Seeker

Christmas Prayer Thank you, scandalous God, for giving yourself to the world, not in the powerful and extraordinary, but in weakness and the familiar: in a baby; in bread and wine. Thank you for offering, at journey’s end, a new beginning; for setting, in the poverty of a stable, the richest jewel of your love; for revealing, in a particular place, your light for all nations. Thank you for bringing us to Bethlehem, House of Bread where the empty are filled, and the filled are emptied; where the poor find riches, and the rich recognize their poverty; where all who kneel and hold out their hands are unstintingly fed. Kate Compston, from Bread of Tomorrow . Image Credit: Commons Wikimeida, public domain

Lord Jesus Christ, your birth at Bethlehem draws us to kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth: accept our heartfelt praise as we worship you, our Saviour and our God. a Christmas season prayer from Common Worship Daily Prayer Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

It's Christmas Eve. A recent poll in the UK by ICM for the Bible Society found that children and parents generally know the nativity stories about Jesus. The best known fact was that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2: 4). 98% of those polled knew this. Here's the story of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, told by 21st century Palestinians of Bethlehem - thought provoking.

Separation by agreement on equal terms, like the boundary wall between our garden and our neighbours' can be useful. But enforced separation on unequal terms can only be called 'apartheid' and lead to further injustice. When the Berlin Wall came down 21 years ago I felt a great sense of hope that the 'Cold War' in Europe was finally thawing. People previously separated were coming together. It's so depressing to realize how many new walls of separation have since been built around the world. Constructing separation walls between people is now a world-wide growth industry. Being confronted with the wall around the city of Bethlehem was a truly shocking experience for me last month, even though I'd expected to see it. I managed to photograph the wall, but not one of the many watchtowers which chillingly reminded me of a visit to Auschwitz a few years ago. I've wanted to write about the wall shown in this photo since returning f...

More than 3 weeks after returning from the Holy Land, this is my 3rd post-pilgrimage reflection. I said it would take months to unpack!  Here's a door, unpacked from my camera. I'm now trying to paint it in watercolour. I want to include some children, but finding this hard. Doors are powerful symbols. They've always fascinated me, as I've mentioned in  a previous post here and also here . This door, the 'Door of Humility' is the entrance to the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. I took this photo while listening to our guide Ghassan (a Palestinian Christian) explaining why the current entrance is so small, though the former were huge. His gentle words still ring in my mind, "now only a young child may enter freely - like the baby of Bethlehem". Then we entered stooping, as most adults have to if you want to avoid a painful encounter with the stone lintel. I thought later about Jesus' words before he took children in his arms and blesse...