“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
Day 9 of our pilgrimage was a peek into where
things began, a genesis of sorts. Its highlights were a look at the life of
Abraham and a glimpse at where Jesus was born.
Israel Museum
I adore miniatures. I have quite a collection
of these tiny things that I picked up in my travels and some that were given to
me by family and friends as souvenirs from their trips. So you can imagine my
excitement when we visited the Israel Museum and I beheld a scale model of
Jerusalem! The model is based on the Second Temple Period. It was a feast for
the eyes of a miniature enthusiast like me. More importantly, it gave me a
visual overview of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus.
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| Israel Museum Scale Model of Jerusalem |
Another interesting feature of the museum is
the Shrine of the Book. It is an urn-shaped building where the Dead Sea Scrolls
and artifacts discovered at Masada are kept. The design of the shrine is apt as
it resembles the pot where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Unfortunately, I do
not have photos of the scrolls and the building interior as picture-taking is
not allowed to preserve the artifacts.
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| Shrine of the Book |
Genesis Land
After the museum, we were given a treat that I
will never forget. We had lunch with Abraham in Genesis Land! What an
experience!
Genesis Land is an oasis in the heart of the
Judean desert, on the way to the Dead Sea. Eliezer, Abraham’s “main-servant”, greeted us as we trooped in to the reception area. He was dressed as
we would imagine any biblical manservant should be. He oriented us about life
during biblical times. Later, he asked us to don tunics to cover traces of our
modern-day habiliments.
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| With Eliezer |
He then led us out to “meet” our transport
because we were going further into the desert to Abraham’s tent. Lounging under
the noon-day sun waiting for us were camels!
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| Meeting our ride |
Well, they were only for the intrepid souls.
More timid ones can take the golf carts. I was feeling adventurous and didn’t
want to pass up on what might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I mounted
one of the camels together with a co-pilgrim. I was being lulled by the gentle
swaying of our ship of the desert until the path slithered to the very edge of
a cliff. Then fear gripped us. A misstep by our camel could send us careening
down the cliff. It did not help that Bro Arun was taking a video of us and
jokingly prompted us to say our last words to our family.
By God’s grace, we reached Abraham’s Tent with
no mishaps. Abraham warmly welcomed us and ushered us to sit on the floor on
cushions around a low table. (The super seniors got to sit on chairs in
consideration of their joint pains). Abraham graciously served us lunch. The
food was sumptuous, authentic Mediterranean fare though I’m not sure if the
dishes dated back to the real Abraham’s time.
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| Abraham serving lunch in his tent |
Replete with the delicious lunch, it was time
to get back on our camels for another terror-gripped ride along the cliff-side.
But it was all worth it because I was given a professional camel-rider license
complete with my name written in Hebrew.
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| My Camel Rider License |
Shepherds’ Field
In Siyar
el-Ghanam (which means Place for Keeping Sheep) is the village of Beit Sahour. It’s around 4 kilometers from the where the Nativity took place and
where Shepherds’ Field sits. Here, we visited the Chapel of
the Angels also known as the Chapel of Shepherds’ Field or the Sanctuary of
Gloria in Excelsis Deo. The 5 apses of the church mimic a nomadic tent
reminiscent of where the herders would take shelter as they tend to their sheep.
It is where the angels, according to Catholic
tradition, heralded the good news of Christ’s birth to them. Cast in gold on
the dome above the altar are the words of the angels: Gloria in Excelsis Deo.
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| Chapel of the Angels |
Beneath the main chapel is an ancient cave
with soot-blackened ceiling where shepherds may have stayed. It has been
converted into the Cave Chapel where pilgrims can hold services.
Church of the Nativity
More than being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Church
of the Nativity is, for me, the Holy of Holies. It is here where mankind’s
salvation began.
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| Church of the Nativity |
We
were blessed that our hotel was just near the church. We walked to Manger
Square and made our way to the church which, according to Google, “is the
oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the
basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.”
Like
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, this church has mixed affiliations. Here it
is mainly Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, with a minority
of Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox. The main basilica is maintained by the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.
Bending
low, we entered the church through the Door of Humility which is about 4 feet
high. Originally, it was so designed to prevent marauders from entering the
church on horseback. But maybe, by God’s design, it is to remind pilgrims to
approach this place with humility and bend our knees in submission to God’s
will.
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| Door of Humility |
As we straightened up, our eyes were drawn to traces of the medieval golden mosaics on the wall lit by sanctuary lamps. We joined the long queue of people going down to the Grotto of the Nativity, located beneath the main altar. The long wait gave us time to inspect the Iconostasis, a wall of icons and religious paintings which separated the nave from the sanctuary.
I
was disappointed that the long line of people waiting behind me prevented me
from truly savoring the experience of being where our Savior was born. But I
still felt blessed to be able to touch the stone in the middle of the 14-point silver
star. The stone is said to be the one where Mary laid Jesus after his birth.
I
pensively made my way out of the grotto, taking time to peek at the original 4th
century mosaic from the Constantinian basilica and thanking God for the chance
to walk back through history, His Story.
To be in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve is now in my bucket list. I pray for peace in the Holy Land that God may fulfill that dream for me.
