On the road to Bethlehem

When I woke up this morning at 6:10, I was hoping to see a sunrise over the lake. There were clouds, so no real sunrise, but there was a brisk wind and whitecaps on the surface of the water. Experience it with me…

 We are now leaving Galilee and heading south toward Bethlehem and the reality of the wall of separation. As we said Morning Prayer in the bus, I found myself weeping. The psalm—139–is a favorite, and Ana’s choice, “We are only walking each other home” brought more tears. And yes, I was sorry to be leaving this beautiful place, the water, its history and connections with Jesus—I’d liked to have spent more time here, but I think I was weeping more for our world and all its divisions. And I think God must weep, too. Our guide, Fadi, is a Christian with a Palestinian heritage. He is also a citizen of Israel. He feels that two states will never work. He would prefer one state with two peoples with equal rights—that might work…but right, now both sides are corrupt and terrorism is a reality. And Christians are caught in the middle of it—that’s why there are fewer and fewer Christians in this part of the word. Fadi just wants justice. And so do I!

There are serious divisions in my own country that grieve my heart, but the division that is so visible in this country, beloved by so many, takes my grief to a whole new level. I know there are efforts to bring peace—in places like the Center where we went for the boat ride yesterday. But it’s not enough. I’m almost afraid to learn more…

The drive the Bethlehem is about two hours down highway 6, through the coastal plain. It’s much flatter than where we have been for the last few days. There seems to be lots of agriculture here—it’s pretty green. We are driving through western Samaria right now. You can clearly see the wall of separation from the highway where we are.It’s 27’ high. And concrete. We are probably not going to go to Samaria—yesterday a tourist bus was caught in the crossfire between the two sides. 

We are now heading east, up into the hills of Judea, toward Jerusalem. Almond trees along the highway are in bloom. After a restroom stop, we passed Jerusalem and are now headed to Bethlehem—no little town of Bethlehem now. There are 80,000 inhabitants now. Just went through the checkpoint. We are in the West Bank…

Later at bedtime…

This day was is hard to explain. It may take a while to sort it out. On the one hand singing “Thanks be to you, O holy One” with Ana, followed by a rousing rendition of Hark the herald angels started by a man in another group in the wonderfully acoustic chapel at the Shepherds’ Field was meaningful and a joy for this musician, and praying together in several places in several churches during the day brought new meaning, the reality of life here for regular Palestinians stood in stark contrast. This is no longer  O Little Town of Bethlehem…

Note large water tanks on roofs

What we see and hear in the United States is not a reflection of the reality here. We don’t hear about the water tanks on the roofs of Palestinian homes that are needed to store water for when the water is routinely shut off. The are no such tanks on Israeli homes. There is more. Much more. Now that I anm here on the ground, I realize that.much of our news has a pro-Israel bias which is not justified, especially with the new government here. I want to make it clear that I am not being anti-Semitic. I love the Jewish faith, and I believe that the God both Jews and Christians worship is a God of justice and mercy. What is happening here is neither just nor merciful. I think God must weep.

Walled Off Hotel and the wall--28' tall

There is a lot to ponder here, but I wanted to at least write this down while it is fresh. More to come later.  The artwork of the British street artist Banksy both on the wall itself and in The Walled Off Hotel located right next to the wall brings a lot into focus for me.

We enjoyed another wonderful meal and some skilled Palestinian dancers at Shepherds Valley Tent Restaurant. That lightened my mood considerably…Here’s a video treat for you, dear reader!

I must say that I am missing peaceful Galilee.  It is Saturday morning now. Today we’ ll head south to Jericho and the Dead Sea. I’ll bring my bathing suit! Will try to get to more pictures on the bus today…