Church
Street United Methodist Church
900
Henley Street • Knoxville, TN 37902 • (865) 524-3048
Church
Street United Methodist Church
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Walk Through Bethlehem
Walk
Through Bethlehem How it all began How
Bethlehem Came to Knoxville
Bethlehem is not really an impressive town, and some things seemed unchanged through the centuries. Getting there is just a short ride from Jerusalem. Ironically today you pass soldiers at checkpoints much as Mary and Joseph might have done – not Roman soldiers protecting their empire but Palestinian sentinels patrolling their land under a watchful eye. To one side of the bus are the fields of the shepherds where today young boys can be seen herding their sheep down the hillsides, the same fields where Ruth met Boaz and where young David kept watchful eye over his father's flocks, and, yes, the same fields where frightened shepherds saw visions of angels and heard the announcement that a Savior had been born. If you visit Israel you notice almost immediately the lack of wood and the predominance of stone. It was the same when Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem those many years ago. Many dwellings were built into limestone hills and caves were used not only for houses but also for sheltering animals. It was in one of these basement dwellings where Mary and Joseph sought shelter and, and today you descend several steps to enter the grotto where it is believed Jesus was born.
If I could, I would take everyone I know to Bethlehem in Judea, and let them experience what I have known of the Christmas experience. Since I can't, I managed to sell Church Street on trying to recreate the experience right here in our own Parish Hall. In 1997 I recall sitting in the great emptiness of that hall and wondering just how we would do it. I know now that only God really knew the answer to that question because watching it all unfold was trulyamazing. Imagine the tiny village of Bethlehem 2000 years ago…register your family with the census taker at the gate, walk the crowded streets, visit the bustling marketplace and talk with the vendors busy in their shops. Hear a story at the storyteller's tent, worship with the rabbi in the synagogue, but beware of the Roman soldiers who patrol the streets to keep order in this seemingly insignificant Judean town. See the shepherds watching their flocks under the winter sky. Listen to the villagers talking in hushed voices about seeing angels and the birth of a very special baby. Keep your eyes and ears open to whatever miracles may occur. But don't plan to stay overnight: The inn is full. It isn't a play. It isn't a pageant. It is encountering Christ and the mystery of Christmas the way we believe it all began. Bethlehem comes to Knoxville at Church Street UMC the third Sunday of Advent each year. The city gates are open from 1 to 7 p.m. and admission, like the love of God, is always free. Thousands of guests "Walk Through Bethlehem" each December. We hope you will be one of them this year! For more information, contact Sue Isbell, Children's Director.
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I
have been fortunate to travel to Israel several times, and a highlight
of each trip is always a visit to the traditional birthplace of Jesus
in Bethlehem. For a Christian who loves Christmas, walking the streets
of Bethlehem in Judea is an unforgettable experience.
Each
time I visit the Grotto of the Nativity our group reads the familiar
story from Luke 2 and sings "Silent Night." I always close
my eyes and transpose all that I have ever imagined about that special
story to the place where I am standing at that moment. The first time
I stood there in that dimly lit cave I knew that I would never experience
Christmas in the same way again. I had been there; I had seen it; I
had a new sense of what it must have been like 2000 years ago.