Finding Peace in Bethlehem

 Post originally published for The Holy Ruckus on January 11, 2021

photo of mural by the artist Banksy on wall outside of Bethlehem

I have always considered myself an “Easter Catholic” as opposed to a “Christmas Catholic” since I identified more closely with the suffering and resurrection of Christ than the child Jesus sleeping soundly in a manger. Because of this, when I went to the Holy Land in 2019, I wasn’t sure what my experience in Bethlehem would be like.

Bethlehem is located in Palestine which still has tension with Israel. There are signs as you enter Palestine reminding you of this. As our bus pulled into Bethlehem, we went past a piece created by the artist Banksy that reminded me that the birthplace of the Prince of Peace does not exactly exist peacefully now.

It was a lot to take in. The first thing that we did when we arrived at Bethlehem was go to a gift shop. I suppose this is somewhat appropriate since Christmas is a time when we concern ourselves with purchasing gifts to remind us of the ultimate Gift of God’s Son; but so far, this trip to Bethlehem was off to a shaky start. 

When we arrived at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, there was a two hour line to get into the cave of Jesus’ birth. People were talking and pushing and not necessarily prayerful. The building was under renovation so some of the beauty of the Orthodox architecture was inhibited by plywood and spray paint. As I waited in that line, I kept thinking about all of the other places that I could be seeing or things that I could be doing in the Holy Land instead. 

Looking back on those feelings, I feel ashamed. How could I possibly have been impatient while waiting to be in the spot where the Savior of the world was given to us? But when I think about Advent and how we prepare ourselves for Christmas, is it not often like my experience in Bethlehem? We often focus on the buying of gifts and can be distracted by the decorations around us instead of focused on the event of the Incarnation. 

As I mentioned at the beginning, I have always identified more with being an “Easter Catholic.” There have been moments of suffering in my life when I clung to the image of Christ in the Stations of the Cross as we do in Lent. Meditating on the Paschal Mystery- the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus- has always been a little easier for me than contemplating the Mystery of the Incarnation. With Holy Week, there is no covering up or forgetting the painful parts of this Mystery. We remember the Passion of Christ very specifically and intentionally. Uniting myself with those moments of Christ’s life has always seemed more relatable than angelic scenes in a bucolic setting.

However, being in Bethlehem showed me that Christmas is more than angels singing sweetly in the fields on a solemn night. The reality of the Incarnation was messy- the questioning and ridicule Mary would have had to endure, the long travel for Mary and Joseph, and, of course, the lack of room at the inn. We focus so much on the peace of Christmas, (which is certainly something that our world needs,) but in a world so chaotic, is it not also tangible to remember the messiness, too?

When I finally reached the entrance to the cave in the Church of the Nativity where the Birth of our Lord took place- past the pushing and after the standing and the waiting- something inexplicable did seize my heart. I stood staring at the 14 pointed star that reminded me of the 3 sets of 14 generations mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. I felt brought to my knees. Amid the chaos of the less-than-peaceful Bethlehem, I found myself caught up in a moment of peace. 

I try to think of that moment now as our lives transition once again to the post-Christmas ordinary. How can we maintain the peace of Christmas amid the chaos of our everyday lives? Something we can do is remember that while miraculous and infinitely holy, the road to the Incarnation was bumpy. As represented in that 14 pointed star, the ancestors of Jesus were not perfect, yet they contributed to this Christmas event. Our lives will continue to be bumpy, but we can take solace in that we are not alone in that reality. 

After visiting the Church of the Nativity, our group moved to the Field of the Shepherds. Surrounding it were once again city businesses and gift shops, but the name of one of the shops- Boaz’ Field Souvenier Shop- made me pause. Even though the world around it may not be at peace, this little town of Bethlehem is still the birthplace of our Salvation. The reminders of Christ’s genealogy were in the holiest of places and even the less-than-maybe-holy ones, too. 

Where Christ on the Cross at Easter is such a vivid reminder of the great effort our God made to unite Himself to us, these reminders can be found in the town of His birth, too. There are just five miles between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Unfortunately, because of our humanity, it seems like so much more. But the distance does not have to be so great in our hearts. God’s humble gift to be born amid the chaos of Bethlehem points us to the humility of the Cross. 

I am grateful for the gift of having such a tangible experience to connect the cradle and the cross. And I am grateful to have had that moment of peace amid the chaos so I can try and bring peace into the world today, just as God did through Jesus. 

What image of peace will you hold onto as we transition from Christmas into Ordinary Time? As human as it is, this image of Boaz’ gift shop reminds me that there is humility, salvation, connection, and peace even in the most unexpected places thanks to Jesus.