Birthplace of Jesus

On the way to the Church of the Nativity on Saturday, March 19, we stopped for a view of the Separation Wall. This wall was built by the Israelis in order to "keep Israel pure" and protect Jerusalem from terrorists. Residents of Bethlehem, like our guide Sam, can only go to Jerusalem if they have a permit to work on some job that is needed by the Israelis, such as construction. It's only a 3-6 months permit and the workers have to go through security each time.

The wall itself is so heart-rending. tragic -- graffiti and signs are painted all along the 24 foot tall concrete walls we saw. The graffiti asks for an end to apartheid, quotes Reagan's words to "tear down this wall" referring to the Berlin wall, and peace symbols are everywhere. The wall is not finished in places, and when it is, it will be approximately 760 km.

The Church of the Nativity is built over the cave where Jesus was born. Tradition seems pretty sure about that, since the original church was built on top of the cave in the 4th century AD. It was built after Constantine made Christianity an approved religion, officially stopping the Roman persecutions. Original columns inside still exist, and the actual floor can be seen through a hole. The church was reconstructed in the 6th century by Justinian. The original opening was blocked by the Turks and replaced with a small opening so that camels and horses could not enter the Church. One has to bend over to walk through, symbolizing the reference for the location. The Church is shared by Armenians, Greek Orthodox, and Latin Catholics -- the three kinds of Catholics in the Holy Land. It seems that entrance to Bethlehem by tourists is only allowed if your denomination has a presence there. Lutherans also have a church here.

We descended to the grotto where the spot where Jesus was born is marked by a silver star. We touched, kissed, photographed this spot. The was also a niche where Jesus was placed in the manger after His birth. I can't express how emotional this visit was! The actual birthplace of Our Lord!