed than the Jewish portions, almost like two countries within one. Many historical and political reasons for this reality that weren't the main focus of the pilgrimage. It is sad. Every morning as we started the day, we prayed together on the bus. Here is part of the prayer from today.

We are a pilgrim people,

we are an Easter people. . .

here on this Sunday of the Easter season,

we prepare to leave Galilee 

to pass with you through the land of Samaria,

a foreign land in your time,

a land of cultural and religious differences,

and this reality continues today

as our landscape changes

and we enter a bordered region

where Palestinians today struggle 

to live within the boundaries of constriction.

We thirst for living water,

as the Samaritan woman of long ago thirsted

as the Palestinians today thirst for their own

wells of freedom and faith.

All pilgrimages have their challenges and strengths can be weaknesses. Seeing so many different sacred places was a strength. Some days it was a weakness because the speed at which we saw places made taking in and processing all of the holiness overwhelming. On this day, in the morning we were in Magdala, the afternoon Jacob's well and our first look at Jerusalem. 

We traveled to the Samaritan town of  Sebastiya, where we stopped for lunch.

And saw our first camels.

Rugged but beautiful hill country surrounds Sebastiya.

Historical ruins abound in the area, including the above Roman theater.

A little political commentary.

A young camel amidst the ruins.

Onto the Samaritan city of Nablus, where we will visit Jacob's Well.

The Palestinian flag flies in the Arab-controlled portions of Israel.

When I think of Israel, I think of the Jewish people. But of course a great many Arab-Muslims make their home there.

There are many mosques. Above is a minaret part of the mosque where the Islam call to prayer is announced five times a day.

Arab-Christians are a small minority.

We arrive at Jacob's Well, which is located in a Greek Orthodox Church.

An icon of Jesus on the church dome.

This is the ancient well, where as recorded in the Gospel of John, Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for some water.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where can you get this living water?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

Psalm 42

Like the deer that yearns

for running streams,

so my soul is yearning

for you, my God

My soul is thirsting for God,

the God of my life.

Onward to Jerusalem, where we stopped over looking the city.

Fr. Michael lead us in prayer as we are about to enter the Holy City.

The first of many views of the Dome of the Rock, the Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount.

Home for the rest of the pilgrimage.