Ask Billie

This is the season for singing carols and we are fortunate to have groups of carolers going to our nursing homes and also visiting those who are home bound.

After recently hearing "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" I have thought of the difference in that village on my first visit and the conditions today. Friends live there and life is very difficult.

My first visit to Bethlehem was in 1978 and it was what we would call an agricultural village in a hilly area of Israel, about 5 miles from Jerusalem. On one of those early visits several of us decided it would be meaningful to walk those miles that had been traveled by men, on foot, for thousands of years.

There were fields of grain and shepherds with their flocks, just like the songs we sing. On one occasion we were invited to stop by one of the tents that were home for the family, for a cup of tea. It was a peaceful time and one I shall never forget.

Some of the most fascinating businesses in Bethlehem are those that make woodcarvings from olive wood. They are small businesses that have been in families for generations. On those early visits we were welcome to walk out back, see the piles of olive wood, and watch the workers carving by hand. Today, machines are used and much of the land where olive groves once stood is now filled with apartment buildings.

Most often we think of Bethlehem at Christmas, but it was first mentioned 3,000 years before the birth of Christ. Old Testament scholars will remember Bethlehem from the first book in the Bible. Jacob, who was the son of Abraham, was traveling through Bethlehem on his way to Hebron when his wife Rachel died. She was buried beside the road and today her tomb can be visited.

What is Bethlehem like in 2007? Today I read the Christmas message from the Mayor of Bethlehem. Dr Victor Batarseh writes, "As the City of Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity, prepares to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I take the opportunity as the mayor, and on behalf of Bethlehem Municipal Council, staff and citizens, to send my Christmas message of peace, love and hope to the whole world. This Christmas may you find peace and may the New Year witness the end of conflict, pain and suffering in order that this Holy Land enjoys durable peace."

A trip to Israel today means you may or may not visit Bethlehem. If you are fortunate to go, the 5 miles would take closer to an hour due to numerous military check points. Once at the edge of the city you get off the bus beside a 21-foot tall cement wall that looks more like a prison than a quiet village. Then each person, passport in hand, walks through a long hall where iron gates close behind.

Once inside, a feeling of peace returns. The door to the Church of the Nativity is narrow and low, making it necessary for all people, royalty and peasant, to bow before this holy place. It is awesome to realize you are walking where mankind has walked for 2,000 years. That star over Bethlehem made a difference, then and now.

Was it poet Robert Shaw who wrote, "there is something in a man who doesn't like a wall"? We found that true in Germany before the Berlin Wall was taken down. Our prayer should be that one day peace will return to those ancient lands of Israel and the Bethlehem wall will be taken down. It is a must for world peace.