The Manger

Snowy Traffic Jam

Church of the Nativity

At the place of Jesus' birth

After a rather harrowing bus ride through traffic jammed narrow streets in a snow storm we arrived at the Church of the Nativity. Needless to say, this is the main attraction of the city. There has been a church on this site since the Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother Helena traveled to Bethlehem in the early 4th century to find the birthplace of her Savior. Local tradition among the Christians in Bethlehem at that time pointed her to small cave that became the site of a church Helena financed. Today the enlarged church is shared by the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Church. Yes, it is way, way too ornamental for my simple Protestant non-denominational taste, but when we entered the small cave below the church and saw the place identified as the birthplace of Christ we were humbled. Like on Sinai, part of me wanted some quiet alone time to reflect and pray in this place, but the press of the crowd streaming through made that impossible. Once again, a huge group of Nigerian Christians were there with us as well as people from all over the world. A child born, not in the glittering church above, but in a simple cave among the poor is called Lord and Savior by millions. Tomorrow we travel to the Sea of Galilee and take a boat ride. This trip just keeps getting better and better!