Christmas in July

     I have spent the 4^th of July outside the U.S. three times now. The first one was in Mongolia and it was a tough adjustment to not be in the good old U.S. The second was also in Mongolia and we were on lockdown because of the riots that had just taken place after the elections. This third one I will remember for the rest of my life. Yesterday we celebrated the 4^th of July by having Christmas, we went to the little town of Bethlehem.

     Bethlehem is located just a few miles south of Jerusalem but it is part of the West Bank so we had to go through security check points. Because we were a bus full of Americans we had no trouble getting through. Our first stop was the Herodian. This was one of the many great palaces that Herod the Great built for himself. This particular one was to be a bomb shelter in case anything dangerous broke out. It is a magnificent monument and standing at the top I could see Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Moab, and the Dead Sea. Herod was the one who ordered that all children under the age of two years old be killed. Even though he is responsible for building up the magnificent Second Jewish Temple, he will always be remembered as the one who tried to slaughter in infant Jesus.

     After exploring the Herodian, we went to Bethlehem University and we were able to talk with a lot of the students that go there. There are around 3,000 students that attend there and 70% are Muslim and 30% are Christian. The students said that there is really no contention at all because of religion. I was talking with a Muslim guy and he said that his best friends are Christian. It was really hard to talk with them because they have such tough lives. Bethlehem is located in the West Bank and even though Jerusalem is a 5 minute drive, it takes hours to get through the check points and security and oftentimes they are only allowed to go through once or twice a year. This one guy said that on Christmas he and his family wanted to go to Jerusalem and all of his family got permission to go except him. Then for Easter they all tried to go again and he was the one to get permission but the rest of his family was not allowed to go. One thing the one of the girls said which struck me was her answer when she was asked, “What are your hopes and dreams for the future?” She replied, “to be able to walk the 10 minutes to Jerusalem.” I am so spoiled with all of the opportunities that I have as an American. I have it so easy.

     After Bethlehem University we went to the Church of the Nativity. It is the traditional site where Jesus was born. It is a really nice church and is the oldest, active church in the Holy Land. My professor who is an archeologist said that the spot was a good estimate and that if Christ wasn’t born there, He was born somewhere close by. The church is also famous because St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin there.

     The last stop of the day was at Shepherd’s Field. From there we could overlook the city of Bethlehem as well as the Herodian. Both of the places had kings that had lived there. One of the kings was born into a family of privilege, the other was born into poverty. One had people serving him, the other spent His life serving. One’s name is infamously remembered in the history books, the other’s name is remembered by billions as the greatest to ever live. As I looked over the landscape and read the New Testament passages of his birth, many thoughts and truths came to me. He was Jehovah, Yahweh, The Great I Am of the Old Testament. He was the God of Israel who gave them the law and yet condescended to come to the earth in the humblest of circumstances. He was born in Bethlehem and lived a sinless life. He is our perfect example in all things. I know that to be true.