What tel is that?
We headed south today, spending the morning at Bet Shean, an ancient tel that became the major Roman city-state Scythopolis in the first to fourth centuries. The tel is very high, comprising twenty layers of civilization, each building atop its predecessor, going back perhaps six thousand or more years. King Saul and his sons died in their failed attempt to take this Canaanite stronghold. In 732 B.C. the Assyrians destroyed what had by then become an Israelite city. The Byzantines renovated the city, but it was destroyed by earthquake in 749 A.D.
We learned a bit about Roman and Byzantine hygiene at the excavated and partially reconstructed public bath and latrine. From the top of the tel, we saw remnants of ancient temples and fortifications along with a great view of the Harod river. Alex performed for an international audience at the theater, where he received a standing ovation.
A big transition
As we headed south on highway 90, parallel the Jordan river, the land became browner, the hills more sparsely covered with trees. Only in the valley where the land was irrigated did we see much green vegetation. The villages in the Palestinian West Bank showed signs of poverty. In the vicinity of Jericho and on the way up toward Jerusalem, we saw Bedouin villages on a very barren, mountainous landscape. Our chartered bus worked hard to climb to Jerusalem, a crowded, busy city in great contrast to the desert we had just passed through. Bethlehem, too, is crowded and busy, but poorer, with narrow streets where pedestrians jostle with cars. A high wall, built by Israel, separates it from Israeli-occupied territories, and makes life difficult for the Palestinians, who have to pass through checkpoints to get from one city to another.
The birthplace of Jesus
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| The silver star in the crypt |
We went to the Church of the Nativity, where you pass through a very low door to enter a large nave. I find it uncomfortable to be part of a group of visitors when a liturgy is going on in a church, as was the case in this Orthodox sanctuary. We were permitted to visit the grotto below the sanctuary, where we venerated the place held by tradition as the birthplace of Jesus and the place where he was laid in the manger. The houses in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth were likely built atop caves that served as shelter for the cattle or sheep. It was a much humbler place that would be Scythopolis.
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| Entrance to the Milk Grotto |
We emerged from the grotto and moved to the adjoining Catholic Church of St. Catherine, where Fr. Michael celebrated mass in a side chapel. As he concluded the Eucharistic prayer, the muezzin at a nearby mosque started chanting on a loudspeaker, adding harmony to the great Amen and the Lord’s Prayer. It simply heightened the sense of contrasts we saw today in geography, climate, wealth and poverty, freedom and restriction on the road from Bet Shean to Bethlehem. I left prayer requests for some special intentions at the church in a place where life is difficult but the promise of help for difficult problems is offered.
Br. Bradley, OSB
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