It is hard to share an image of that first Nativity. This year I leave an empty square for you to imagine Bethlehem Square in whatever way you choose. I am still haunted by my one and only visit to Bethlehem. Israeli soldiers boarded our bus as we approached the city of Bethlehem to check passports then we had to walk through several check points under the watchful eyes of armed soldiers. For a moment I could well have been back in Belfast in the years of my youth! For me, Christ’s birth is not about location (though for many that is important) but about about comprehension. How does this story shape my life? Does this story root me to a spot or anchor me on this earth where Holy ground is always under my feet? I trust it is the latter.
The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest working churches in existence today. The first Church was built by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD, over the grotto, where it is believed, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Constantine and his mother, Helena, built a magnificent and majestic church adorned with beautiful marble and mosaics. Later, during the 6th century, the Byzantine emperor Justinian built a new and even more intricate church on the same spot. During the Persian invasion in the 7th century, the
church was spared destruction. By the 11th century, the Crusaders raised their flag above the Basilica of the Nativity and renovated it. The main entrance to the Church of the Nativity was gradually made lower and narrower in order to protect it from invaders. The actual guardianship of the Church is shared by three Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian.
Each Christmas season I turn to my favorite poems which have accompanied me along the way, year after year, decade after decade. These poems have been good friends to me, reminding and encouraging me in the mystery and the majesty of the Word made Flesh, and in the meaning of the manger which resides in each of our hearts where the Christ child seeks to be born. Although the Christmas story is old, may it be for each of us always new. Please pause and ponder in these busy days leading up to Christmas. The accompanying prayer though written with Christmas Day in mind is a prayer that can be prayed through the seasons of Advent and Christmas.
Nativity
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belovèd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod’s jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith’s eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe. John Donne 1571-1631
A Prayer for Christmas Day:
Today, O God,
the soles of your feet
have touched the earth.
Today,
the backstreets, the forgotten places
have been lit up with significance.
Today,
the households of earth
welcome the King of heaven.
For you have come among us.
So may our songs rise to surround your throne
as our knees bend to salute your cradle. Amen.
(from Book of Common Worship of The Church of Scotland)
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 