Our fearless leaders, Mark, Yousef (our guide), Achmed (our driver), Diane, and Paul (director of music)

Confusing and yet, wonderful.

Those are two very different descriptive words of our experience here as we travel from place to place. Our last few days have been full of many things, some of which we do not understand. We could not visit the Holy Land without encountering or discussing the situation between Israel and Palestine. I do not write answers nor am I going to write that I understand but I write with an acknowledgment of how little I know about something deeply complex.

On Thursday in Jerusalem, we met with Rabbi Rob Kahn, an Israeli who shared with us how this situation taps deeply into his faith and his everyday life. Yesterday, we met with Reverend Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian Lutheran, whose family has been Christian for many generations. He too shared how this situation deeply affects the life of those who are Palestinian.

We met with Rev. Rahab at the International Center of Bethlehem, a center he directs. Before meeting, we were introduced to this center which provides education and supports the art and culture in Bethlehem. It is a gathering place for those in the community Christian and even Muslim to share in the gifts of art God has given.

Our guide at the center was a woman by the name of Hiba, who is a Palestinian Christian. As the “scribe” for this group, there is no way that I can express what we have learned from these personal encounters as I type this post but I do know that each we have encountered have a hope for peace whatever that may look like. Hiba said something I will not forget, in regards to hostility, fear and un-acceptance of anyone’s neighbor she said this, “I think it’s about you, you put limits.” I, as a seminarian student, from the United States, can’t fully understand this, but Hiba is right, each of us make choices in our daily lives in how we treat our fellow human beings on this earth.

After visiting the International Center of Bethlehem, we visited the Church of the Nativity and then later had devotions at Shepherd’s field. Once again, at the Church of the Nativity, I encountered ornate, gilded works of art, encrusting this space. I have mentioned before that I don’t know quite what to do with this, but for now I will see it as an act of devotion by fellow Christians world-wide and over generations to mark that this event in this place was significant and holy. For me, the story of the birth Jesus resonated most as our group sang in the grottoes in Shepherd’s Field. These grottoes would have been what shepherds used in Jesus’ time to gather their sheep at the end of the night.

This may very well be my last post from the Holy Land and I thank you for journeying with us, taking in snippets of our pilgrimage. I thank my group who supported me in all aspects of being a “scribe” and I thank God for the opportunity to be experience scripture in such a way. Whether you ever come to the Holy Land or not, I hope that wherever you are you are able to connect to the book of our faith, The Bible and all the gifts God has given us within it. This can happen anywhere!

My prayer for you, from the 4th verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem":

”O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

Oh, come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel!