Let us go even unto Bethlehem. Bethlehem is the traditional place where Jesus was born. I have had the privilege of visiting there three times. It is the sort of place that grows more powerful with each visit. I believe Bethlehem tells us a good deal about what we are celebrating tonight.

First of all Bethlehem is a real place: today it is Arab town in the Palestinian territory of some 40,000 people, the majority of whom are Moslem and the rest Christian. Arab Christians are proud of their heritage and trace it back to the Day of Pentecost. Like in the time of Jesus Bethlehem has until recently been an occupied town, with the Israeli Army instead of the Romans in charge. Sadly Bethlehem has been rarely out of the news over the past 10 years. Every year it seems the celebration of Christmas becomes a flashpoint between Palestinians and the Israeli authorities. This year the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster in England have just made a solidarity visit to the Bethlehem Christians who are feeling so under siege. Since I was last there in 1997 a 26 foot high wall has been built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem with all the associated security gates, searches, delays and frustration that make the visit of pilgrims to Bethlehem such a nightmare.

But for all the contemporary political realities that cause so much pain and suffering I am reminded that our God chose Bethlehem, a real place in real time, “the city of David called Bethlehem”, “when Augustus was Emperor and Quirinius Governor”. And above all God chose to reveal himself as a real person, Jesus son of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth. God does not act in generalities, as an idea, or a theory, or a philosophy, but our God acts through real people in real places in real time. Our God works in particular ways with particular people. Our God is one who relates to us through the personal, above all through the Person, Jesus of Nazareth whose birth at Bethlehem we celebrate tonight.

The second thing I wish to say about Bethlehem is to do with the focal point for Christian devotion at its heart, that is the Church of the Nativity, the great church built in the Sixth Century by the Emperor Justinian over the place where by ancient tradition Jesus was born. The Church itself is remarkable having survived all the wars, occupations and ravages of time including the occupation and siege that took place in 2001 which could easily have caused terrible destruction. For the Christian pilgrim the focus within the church is a grotto beneath the church accessed by a steep stairway. There you come upon a series of natural limestone caves, one of which by long tradition is the place where Jesus was born in a manger.

The cave certainly does not fit our romantic picture of the birth of Jesus which itself is largely formed by Western art. However even today people and animals use the many limestone caves in the region for shelter. The cave beneath the church itself says something to me of the nature of this event, about the way our God comes to us. Our God does not come to us in a power-filled, overwhelming way but rather he is born to us as a little child, vulnerable, ordinary, and above all humble. God’s approach to us is gentle. The cave in the earth speaks to us of a God who is humility, who is of the earth, indeed is the Maker of the earth.

Sometime in the 11th or 12th Century the Crusaders altered the front of the Church of the Nativity by blocking up most of the main door in order to prevent invaders riding their horses into the church. Today therefore the door by which you enter is about four feet tall so unless you are a child you have to stoop down to get in. How appropriate it is to be forced to humble yourself before the one who “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.”

Another thing is worth noting about Bethlehem is that it is a holy place that evokes awe. Not in any obvious way but in a subtle way, as the atmosphere has its effect on you. After all this sacred site has been prayed and worshipped in for a long, long time. I will never forget my first visit in the mid-eighties with a party of ecumenical clergy. Like any first-time visitors it is easy to get distracted by the commercialism of the holy places, by the taudriness (at least to Western eyes) of the shrines. As we gathered in the manger grotto one of the Baptist ministers in our party exclaimed that he was disappointed with the place, that he expected something different (more like a Christmas card?). One of my friends, an Anglican priest with a rather sharp tongue snapped back “For God’s sake kneel down and pray; this is where the Son of God was born.” He was right. What more can you do when face with the awesomeness of Emmanuel, God with us?

The other thing I wanted to say about Bethlehem tonight is simply that it is surprisingly close to Jerusalem. I don’t know why that should be surprising but until I visited for the first time I had never thought of the two being close by each other. In fact Bethlehem is about the same distance from Jerusalem as we are from the East Village. What that says to me is that the events of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem are closely connected with the events of his death in Jerusalem. In fact it is true to say that we are here tonight celebrating Jesus’ birth because of his death. The close proximity of Bethlehem to Jerusalem reminds us that this same Jesus not only grew up but that he ministered, healed and taught over a three year period and was put to a cruel death. In other words there is life after the manger. For us who believe it is his death on the Cross which is for us the Sign of our Salvation, the demonstration of God’s great love for us, and the fulfillment for us of the angelic message to the shepherds, “to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” It is precisely for that reason, that this Jesus died for us and rose again, that we are celebrating this eucharist.

Tonight we come together with all the magic that is Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem long ago because he is for us the Savior of the World. May you and all those you love know the love, peace, joy and hope which he brings.   Amen

Return to "Sermons"