So Which Bethlehem Might You Be?

It’s name means House of Bread.  This seems a fitting label since from Bethlehem came the Bread of Life.  And in many ways it represents a front line between this world and the next.

It’s located a mere six miles from Jerusalem, yet it can seem both a world apart from and a microcosm of that historic city. It was a village at the time of The Nativity but has since grown into a city in its own right.  Ultimately, it is a place of contrasts, of crossroads and choices not unlike the choices before us today.

A Tale of Two Places

We often think of Bethlehem as a peaceful, sleepy village in the moonlight visited by a star that iconic night. Perhaps, from a distance, that seemed so.  Yet, as we come closer, we realize that it is anything but peaceful.  The census we have all read about, and its relative proximity to Jerusalem, would guarantee bustling crowds bringing their noisy concerns.

The Prince of Peace who epitomizes welcoming love was marginalized from birth here among the animals.  A King found among dust and dirt, wrapping Himself in humble submission to the Will of God rather than golden robes of earthly superficialities.

And from this place of Divine Birth came the atrocity of the murder of the Holy Innocents, the first martyrs for the faith.

Like so much of the world then and to this day, Bethlehem is far too complex to properly and accurately fit in greeting cards and quaint songs of the season.  It is love and hate, unity and division, mercy and judgment, all wrapped up as one.  It is, after all, in this world.  Thus it cannot escape the contradictions and ironies of human imperfection grasping for some perception of order and purpose.  It is, at its essence and core, as is this world, as we are, a tale of two places.

A Crossroad

If Bethlehem is an ironic juxtaposition between two realities, this world and the next, then it necessarily also represents a crossroad, or a fork in the path.  It is a choice between two very different journeys.

On one hand, we have the choice to be of this world, mired in the mundane, pretentious superficialities we convince ourselves are necessary to survive, and to thrive, in this society.  On the other hand, Bethlehem represents a loving challenge to be so much more.  It calls us to dwell at a much deeper and higher spiritual level found at a much lower and seemingly insignificant earthly plane.

The people in Bethlehem that first Silent Night were anything but silent.  Like us today, they were surrounded, even immersed, in the noise of this world, of their world.  Those forced to go there by an annoying census issued by a bossy, conquering empire, likely resented the inconvenience. Those already living there were inconvenienced by resentful visitors.  They were most likely not brimming or seeped in kind benevolence and love.  Much like us today, these people likely felt bullied and disrespected by a world whose list of concerns and agendas did not include them.  I think we can all relate to feeling that external forces beyond our control are pushing us around.

Regardless of their circumstances and situations, most, if not all of these folks were highly experienced in the one skill we all practice regularly – self-preoccupation.

So, amid the two contrasting realities represented by Bethlehem that night, and the crossroad choice and challenge those realities mean for each of us, we need to ask ourselves:  Which Bethlehem am I ?

The Choice, The Direction, and The Journey

Bethlehem represents a choice between the noise of this world and the silence of God. That silence does not mean that God does not speak but, rather, that through silence we can hear a God Who speaks to us in so many ways.

It is also a reminder that less can so often be more and that we do not have to be the center of everything.  It is a cue that the background is often the best place to be.  In order to truly love and serve God and others, we have to step back from being so wrapped up in ourselves.

Bethlehem also represents a reminder that the road to Christ, the road with Christ, is not without its struggles.  Human insecurity and evil responded to His birth by murdering innocent children.  And human priorities and nature responded to His simplicity with complication.  Human self-preoccupation also responded to His mercy with judgment and hypocrisy.

We cannot follow Christ without following the cross he carried, starting from that Silent Night.  And having chosen Christ and His cross, it makes sense that we call our choices crossroads.  The choices that really matter in our lives are either toward or away from crosses we are challenged to bear for God. So those choices involve directions, either toward or away from Christ and the crosses we have to bear.

Having chosen the path and the direction, we are responsible for the journey that follows.  We are in that journey at this moment.  Regardless of our direction, we will have the opportunity, or temptation, to retreat or shift direction.

Follow the Star

Like the Wise Men, we would be wise to follow the star that leads us to Christ.  And like those Wise Men, we would be wise to avoid the evil that lurks at every turn of our journey.  Also like those Wise Men, we are called to offer our unique gifts in loving service and homage to God.

The world around us has always been noisy, selfish, hypocritical, and superficial.  That was  Bethlehem that night so long ago.  Christ did not avoid that Bethlehem. In fact, he embraced it by being born in its midst, much like he would embrace his cross and be sacrificed on it years later.

Christ showed us that love is not afraid of the dirt, dust, imperfection, and the struggles of this world.  He showed us that in order to serve God we must pass through and transcend the hardships of this world  and accept our crosses for God’s  Greater Glory.

So, which Bethlehem will you choose to be?  Will you be the earthly Bethlehem that represents this world?  Or will you transcend that place and be the Bethlehem that represents your eternal purpose and destiny as a child of God and a follower of Christ?