Kairos moment bethlehem11/14/2023 ![]() ![]() These faces must come into agreement, but how? Must one of them change the expression of its face? If so, which one? These questions are not mere philosophy in Bethlehem, but matters of life and death… The other face focuses primarily on God’s heart for justice, mercy and speaking truth to power a measuring rod in his hand. One face focuses primarily on various eschatological interpretations of events foretold an end-times chart in his hand. Here is where at least two different ideas of what is called ‘prophetic’ face each other uneasily. A visit here should compel us to deeply examine what we believe and the consequences of our beliefs.’ Some tourists just put on rosy glasses, but this place demands more. ‘Don’t come to the Holy Land if you are not willing to talk about religion and politics,’ said a wise friend during my first week at BBC. Some of these olive trees were saplings in the days of the Crusaders. It is uprooted olive trees whose roots once clung to the soil through the birth of modern Israel and the Palestinian Nakba through the British Mandate through the Ottoman Empire and even beyond. (There are few green spaces left in this densely populated municipality a mingling of three towns, three refugee camps and several large and growing Israeli settlements and checkpoints).īethlehem is the sweet smoke of the hookah and incense, the fragrance of bees-wax candles and strong Arabic coffee mingled with an occasional waft of tear gas, skunk water or the dark black smoke of tires burning in the street. It is crowded refugee camps where kids play with marbles in narrow streets. It is a graffiti-covered separation wall that surrounds the city on three sides. Advertisementīethlehem is the pale stones of Star Street, where Christians have lived for over a thousand years now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is to wonder for a brief moment, what century exactly, you are living in. It is to walk the street with ladies in Hijabs, men in traditional Arab Keffiyehs and Eastern European pilgrims with shawls over their heads. It is to mingle with men in brown Franciscan robes, nuns in the white and blue garments of the Missionaries of Charity, and the various Orthodox denominations in their ornate caps and capes. It is to run your fingers across the crosses carved by Crusaders in the marble columns of the church. It is to breathe the dank air of the caves where Jerome translated the Latin Vulgate and thus charted the course of the Western World. To enter Bethlehem is to set foot inside a living museum. “Like the rest of this land, Bethlehem is steeped in mystery, liturgy, history, tragedy, absurdity, irony. Her words paint a picture that transports you to those ancient streets and brings them alive: Upon seeking Mercy’s permission I share with you below excerpts from her article ‘Yet in Thy Dark Streets Shineth’ and her impressions of Bethlehem. Prior to COVID-19, Mercy had lived and volunteered at the Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) for almost three years. One such person was a gifted writer, Mercy Aiken from the USA. I met many exceptional people, both Palestinians and Internationals. ![]() They wake actively seeking hope to make it through the day. Every day Palestinians wake with the anxiety of not knowing what that day will hold. Jesus and his family became refugees seeking safety, as have done millions of Palestinians in 1948, 1967 and to this day due to the actions of the political State of Israel (not to be equated with Biblical Israel). Jesus was born into an occupied land, as are they. ![]() ![]() For Palestinian Christians the comparison could not be more obvious. It seemed fitting during Advent in Bethlehem that Dr Mitri would deliver a Bible study linking the nativity narrative with the current day reality for Palestinians living in the Holy Land. Toward the end of the Sabeel Conference, we visited the Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts & Culture in Bethlehem, founded by Evangelical minister The Rev’d Dr Mitri Raheb. My time in Bethlehem was largely spent attending two Palestinian Christian-led conferences, Kairos Palestine and Sabeel. The separation wall dividing the Cremisan Valley (Photo courtesy of Anne Hoganson) ![]()
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