Before we headed out for Nazareth, I made a second attempt to visit the grotto within the Church of the Nativity, according to tradition, the site of Jesus’ birth. The grotto also contains the dwelling site of St. Jerome, one of the great teachers of the Christian tradition. To my dismay, I was barred again from entering the site. On the morning before, an Armenian mass had been celebrated and non-Armenians were not permitted to enter. Now, on my second morning, a Russian Orthodox mass was said and only Orthodox folk were let in. I could have lied in order to get in, but why…?
To encounter this Christian territorialism is both annoying and embarrassing. If we Christians can’t even get along with each other and worship the one God in mutual harmony and respect, how can we ever hope to get along with others who are even more different from each other. What kind of witness of Christian salvation are we procaiming to the world, if each one of us continues to defend their turf?
On the program for today were a few Christian sites in Galilee – the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabga (according to Christian tradition the site of Jesus’ multiplication of loaves and fishes), and the archaeological remains at Capernaum. While beautiful and moving, I continued to encounter more examples of “turf mentality,” for example the closing of the church on top of the Mount of Beatitudes at 11:30am. The group's prayer and meditation, hence, took place in full view of the lake, but next to a fence, rubbish, and deafening construction noise. What a fitting place, though, to reflect on the beatitudes and on the meekness and peacemaking to which Jesus calls us! From the outside looking in, Christ's voice spoke to us, it felt to me--how befitting.
Our tour went on to Nazareth (via falafels consumed without wine in the town of Cana, wedding not included in the price). In the evening, the Sabeel conference was opened with a multi-lingual, interdenominational worship service held at the beautiful Cathedral of the Annunciation.
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