July 24, 2008
Well despite the lock down we were able to do our Bethlehem Trip and see the birth place of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They believe that Christ was born in this like cave which is now in the middle of the city, but then would have been on the outside. Helena, the mother of Constantine, led an archaeological expedition in the 325 AD time period on a quest to find important sites of Christ’s life. She actually ended up “finding” everything she was looking for, and this was one of those things. Despite my cynicism, it actually very well could be, seeing as she has had like 1700 less years of dust and destruction to dig for looking for it, the people could have still remembered the tradition. Well, anywho, as a result of Helena’s findings the Catholic Church now has a huge Cathedral built directly over the caves. When you walk in the door is really small so that everyone must hunch and show their humility before the Lord. Then, you walk through the still functioning Catholic Cathedral and down the steps to this cave where supposedly Christ was born. I was a little bit unhappy with what I found. You see, what attribute do you think of when you think of the Savior’s birth? The first one that comes to my mind: humility. Well, the area is so decorated with statues and shrines and gold and shiny things and just like so much shrinery clutter that it was like what are we even looking at? What really threw me over the top was when they tried to tell me that this place right here was where the crib was. This exact place. I am as romantic as the next guy, but puhlease do not look me honestly in the face and tell me where the crib of Christ was located. How in the world could you make that statement? For you smart alec’s…don’t answer that question. It was just really disappointing, and then we were like being rushed by the people to get out, and well, it just was not the best situation. However, on the other side of the church there is another entrance to the other side of the caves, that is a quiet memorial portion of the cave for the bones of children they found. On that part of the same cave, we were alone as the two classes. We took out our Hymn Books and we sang. I kinda loved that. Silent Night…in the cave where the Savior was possibly born…yeah that is quite the experience. Follow the Star eat your heart out. Okay that was rash…I have had similar feelings in that cave as I have had in the past sitting in the Altisima Building Parking Lot watching Mom smile that angelic smile and wave her arms…well angelically. I mean that sincerely Momma. I just love the Spirit of Christmas, such a feeling of Hope. That was the feeling I got in that cave. Hope and Gratitude. Christmas in July continued as we left that Church and we headed over to what is called Shepherds Field. It is a hill between Bethlehem and Jerusalem overlooking the town of Bethlehem where shepherds watched over their flocks in the spring. The place where the boy David was supposed to be watching his flocks, instead of off slaying giants. It was more than likely the place where on a very very very special night a group of shepherds were greeted by an angel declaring, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tiding s of great joy, which shall be to all the people.” That was a place I was really glad to see. A place that finally kept its original feeling of simple holiness. No ornaments, no decorations. Not even a sign. Just a feeling. And for those lucky enough, a knowledge that here something spectacular happened, something that changed the world forever. Here, the birth of the Messiah, the Savior of the UNIVERSE, was announced by a heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.” Oh you could feel it. We met as a class and had our own Christmas program on that hill as the sun went slowly down. Fitting of course that it was on Pioneer day, and wouldn’t you know it, a few fireworks exploded over the city for about a minute. Again, I have no idea why, but I loved it. My favorite part was when Liz played Away in a Manger on the violin. The first verse was amazing. Each note resonated through me as I stared down at the city of Bethlehem and thought of how close I was to it all. Away, yes, but not very far. I love when the Spirit whispers to me at these special sites. I just love it. At the end of his small lecture, Brother Draper asked us a very poignant question. Look around, think what happened here, and ask yourselves, is this the first time you have been here? I hope not I thought to myself. I hope not. We all had the opportunity of splitting up and spending some time alone in the dark, staring down at the city of Bethlehem and thinking about it. I am amazed at how close Bethlehem is to Jerusalem. Now, with all the expansion they are within two miles from each other, and back then probably about 4 miles or so. Isn’t it interesting that the Beginning and End of the Savior’s life happened so close to each other? Really making this land…well… holy. I guess not that interesting, but I was intrigued. As I stood there and thought about everything that I have seen and will see as we travel to Galilee next week. I thought again, about why I came. You know that feeling you get when you have been waiting to see something, or waiting to see someone and it is almost like you are not quite sure that person or place is real. In your mind, whatever it is has always just been a hope and never a reality. And then finally when you see that person or get to that place you experience this weird feeling of like…well I am finally here…okay…well…now what do I do kind of thing? You are happy to be there, but it no longer becomes a hopeful feeling. It is real. The person you met or the places you have finally arrived at do not necessarily lose their splendor or grandeur, but they just go from being a hope in your mind to suddenly being a reality. I kind of like that. I kind of feel that way about everywhere I have been thus far. It is hard to explain, but the places that mean a lot to you, they kind of just become a part of your reality. They are no longer created from a combination of pictures you have seen and stories you have heard pieced together in your imagination. They are just real places that you know. The part that I love, is how when the places are real and you make them a part of you, all that is left is to discover if the events are real and then make those a part of you as well. That is obviously no feat that can be accomplished in a moment, but is to be pursued over a lifetime. However, when you are there, and you are sitting in these places, and you feel that feeling. The events become just as real as the place. They become a part of your reality. The only difference is you don’t quite completely transfer from that feeling of hope. That feeling you maintain. And that is the fun part. It makes me excited for the next life.