Andy at Israel - Bethlehem

And there were in that same country shepherds who were living in the feild keeping watch over their flocks by night.  (Luke 2:8)

A painting in the church at Shepherd's field.

Today we visited that shepherds' field.  It's not too far from Bethlehem but it would have been a hike up and down the hillsides.  In fact everything in the region of Bethlehem and Jerusalem requires you to go up and down the hillsides and when I say hillsides I mean steep rugged terrain.  

Here I am standing in the lower part of the shepherds' field looking out toward Jerusalem.  The cities are very close together.  That's one of the things you can't really understand until you visit here, some things are very close together while other things seem very far apart.  

We also visisted the Church of the Nativity where I was able to put my hand on the rock that marks the floor of the cave where Jesus is said to be born, but the grotto is small and the lines are LONG so they usher you in and out quickly.  I was thankful that we had more time in the fields where, like the shepherds, we got to reflect on the reality of Jesus birth in Bethlehem.  

From the beginning of Jesus life we jumped to the end with a visit to tthe House of Caiaphas where Jesus was tried and perhaps jailed before being sent back to Pilate.  We sat in the chuch which would be where Jesus was questioned by the religious leders and then we went to the dungeon and sat in a small carved out cell and heard these words:

O Lord, God of salvation, when at night I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.  For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near to death.  I am counted among those who go down to the Pit.  Psalm 88:1-4  (Read the rest of the psalm and think about it being a prayer of Jesus from a dungeon on the night that he was arrested - it's powerful.)

This is looking up from the bottom of the pit.  

While much of the ancient history comes alive as we walk these roads and visit these sights, the reality of present day Israel is felt as well.  It's interesting hearing the Muslim call to prayer while watching Orthodox Jews walk the streets at the close of the Sabbath.  There is deep poverty we see all around and the reality of a people divided by a wall.  I'm reminded again of the words of Jesus, who wept over Jerusalem saying, "If you had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! " (Luke 19:42)

May this coming Sabbath be a day when we might stop and consider all those things that bring us peace.  May this coming Sabbath be a day when we will stop and recognize that Christ is still with us to bring us peace.

Shalom!