LITTLE BETHLEHEM
There was PLENTY of room in the Inn on that cold winter’s night when we arrived in Bethlehem.
To be completely honest, I felt a strange but palpable sense of guilt, injustice even, knowing Joseph and Mary weren’t so fortunate as to secure a room on the night the Messiah was born, over 2,000 years ago in this very town.
Receiving room number 316 felt like a wink from Heaven. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” Suddenly, my heart felt more at peace, as if God were delighted we’d be staying indoors tonight.
So many places in Israel seem to have been completely untouched over the millennia: the verdant highlands of the Golan, the arid deserts of the Negev, David’s lush oasis hideout at Ein Gedi…
Not so with the little town of Bethlehem. It requires the occasional stretching of one’s imagination to grasp the truth: Jesus was born here! The Magi arrived at this destination. Herod brutally slaughtered every baby boy but One in these very streets. David tended his flocks in these pastures, was anointed King of Israel in this town, and his great-grandmother Ruth gleaned barley in these same fields!
Bethlehem from the Southeast (1934-1939)
It was January of 2020. I was in Israel to write songs with my dear friend Joshua Aaron. But we also really wanted to connect with our friend Steven Khoury, an Arab-Palestinian, Jesus-loving Pastor ministering in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem, until recently, was 80% Christian with a population of around 100,000. But due to religious unrest, it has dwindled down to 80,000 with a Christian population of only 12%.
Steven, born and raised in Bethlehem, educated at a Christian University in the States, returned to share the love of Jesus with his people. His story is remarkable, full of opposition, physical attacks, and even death-threats on him and his family because of his faith. Yet rarely will you meet a person as kind, generous, peaceful, or joyful. You could easily say that the fruit of the Spirit is abundant in Steven.
Aaron, Steven, and Joshua in the rain outside the Church of the Nativity
After the obligatory visit to the infamous “STARS & BUCKS CAFE” (where Steven insisted on blessing us with delicious cups of strong Turkish coffee and mugs to take home), we stopped by a nearby field, perching ourselves at the edge of an overlook. I wasn’t quite sure where we were, so I inquired.
“This is the traditional Shepherd’s Field!” Steven explained. “This is most likely the spot where the angels proclaimed that the Savior was born!”
Overlooking the Shepherd’s Field just outside Bethlehem
Suddenly, I felt as if I were on holy ground! Had I been standing right where I was, but 2,000 years earlier, I would have seen Heaven open and heard the Hosts of Heaven singing, “Glory to God in the Highest…”
So, I took a moment. A pregnant pause while the soft rain drizzled in the quiet air. I stood there among my friends, my brothers in Christ, and visually absorbed the valley below. I tried to imagine the angels standing atop the hills surrounding me, and filling the skies above…
Such an unremarkable location.
But when chosen by God, visited by God, and loved by God, it becomes breathtakingly remarkable.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming is from of old, from ancient days.
- Micah 5:2
Shepherds east of Bethlehem in 1920 watching their flocks by night.
