2011 Holy Land Study Tour - Day Seven

Day Seven - Bethlehem: Church of the Nativity, Shepherd's Fields, and Herodian

The star in the crypt

Hello, it's Alex again.  So yesterday we only got into the Church of the Nativity briefly, enough to see the crypt with the star commemorating the location venerated as the birthplace of Jesus, as well as off to the side, where he was said to be wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger narrative.

So today we began the day with a mass in one of the side chapels of the church and then proceeded to tour the complex, getting a much more complete look than we were able to have yesterday.  The term "Church of the Nativity" actually only refers to the Greek Orthodox section of the church, while the Catholic section is St. Catherine's. (Though both use the same crypt.)  This is keeping with a tradition that we've seen in several locations before, including Capernaum and would be repeated later today with the Shepherd's Fields in that often the two traditions venerate two different sites as the commemoration locations for various notable events in Christian history.  This raises interesting questions again about how veneration is often done, but it does for some take away from some of the impact of the locations since, unlike later sites such as the Holy Sepulchre and the Cavalry, we don't have as strong of archeological evidence for these being the exact sites.  Fr. Michael emphasizes to us, though, that some of the holiness of these locales comes not from the question of exact historical accuracy of the spot, but of the long history of many before us coming to these same locations on pilgrimages of their own.

Church of Nativity

 At the Church of the Nativity side, Fr. Michael told us about the unsettling circumstances about ten years ago during the Second Intifada where it was the site of a long stand-off between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army and there was concern that things could get very ugly in any number of ways.  A number of sources intervened including the Vatican and a crisis was averted, but not before a stark reminder was given about the realities of the area.  On the whole, though, Bethlehem seems rather peaceful, comparatively speaking anyway.  Some of us were a bit surprised at this--the abject poverty many hear about in the Palestinian territories was not staring us in the face here, though Andy and Brother Michael-Leonard commented on the fact that sometimes people do their best to keep up appearances when this is, in fact, all they can do. They saw this in their work in Newark, NJ, and it cannot be discounted that this may be the case here. The city is concerned about a steady decrease in the Christian population. Christians once comprised 70% of Bethlehem's population, but as a result of the continuing strife and lack of a lasting peace, that number has dwindled to around 7%, the rest being Muslim.  (We would hear the Muslim call to prayer five times each day we've been here--a new experience for almost all of us as most have not been to a predominantly Muslim area before.)

After the Church of the Nativity, we continued a few blocks to the Milk Grotto--a cave-like site also impossible to venerate precisely, but the source is from a biblical text that refers to the mule hitting a bump during the Holy Family's passage into Egypt, at which time a rock became coated in breast milk, as Mary was said to have been breast-feeding at the time (hence the name).  The site has become the source of reported miraculous powers dealing with fertility, and Fr. Michael related a story about a past group in which a woman had a family member who had been having difficulty conceiving. She observed the tradition of scraping some chalk from the stone cave walls and putting it in water and saying a prayer.  The idea was to drink the concoction, and from whatever source it may have happened, the family member in question became pregnant soon after.  I guess God, in whatever form one believes, can work in some plenty mysterious ways, but it's pretty hard to argue with a story like that.

We had some time for a bit of souvenir shopping after this, and though I had resolved to for the most part follow the "take only pictures, leave only footprints" motto here, I felt I needed to get something for a couple of individuals.  Fr. Michael gave me the idea to touch what I got to all the holy sites we visited for the rest of the trip, so the gift itself will be holy when presented to the recipient, and I immediately fell in love with the idea, sucker for symbolism that I am.

We visited the two traditions' different Shepherd's fields after (another) delicious falafel lunch (the stand we went to yesterday was closed, but a nearly identical one provided us with a fine meal, likely operated by a family member of the first stand, given the similarities of the two places). The fields are meant to symbolize possible locations for the receiving of the news of Jesus's birth. Again, imprecise, but still a feeling of awe knowing it happened somewhere around where we were. Our final stop of the day was Herodin, the remains of the fortress of Herod the "Great" (more like Herod the Terrible--vicious butcher that he was, killing multiple wives and step-children, among other horrors we learned about and I won't even repeat on here). But the architecture was certainly plenty impressive, indeed Fr. Michael explained that the "great" in his title mostly refers to the structures of which he oversaw the construction.  Guess they had a lot lower standards for "greatness" in those days, huh?

These are our last major sites in Israel and the Palestinian territories before heading into Jordan tomorrow, but our day wasn't over. I needed to take a walk back down to the crypt to sanctify my items to be gifted, and Siobhan wanted to get another look too, so we walked over there together, being approached along the way by multiple shopkeepers trying to get us to check out their wares. We were the last ones let into the crypt for the day, and as we were waiting for a large group from India to finish (their leader seemed to be rushing them quite a bit, insisting they go in two at a time--not exactly making for a highly spiritual experience--one of them came up to us and though we must be proper young British lads for how patiently we were waiting--somewhat closer to appropriate for Siobhan I suppose, as she is of Irish descent, but in my case a bit humorous. As I was the one holding holy items in my hands, to be made holier by touching them to the site, they also appeared to assume me to be a quite pious and devout Christian, which, those who know me will know how ironic this is.......

After our visit to the crypt we went into another souvenir shop where the owner was showing us some decorative cloth items, at which time Siobhan's and my eyes fell simultaneously on a swastika in the middle. (Granted it was not tilted as the Nazi one was, but straight up and down, so it was likely the original design which came from India and was a generic symbol of power before the Nazis stole it, adapted it, and forever tainted it, but still quite jarring for us to see.)  Siobhan thought quickly and sharply, however, and critiqued the stitching as somewhat defective. Whether the gentleman caught the drift, I'll never be certain, but he gave what looked like a knowing smile and said that perhaps he should send it back.   Over dinner we had some quite enlightening conversations, as several of the lay people in our group wanted to know more about the monastic life, and some of the very negative ways in which it can be regarded.  The consensus seemed to be that what people fall in "love" with, so to speak can be very mysterious, as can the reasons behind it, and this can be hard for outsiders to understand.  It impressed me, though, the openness with which both groups (monks and lay people) discussed this highly personal matter in a group in which most of us have only known each other for a few days.

We ended the night with a visit from Brother Robert, a friend of Fr. Michael's, originally from Minnesota but now teaching at Bethlehem University, established by the DeLaSalle brothers as a way of catering to Palestinian women. He told us of the success they have had in the past and the different atmosphere of trust and hope the brothers are able to create through their mere ability to stay there steadfastly through thick and thin, as opposed to some of the other universities in the West Bank and Gaza, and how many parents have said they would send their children to no other school.  He also explained difficulties they have in recruiting students from as wide an area as they would like due to the inconvenience and difficulty of travel within and between these territories due to restrictions and checkpoints. I reminded that some would be surprised at the ways in which weapons have been smuggled into Israel and that if they don't maintain stringent security, bombs go off within their borders.  He did say, however, that although he has a hard time trusting politicians in general, he sees some hope for peace within the current generation of students' attitudes and that many of them are tired of war and strife may now truly ready to make peace.  He said this in response to a question I asked regarding their positions keeping pace with the Israelis' in large part supporting an eventual two-state solution, something that concerns me greatly in the wake of such recent developments as the Fatah/Hamas alliance and from a personal level, banners I saw in souvenir shops showing all of the land west of the Jordan River (Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza) under the single label of "Palestine." He assured us that from his vantage point, this is not the greater sentiment he sees, and all the rest of us can only hope and pray that peace will be possible at long last in the very near
future....


Day Seven Slideshow (Pisasa Web Slideshow)

Alexander Adams-Leytes