We crossed over into Bethlehem this morning, passing through the ghastly and lamentable Israeli security fence, with its prison-like guard towers and its aura of Cold War Berlin.
After some time at a Christian gift shop — they specialize in olive-wood carvings, icons, and jewelry, and it pleases me to support the struggling and beleaguered Palestinian economy (especially for the Christians) — we went to the traditional site where the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of the Messiah. I spoke there for a while, and we sang . . . Christmas carols.
From there, we went to Justinian’s massive sixth-century Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and to the Franciscan church directly adjacent to it, which (among other things) marks the place where the great St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in the late 300s AD and where he was ultimately buried. His Vulgate translation, the Biblia Vulgata, is one of the most important books in the history of Western civilization.
We had an excellent lunch at the Shepherds’ Tent restaurant, as we do every year, and a number in our group bought baby blankets that are created by a member of the presidency of the Latter-day Saint branch in Bethlehem. (I’m especially happy when people buy from him; I wish that even more would, given the difficulty of living as a Palestinian [Mormon, no less!] in Bethlehem on the West Bank. Would anybody out there like a perfect baby gift? Surely this is one.
When we left Bethlehem, we went to the Israel Museum, where we spent a fair amount of time at the huge outdoor model of Jerusalem as it appeared just after the time of Jesus — which I regard as one of the greatest teaching tools in the entire world. We walked from there into the cool darkness of the adjacent Shrine of the Book, where most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. And then we had about ninety minutes in the Israel Museum proper — one of the greatest museums anywhere on earth. My wife and I concentrated on the archaeological portion of the museum, looking at a special exhibit on the Roman emperor Hadrian, as well as the ossuaries of “Caiphas, son of Joseph” (likely the high priest Caiphas of the New Testament), and of “Jesus, son of Joseph” (not the Jesus of the New Testament!) and the physical remains of a man who had been crucified during the Roman period, as well as a whole lot of other fascinating things (e.g., Herod’s sarcophagus). Wonderful place. We haven’t often had so much time there on these tours.
Even apart from its religious significance, Jerusalem is simply — bar none — one of the most fascinating places on earth.
One note: I apologize to people who’ve written to me, asked questions, etc. I have very little time on the internet, and, when I do, the connections have been iffy and intermittent. And our days are long and jet-lagged. I’ll get to you as soon as I can!
Posted from Jerusalem
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