This year we are all on a Lenten journey none of us could have imagined. Connecting to the suffering of Christ is no longer an abstract theology, but a daily reality. We have heartbreaking stories of loss coming at us from all directions, but the stories of incredible perseverance, courage, and love are all around us as well.
My memory rambles back to a trip to the Holy Land six years ago. “Bethlehem” is a poem I wrote about the site where it is believed Jesus was born. Though it echoes the season of Christmas more than Easter, I share this now because it tells us about the entrance to the church. One enters the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem through an opening only about four feet high. It is called the Door of Humility, deliberate in design so all who enter are reminded to come into the presence of the Holy Family and newborn Jesus in humbleness. It is the only entrance, but once inside there is a Byzantine Orthodox sanctuary, a Roman Catholic sanctuary, and the stairways that lead to a cave system below where it is believed Jesus was born. It is a place of great beauty and holiness.
This Easter, we can not enter any sized door or house of worship, and many of us grieve this loss. But, we can humbly proclaim our creator God is bigger than any house of prayer, and God beacons us to come and worship in our hearts and homes. While this reflection is from my Christian faith perspective, I stand in solidarity with people of all faiths who are grieving the same loss. Our hope is that all of us can be in our places of prayer and worship soon.
Bethlehem
Bowing before you in our hearts and posture,
entering the door of humility into your grace.
Orthodox and Roman,
side by side
Dark wood altars, with simpler lines of
icons, and luminaries a crucifix, statues
share their splendor and candles.
Pilgrims enter the same door to worship our God.
The presence of Jesus in the prayer
and the presence of Jesus in the caves just below us,
The newborn Jesus placed in a hewn rock feeding trough
leads us to the adult Jesus at the Rock of Golgotha,
who becomes the Bread of Life.
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
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