Day Two: Bethlehem - Sunday

This morning we were awakened at 5:30 with the muslim call to prayer from the minaret. It comes five times a day and is really quite beautiful to listen to. but not at 5:30.

We were served a breakfast of boiled eggs, many vegetables and fruits, cheeses, yogurt, dips and sauces and spices, coffee, tea, juice, water, and cornflakes with milk. We worshipped with the Arab Christian congregation here this morning in the amazing church, built around 500 years ago by German Lutheran missionaries. The stained glass windows are unbelievable, with scripture in German. The inside of the cupola is a beautiful blue with Arabic script in gold paint. It says "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to all men." How appropriate that, in this land of conflict and turmoil, worshippers gather each Sunday morning to be reminded of the message of the angels heralding the birth of the Messiah, which happened not very far from here.

The service was in Arabic, but we heard one lesson read in english and the bulletin had many things in english. We each prayed the Lord's Prayer in our own language, there were visitors from Norway and Sweden here also. That brought tears to my eyes, to hear our Lord's Prayer in a small way similar to how God hears it at any given moment in time. Voices joining together in a common prayer in different tongues. The most beautiful sound I ever heard in a worship service was at the end of the service, when we sang the closing hymn, which was "Fairest Lord Jesus". I wept as my english words joined with the swedish words and the arabic words, voices raised together to proclaim that Jesus is ruler of all nations.

We had free time until 1:00 to explore, shop, and eat lunch. We walked through the markets and were welcomed by these Palestinians with open arms and broad smiles. We were invited to sample various fruits and vegetables to puchase: dates and figs, all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought some fresh dates, not dried, from a vendor and paid ten shekels (about 3 dollars) for half a kilo. I'm taking it easy on eating them though so my digestive system doesn't do weird things. :)

I had a wonderful falafel for lunch, made for me by a man named Yassar Arafat. I'm not kidding, apparently it's a fairly common name! He and the other employees of the cafe were so welcoming and willing to explain anything, show me how they make the food, answer my questions. Oh, and the falafel was fabulous! one american dollar.

Our entire group went to the Church of the Nativity this afternoon. I cannot give words to the feelings and emotions of that experience. Sacred space. Hope born long ago in a crude stone cave. Hope continuing to live, even in a world filled with conflict. Glory to God in the highest indeed.

We were able to go underground into the cave and place our hands on the rough stone floor where tradition says Mary gave birth to the Savior of the World. It was a profound experience that I will treasure forever.

We also went into the other side of the cave where St. Jerome translated the scriptures into what is now the Latin Vulgate. I stood in a cave where Christian history was made and saw, carved into the stone wall, several crosses, put there by the early Christians in the first century as a signal to those who would come after them that the ground upon which we were standing was holy ground.

On our way back from this amazing experience, four of us stopped in a little cafe for coffee and were served the best coffee and homemade baklawa by a wonderful Palestinian man. The shop next door to his was owned and run by a young man, he tells me he is 23 years old, who wanted to sell us souveniers for our families. As we visited more with him, he opened up to us about his life here and his family. He has never been to Jerusalem. Someday, he says, he hopes to go there - when it is safe. As I listened to this young man tell me about his love for his mother and his attempt at providing for her, I was struck with how much the same we really all are. So many of the people I am meeting here in this land are just like me. We all love our families, we all want to work hard so that they have what they need. We all want peace.