Extracts Dec 2009

St.Machar’s Ranfurly Parish Church of Scotland

Scottish Charity Number

SCO 03766



	Church of the Nativity

“and Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth,to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehembecause he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger …”(Luke2: 3-7)

T his is how Luke describes that first Christmas. The name Bethlehem actually means “House of Bread” reflecting its location in a fertile grain-growing area west of the Judean wilderness. It was a small place and even as ‘the city of David’ it had no special status. However, as the birthplace of Jesus it became a focus of Christian devotion and pilgrimage. From the early second century AD, tradition identified a cave there as the exact spot where Jesus was born, and in AD 330 the Emperor Constantine founded the Church of the Nativity over it.




		*Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem*

At first Constantine pierced a hole in the cave roof for the faithful to look down into the holy place but then erected an octagonal altar over it which is still there.Around 200 years later, the Emperor Justinian replaced

Constantine’s building with a much larger one, and the present Church is largely Justinian’s work, restored and modified several times over the intervening centuries

On my trip to the Holy Land a couple of years ago, we visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It may not be very clear from the photograph here that I took of the Grotto, but I hope you can make out the Silver Star embedded in the floor marking the spot of Jesus’ birth. It was all very ornately decorated. However, as magnificently impressive as the inner surroundings were, what I remember most and which made a greater impression on me was the unimpressive entrance to the Church – the unadorned stone doorway is too low to get in standing upright. You can see my colleague, the Rev Lorna Hood, having to bend down to go through the doorway - and she’s quite a small person! This simple act of stooping low is surely the essence of the Christmas Story. It is about God stooping low to share our humanity in the Christ-Child of Bethlehem. And when we bow down or kneel, this usually indicates an attitude of respect or reverence. So this Christmas Story summons us not to explanations but to praise and worship and faith. As usual, the Diary section outlines the Special services planned for this festive season where this time-honoured story will once more be celebrated and opportunities given to bow down and worship and rejoice in this wonder cradled in history.

With all the greetings of this happy and holy season to you and yours, and God’s richest blessings in the New Year,

Suzanne


	*Church of the Annuncuation Nazareth*


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