And the Word Became Flesh?

After a long week, many of us hoped to find some quite time of prayer and rest. Instead, we found something better. Christ was born in a lowly manger in a cave because there was no room in the inn. Today, we went to that manger. Walking the streets of Bethlehem and wondering if Mary and Joseph walked these very streets 2000 years ago is hard to comprehend. The town is modern, with jewelry and souvenir shops in every direction, but there is something about this place. ​God became man here. Not in a temple, or a church where God was already worshiped, but here. God chose to become man here, in a manger in a small village. Maybe to open our eyes to his presence in the world? Maybe to show his humility and love for us? Maybe because of his mission? This is the promised land - the holy land. It is a land promised to the Israelites by God himself. It is the land where God himself became man.

​When I went down into the place of his birth, I could touch the stone underneath where he was laid. Many of us spent a significant amount of time in prayer there. Maybe you can imagine what it looks like - the quiet reverence and calm. Well, it wasn’t quite like that. There were tour groups coming and going almost every five minutes. People came with cameras, talked to each other, and touched this sacred place, seeking a connection with the divine. Some groups even came singing hymns.

​Words cannot describe the place, and it touches people differently. For me, it took a little while for the reality to hit. This is really the place where our salvation began. Here in this humble town with its bustling traffic and merchants vending their wares there is the church of the nativity, and the heart of that church is downstairs, in the cave where the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Where does that leave us? It leaves me with awe and wonder at the great mercy of god. As we continue this pilgrimage, the bustling town of Bethlehem fills me with gratitude. The word became flesh, and dwelt among us.