Bethlehem
“But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.”
(Micah 5:2)
David was born in Bethlehem, contrary to Saul, who was described as standing head and shoulders above all the others. David was the 8th and youngest son of Jesse. He was a shepherd boy, forgotten and ignored even by his own family when Samuel came to anoint a next king of Israel. The prophet Micah led by the Spirit prophesied that the Messiah must come not from the citadel of mighty Jerusalem, but from the lowly village of Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem means "House of Bread." Probably the people of Bethlehem – farmers, millers, and bakers – would supply bread for larger and more important nearby city, Jerusalem. Probably people would say, “Can anything good come out of Bethlehem?” Bethlehem was considered a town of low esteem. But God, instead of Jerusalem, chose Bethlehem to be the birth place of the Messiah. This is God’s recurring theme found throughout the Gospels over and over again. God humbles the proud, but lifts up the humble.
Joseph and Mary
Joseph was from Bethlehem. He had
to take the journey to Bethlehem to register, because a census should be taken
of the entire Roman world. The purpose of census was not simply to know how
many people were living. It was taken to tax people to the maximum. So now, everyone had to go to their hometown to
register. Joseph and Mary had to travel all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem
even though she was about to give birth. They had to travel 90 miles – about
thirty hours to walk. If Joseph and Mary walked 17 to 19 miles a day, it would
take at least five days. I want us to try to put ourselves in Mary’s shoes, a
woman who was due to soon give birth to her first baby. I wonder where they
stayed each night, where they camped along the way. I still vividly remember when Joyce had been
pregnant with our first baby Lydia. In particular, I remember the day when
Joyce suddenly began to have contractions. It was two weeks earlier than the
due date. No family was around at that time. The contractions were getting
longer, stronger, closer together. Joyce and I were in panic mode. We ran into
the hospital at night. But they sent us back home, because the contractions
were not close enough yet. So we had to stay up all night at home, back and
forth to the hospital.
Mary was about to give birth to a baby anytime soon on the journey. To make things worse, when they finally arrived in Bethlehem, there was no “guest room” available for them. In Judea, caves are plentiful. Many built their home over a natural cave. Their typical home had two floors – a basement (natural cave) used as the barn for the family’s livestock, and the upstairs was used for the family’s living area and a guest room. There was no guest room available upstairs, so Mary had to go to the cave-barn for delivery her baby in the basement.
When we ponder about Jesus’ birthplace, we realize that our God is the God of the lowly. The Messiah, King of the universe was born in the cave-barn. He was born homeless. Later in 339 AD, Queen Helena dedicated the first church over the cave-barn. There is a short door in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem which makes everyone have to bow low to enter; it is called the eye of the needle. (In the picture) the highest lintel was the original entrance, the lower arch is Crusader, the tiny door was made by the Ottoman Turks. They abused the building, allowing in animals to enter through the door. Even after the church was recaptured by British army, the decision was made to leave the door as it was – as a reminder that Jesus the Messiah is the God of the humble.
Shepherds
When Jesus was born, night-shift shepherds
were on the hillsides not far from Bethlehem. In Jesus’ time, shepherds were
not held in high esteem among the townsfolk. They were often seen as uneducated,
unsophisticated, and unclean. Among shepherds, night-shift shepherds were the
lowest. Then, why did angels appear to the night-shift shepherds? Because they
were the lowest of the low. During his trip, Adam Hamilton had a chance to
speak with Palestinians in Bethlehem. He asked Ibrahim, one of the shepherds,
why God chose to invite the shepherds to be the first to see and celebrate the
birth of Jesus. He responded instantly, "Because Jesus was humble, and
shepherds are humble."
When we visit Bethlehem, one of the
places we may be taken is the “shepherd’s fields.” There we find an interesting cave that gives
us a glimpse of what a cave dwelling for shepherds may have looked like at the
time of Jesus. The night-shift shepherds often kept their flocks in the cave
and protected them from predators, sitting at the door of the cave. The angels
suddenly appeared to them and said to them, “I bring you good news for all
the people. Today in Bethlehem a Savior was born to you, the
Messiah, the Lord. The sign is this: you will see a baby lying in a manger.”
I am sure the shepherds would easily and immediately feel connected, when they
visited Jesus who was in the cave-barn, lying in a manger. God chose Bethlehem,
God chose Mary and Joseph, God chose night-shift shepherds. Our God is the God
of the lowly.
God of the Lowly
I have been asked several times so
far, “What was your favorite place in the Holy Land?” Though it is hard to
pinpoint one particular place, I would say that Bethlehem gave me a strong
impression. Bethlehem is in Palestinian territory. When I was there, the first
thing I noticed was Israel’s checkpoint. Then, the West Bank wall. Millions
visit Bethlehem every year, especially Christmas season, to fulfill their
religious duties, but Palestinians who live there are struggling to survive.
For me personally, I am grateful for our Bishop. For missional purposes, our team intentionally started our pilgrimage from Bethlehem, staying 3 nights there out of 8 days of the journey, in order to take enough time to see, listen, ponder, as well as to financially support Palestinian Christians. One day I visited Bethlehem Bible College, there I listened to their daily struggles. For example, in the West Bank, Israeli settlers consume about six times the amount of water used by the Palestinians. According the World Bank, the GDP figure in Israel in 2018 is $41,715, whereas in the Palestinian territories it is $3,199.13.[1] One evening I was invited to Palestinian family’s home for dinner. I listened to their stories. They live in poor surroundings, limited access to medical services, education and job opportunities. They have to obtain special permits to cross to Jerusalem. One evening I visited the Walled Off Hotel, the worst view in the world. This hotel is facing the West Bank wall. There I appreciated the artwork of Banksy. I was able to feel a longing for peace and harmony. Out of all this, my favorite place was Hope School. This school is known to the community as “the second chance school.” Hope School was founded by the Mennonites in 1962 and began as a secondary school for dropouts, orphans, and special-needs children. Their guiding values are love, peace, justice, and coexistence. Christian and Muslim students learn and live side by side at this school. There I met the God of hope, the God of peace, the God of the lowly.
Compassion
This past week my prayer has been
this: “Lord, kindle the fires of compassion in me,” because I felt numb in
the midst of the Ukraine crisis. In Latin, ‘compati’ means “suffer
with.” Compassion means someone else’s heartbreak becomes my heartbreak.
Another’s suffering becomes my suffering.
The compassion of Christ can be clearly seen in the Gospels. Jesus was moved with compassion, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things. Jesus was moved with compassion, so he touched and healed the sick. Jesus was moved with compassion, so he wept and comforted the grieving. Jesus was moved with compassion, so he fed the people. Jesus was moved with compassion, so he (the Word) became flesh and blood, and lived among us.
May we be moved with compassion with the people of Ukraine. May we be moved with compassion with the people of Palestine. May we be moved with compassion with those in distress among us and around us. May we feel their pain and take positive action to relieve their suffering. May we pray that God will forgive us when our hearts are cold and kindle the flames of compassion in us, given by the Spirit. Amen and Amen.
[1]
Munther Isaac, The Other Side of the Wall (p. 11). InterVarsity Press.
Kindle Edition.
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